A research team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School released a new study that shows, “women are less willing to sacrifice ethical values for money and social status and that women associate business with immorality more strongly,” CNN reports.
The research involved three separate studies with a main element focusing on a series of fictitious job descriptions which study participants were asked to evaluate. These job descriptions included an ethics component. CNN reports that only when ethics were involved did women show less interest in the job. They indicated that they would struggle to perform some of the job requirements and would have to sacrifice their values to excel in the job.
Lead researcher Jessica Kennedy offers key suggestions and considerations for both businesses and women based on the data:
- Talent Retention: “Businesses can retain talented women by acting more ethically,” explained Kennedy.
- Job Search: If a worker values ethics highly, then she should analyze the ethos of any organization she considers working for before she applies for a job.
It’s important to point out that the study didn’t find women are more ethical than men in general, but there are significant differences in how men and women think and act in their jobs.
You can follow the link at the beginning of this article to read all of the details about the study.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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I think that (in work situations) many men are so intensely and narrowly focused on achieving their goals that they become a bit ruthless. Sad, I think. Perhaps this points to a broader societal issue that needs to be addressed.
Steve, I agree — this is an interesting topic for discussion and I also agree that innate differences in how men and women are led to think they should behave has a significant impact. For example, does our society create an expectation of competition, success, doing whatever it takes to get the job done, and so on as the expectation which leads to less focus on ethics in the workplace among males? I think the answer is probably yes, and I agree that it’s a societal/learned behavior structure that has a significant effect on workplace behavior between men and women. This is particularly true in public companies where “not” getting the job done is likely to end badly for the employee.
I can prove that women are even more trustworthy than men in business. I’ve been never deceived by a woman 🙂
I’d love to read the original research. Although you mention a link, I don’t see it. Can you please send to me?
Greg, Just click on the CNN hyperlink in the first paragraph. That takes you to the source for more information.
Thank you Susan, for some reason it was hard for me to see.
The CNN article gives some additional helpful detail. Wow, the comments were particularly interesting. The study seems to have struck a nerve. The conclusion I take is that women are more likely to avoid a situation where their ethics will be compromised. Good foresight. The comments reflect the biases of those who are reading, and somehow people feel entitled to bash others without restraint.
Greg, I try to avoid reading comments when they don’t add to the conversation. The comments on the CNN article are the perfect example of that. Unfortunately, many sites prefer to let the conversation happen to get more page views (and ad revenue) rather than making an effort to keep the conversation on topic with meaningful and appropriate debate.
I agree with Stephen’s comment above that the study reflects a societal expectation and learned behaviors. It’s not that men are less ethical overall, but are they more focused on the goal and less on the steps to get there? Are they taught throughout life to get the job done, and if so, is that a behavior that businesses should continue to foster? As long as shareholders expect double-digit growth year-over-year, I’m going to assume that companies will continue with business as usual. But is this the best long-term strategy?
I’d like to hear some psychology experts discuss this topic.
Thanks for joining the conversation!