Sex and Authority in the Workplace: The Causes of Sexual Inequality

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the causes of the restriction of women from positions of authority in the workplace. We ascertain the extent to which the sex gap in authority can be explained by the following three factors: 1) womens qualifications 2) the attitudes and behaviors of employers and 3) the attitudes and behaviors of women themselves. We find that while the amount of the sex difference in authority that can be explained by womens qualifications is substantial it is not the most important factor responsible for the restriction of women from positions of authority. Furthermore we present strong evidence suggesting that the attitudes and behaviors of employers are much more important causes of sexual differences in authority in the workplace than are the attitudes and behaviors of the women themselves. (authors)