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Women in management:
a Malaysian perspective
Manjulika Koshal
Ashok K. Gupta and
Rajindar Koshal
The authors
Manjulika Koshal is Professor of Management Systems
and International Business, Ohio University, Athens, USA.
Ashok K. Gupta is OBleness Professor of Marketing,
Ohio University, Athens, USA.
Rajindar Koshal is Professor of Economics, Ohio University, Athens, USA.
Abstract
Surveys of women in management postitions in the USA
and elsewhere have indicated a notion of masculine
managerial model of organizational man. Malaysia
presents an interesting case study on attitudes towards
women managers because it is a society undergoing rapid
changes from its strong traditional religious and cultural
norms to modern values about women. This study focuses
on the perceptions of Malaysian men and women executives about the female managers in corporate Malaysia.
Specifically, the study examines the organizational environment for women managers in Malaysia, how men and
women at different ranks feel about womens advancement in the organization, the differences in the leadership
styles of men and women managers and their effectiveness in achieving organizational goals.
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Women in Malaysia
Malaysia presents an interesting case study on
attitudes towards women managers because it
is a society undergoing rapid changes from its
strong traditional religious and cultural norms
to modern values about women. Malaysia has
emerged as one of the four tigers of the South
East Asia Region. As a result, industrial
complexes have mushroomed. Companies
12
Percentage of female
Economic sector
1970
1990
67.9
8.1
28.2
24.3
0.5
16.4
7.1
5.4
21.4
20.7
Percentage of female
Type of job
Professional, technical
Administrative, managerial
Clerical and related
Sales and related
Service workers
Production, transport equipment
operator and labourers
Agricultural, animal husbandry,
forestry, etc.
1970
1990
5.3
0.1
4.1
4.9
8.4
9.4
0.6
14.1
11.4
14.1
10.4
22.3
66.8
28.1
Salary grade
1983
1990
none
9.8%
14.9%
34.2%
28.9%
50.9%
none
14.0%
23.8%
40.4%
33.6%
55.1%
Results
The results of this study provide interesting
insights and confirm some of the conclusions
of previous studies conducted in other countries as well as in Malaysia. The study also
highlights key challenges that women in
Malaysian businesses are facing and suggests
areas where improvements can be made.
Organizational environment for women
managers
In this study, the organizational environment
for women managers was assessed by examining the perceptions of male and female
managers on three dimensions:
(1) Encouragement to women to assume
leadership positions.
(2) Equity in rewards.
(3) Acceptance of women at supervisory
positions.
Research focus
The present study intends to add to the literature on gender bias in Malaysia in general and
corporate Malaysia in particular. We focus on
the perceptions of Malaysian men and women
executives about the female managers in
corporate Malaysia. The study explores issues
of concern to women managers in Malaysia
from three dimensions:
(1) Organizational environment for women
managers in Malaysia from the perspectives of both male and female managers.
(2) How men and women at different ranks
in the organizational hierarchy feel about
womens advancement in the organization.
(3) Differences in the leadership styles of men
and women managers and their effectiveness in achieving organizational goals.
Gender:
Age:
Methodology
The findings of this research are based on a
survey of 75 business executives (27 per cent
female) from public and private Malaysian
organizations. The subjects were executives/
administrators from private and public sector
companies working on their MBA degree at
Job position:
Experience:
Organization type:
Number of employees
14
Men
Women
52
56
51
50
32
63
27
67
Men
Women
34
37
77
75
86
69
85
73
57
75
17
33
23
Male
Female
MR 13.08
11.00
16.26
11.60
MR 8.04
6.39
11.48
11.30
Perceptions of male
and female managers
percentage who
agree/strongly agreea
Men
Women
71
73
66
81
Male
managers
Female
managers
83
68
81
62
50
39
feel about womens advancement in organization. Results of our study indicate that, women
do not welcome fellow womens advancement
in the organization to the extent men think
they would do (Table X). We found that a
smaller percentage of female managers feel
that women welcome or accept their advancement while a significantly large percentage of
men believe that women would welcome the
advancement of women. Women seem to
accept women at all levels, especially at higher
levels, more readily than men (78 per cent in
Table X versus 39 per cent in Table IX). However, women at subordinate levels seem to
somewhat resist womens advancement (72
per cent versus 78 per cent at other levels).
90
75
83
78
72
78
62
55
72
69
75
40
62
72
59
managers exhibit interactive style of leadership but they do not know that this style is
effective in dynamic environment. Thus
womens potential contribution in providing
effective leadership for dynamic environments
is being wasted both by men and women.
Conclusions
In Malaysia, business organizations appear to
provide equal opportunity for employment to
women. However, women do not perceive
equal opportunities for advancement after
recruitment. The data clearly indicate that
women perceive that they are underrepresented at all management levels, that
equity in compensation is still an issue, and
they need to work harder than men for recognition and rewards.
Female managers perceive resistance from
both men and women for their advancement.
The resistance seems to be more at the subordinate levels. More women feel that men do
not welcome or accept their advancement
while men think they do. This difference in
perception is greatest at higher levels of organizational hierarchy.
We found that, a significantly large number
of male managers in corporate Malaysia perceive that women do not exhibit interactive
leadership style while women are not aware that
interactive leadership style is more effective in
dynamic environments. Thus, it appears that
women are not demanding the type of jobs they
are most suitable for. On the other hand, male
managers are unaware that they are underutilizing the unique leadership traits of women.
People are an organizations most important and valuable asset. To fully utilize this
Perceptions of male
and female managers
percentage who
agree/strongly agreea
57
disagree scale
Female
managers
Women
Male
managers
Men
References
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Country Report in Preparation for the Fourth UN
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