Future Work Challenges: Exploring Factors Shaping Attitudes Toward Women Managers in Turkey

Abstract

Women have long struggled with negative stereotyping and domestic societal expectations regarding gender roles. Cognitive matching theories suggested that perceived alignment between job requirements and gender roles influenced evaluations of women in managerial positions. Values and beliefs around gender roles have been documented to impact individual attitudes toward women managers (ATWOM), often resulting in biases against them. The socialization processes coupled with religious beliefs have reinforced traditional gender roles and, in some instances, contributed to workplace resistance against women. In this study, the early findings of negative attitudes toward women in the workforce are questioned, and a snapshot of employee perceptions in prominent Turkish organizations is provided. In contemporary organizations, gender equality and egalitarian work practices are promoted. Thus, the ATWOM are expected not to portray the adverse scenario depicted above. The complex interplay among values, religious orientation, gender roles, and ATWOM provides insight into how gender equality is evolving in modern organizations and how we can create a work ecosystem that rids itself of restricted views. The preliminary findings suggest that ATWOM are not significantly correlated with expected traditional values, religious orientation, or gender roles. Instead, the findings indicate that these attitudes are related to years of work experience with women managers, tenure, and age. The chapter discusses these preliminary findings to pave the way for a discussion around how attitudes regarding women in contemporary work organizations evolve and how work design may alter these perceptions to create a more egalitarian and peaceful work environment. © 2025 Alessandra Lazazzara and V. Lale Tüzüner.