Women in leadership: Are levels of workplace psychological safety related to bias towards women’s authority and the number of women in visible leadership roles, within Irish technology organisations

Molloy, Rebecca (2022) Women in leadership: Are levels of workplace psychological safety related to bias towards women’s authority and the number of women in visible leadership roles, within Irish technology organisations. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Purpose
Barriers to women’s representation in visible leadership is well documented, alongside women’s higher levels of education and academic success. Bias towards women’s authority is starting to be more comprehensively examined. Solutions to accelerate women’s careers into visible leadership roles is less pervasive, presenting opportunities for more protracted studies to narrow down the clues to evidence corrective actions to take, to solve this inequity. One such area could be psychological safety, observational studies rose in popularity at the turn of the century, however from a neuroscientific perspective it is a relatively new frontier. This research explores the question, are levels of workplace psychological safety related to bias towards women’s authority and the number of women holding visible leadership roles, within a context of Irish high-tech organisations, an area previously unstudied. The ambition is to contribute potential or partial findings, to answer the question, how can more women break through into visible leadership in meaningful, sustainable, and scalable ways?

Design and methodology
Taking a quantitative approach, using an anonymous online survey, issued through social media and own network. The case criteria being humans employed full-time in high-tech organisations in Ireland, over age of eighteen years. This method was deemed most appropriate based on other relevant studies of psychological safety and the gender authority gap. The findings were analysed to identify themes, significant correlations, and contradictions, then evaluated alongside the secondary data of existing literature comparatively, to determine recommendations for further research.

Findings
Meta-analysis over decades outlines the blocks to women’s advancement, revealing a gap in the research for solutions; to identify practical initiatives that progressive organisations can put in place to drive gender balance in visible leadership. Research reveals compelling evidence showing the commercial benefits that diversity in leadership brings, from increased and sustainable profits to higher performing, profoundly engaged teams, rich innovation, reduced corporate scandal and lesser likelihood of high-risk behaviours in executive leadership teams and/or boards. The findings indicate that accelerating women into visible leadership is also an organisational choice. And psychological safety matters, to both women and men.

Value
There is a gap in existing studies for actionable solutions, particularly encompassing psychological safety. In an Irish high-tech context, minimal research studies were identified on women’s leadership in tech. The gender authority gap is becoming more understood by leaders, but little action is taken by organisations to address it. Women’s leadership is integral to contemporary, 21st century organisational success and yet so much of it is still not understood. The value of this study is in contributing to explorations into potential solutions for this crucial societal and moral conundrum.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > Ireland H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Classes of Labour > Women and Work
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Business Administration
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2022 16:40
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2022 16:40
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5808

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