Beyond Structure: How Men and Women Perceive, Experience, and Utilize Their Professional Networks

Social and professional networks are consequential for professional success because who individuals are connected to determines access to valuable resources and opportunities that facilitate career advancement. Problematically, there is evidence of gender differences in networks, which are thought to be a contributing factor to persistent gender gaps in the workplace. Evidence of inequality in the returns men and women experience even from equivalent network structures underscores the importance of going beyond structure to understand how men’s and women’s networks impact their experiences at work and their career trajectories. This symposium contributes to this growing area of research by bringing together four projects that speak to gender differences in how men and women perceive, experience, and utilize their social and professional networks. Who do men and women go to for help at work? Advice network homophily and task-level organization Presenter: Roman V. Galperin; McGill U. - Desautels Faculty of Management Presenter: Jennifer M. Merluzzi; George Washington U. The impact of a sponsor’s goal: Gender, goals, and cognitive network activation in sponsorship Presenter: Elizabeth Lauren Campbell; Rady School of Management, U. of California San Diego Presenter: Catherine Shea; Carnegie Mellon U. - Tepper School of Business Calling on ties when everyone is under siege: Gender, pervasive threat, and network utilization Presenter: Kristin Cullen-Lester; U. of Mississippi Presenter: Meredith Lauren Woehler; Purdue U. Presenter: Houston Floyd Lester; U. of Mississippi Presenter: Pol Solanelles; U. of Mississippi Unintended consequences: #MeToo, salience of accusations, and women's exclusion from networks Presenter: Ren Li; The Hong Kong Polytechnic U. Presenter: Kaylene McClanahan; U. of California, Los Angeles Presenter: Raina A. Brands; UCL School of Management