The programming committee for the 77th Annual SAM International Business Conference is pleased to announce the acceptance of the presentation Role Congruity Theory and the Glass Ceiling: How Does Gender affect The Emotional Labor of Leaders in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry by Steven Day, Christopher Torrance, Angela Miles, and Diane Lawong of North Carolina Central University, Savannah State University and the University of Alabama Birmingham.
Presentation Abstract: This study explores the relationships between the dimensions and the outcomes of emotional labor. Hochschild’s emotional management theory, along with Kruml & Geddes’s two-dimensional model of emotional labor were utilized as the framework for this study. The study examines entrepreneurs and leaders in the restaurant and hotel sector of the tourism and hospitality industry. The objective of this study is to extend the field of emotional labor by integrating role congruity theory and emotional labor. We observe the role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders and how it leads to different forms of prejudices such as women being seen less favorably than men when it comes to potential leadership roles. This theory asserts that there is a perceived incongruity between the female gender and potential leadership positions. Multiple regression analysis will be used to test the direct relationships between emotional labor and emotional exhaustion. We surveyed 100 women and 100 men all holding leadership roles to see which group performed emotional labor more efficiently. The test will give us an idea of which gender, male or female, handles the stress that accompanies a leadership position better. The results of this study will shed light on what seems to be a phenomenon regarding the perception of women leaders. History illustrates that leadership has been predominantly a male space not just in corporate America but also in politics, the military as well as numerous other sectors of society. Recently, there has been some progress pertaining to women gaining access to mid-level management positions. However, it is still fairly uncommon for women to have elite leadership roles or top executive positions. This idea is called the “glass ceiling” and it’s referring to a barrier of prejudice that keeps women from attaining higher-level leadership positions (Morrison, White, & Van Velsor, 1987). This paper seeks to hopefully put a bigger crack in the glass ceiling by showing that women are just as competent as men in leadership positions.
Join us online to see this great paper and many more March 31 – April 2, 2022. For registration information visit www.samnational.org/conference.