Gender and organizational climate: a study of two structurally different large organizations in India

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to study gender differences on six organizational climate variables. Employees’ views on their identification level, clarity of goals, perceived equity, welfare measures and outward focus of the organization were solicited in two different studies, while supervisors’ views on subordinates’ deviant behavior was explored in one of the studies.

Design/methodology/approach: The research design incorporated getting data using a questionnaire from two large organizations in India: a government utility and a private sector company. In all, 545 responses from government utility and 8,853 responses from the private company were analyzed, which formed the basis for this study.

Findings: The paper demonstrates that gender differences in employee perceptions are not only socially determined for some variables but in fact may also depend on the organizational structural contexts in presence of explicit supporting policies. Gender differences in identification level and goal clarity were determined by larger social context in the absence of any structural arrangement in both organizations. However, gender differences regarding perceived climate of welfare measures, outward focus of the organization and fairness were contingent on the structural context of the two organizations on account of differing arrangements in both the organizations. Also, women participants were perceived by their supervisors to indulge less in deviant behavior as compared to male participants in one of the study.

Research limitations/implications: Although this research includes only two organizations and the findings may, thus, not be generalizable, a key finding that emerges is that to balance the needs of both genders, managers may need to be cognizant of both organizational and social contexts.

Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is first to consider a detailed analysis of organizational climate with respect to gender perception particularly in the Indian context. The context of the study in two structurally different large organizations further adds to the value of this research.