Male bosses with children receive more voluntary support than their female counterparts

(CONNECT) Support in work teams is rarely a gender-neutral matter. This is the conclusion reached in a study carried out by Jamie Gloor, who researches and teaches as a Professor of Leadership and Diversity Science at the University of St.Gallen. According to the study, male managers receive significantly more voluntary support than their female colleagues when it comes to family obligations, a situation that in the study is called the “fatherhood bonus”. Data from three interconnected studies with approximately 1,200 participants shows that employees are more motivated to help male managers experiencing work-family conflict than their female counterparts.

According to Prof. Gloor, the reason for this lies in the persistent perception of traditional gender roles: For men, stress as a result of work-family conflict does not fit in with expectations in terms of how men participate in caregiving or nurturing tasks, while the same stress in women is more likely to be seen as normal. “Social dynamics in the workplace are powerful. And often unconscious“, as Prof. Gloor explains in a statement covering the study. “Although we help because we want to help, our supportive behavior is guided by deep-seated anchors of our expectations of men and women”.

This cements existing inequalities: The “fatherhood bonus” is directly opposed to the “motherhood penalty”. As such, while stress for men decreases and their visibility and success increases, in contrast women are often overlooked in exactly the same areas.

Equality is more than formal equal treatment, the study concludes. As a consequence, companies should examine both formal guidelines, such as parental leave policies, and the informal corporate culture, for example, voluntary support networks. As the statement explains, well-intentioned support in the workplace can facilitate progress towards equality in the workplace – provided that it is shared evenly. ce/mm