Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
4-2022
Abstract
Voice-or the expression of ideas, concerns, or opinions on work issues by employees-can help organizations thrive. However, we highlight that men and women differ in their voice self-efficacy, or the personal confidence in formulating and articulating work-related viewpoints. Such differences, we argue, can impede women's voice from emerging at work. Drawing on social cognitive theory (SCT), we propose that women tend to develop greater voice self-efficacy and thereby speak up more when they have the opportunity to observe female rather than male leaders speak up. Hence, we point to the potential absence of women leaders who can role model speaking up at work as a likely inhibiter of women's voice. Using data from a correlational field study involving 368 employees and their leaders from a variety of industries in India and an experimental study in an online panel of 546 US-based workers, we found support for our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our research for theory and practice.
Keywords
gender, employee voice, social cognitive theory
Discipline
Human Resources Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Journal of Applied Psychology
Volume
107
Issue
4
First Page
650
Last Page
667
ISSN
0021-9010
Identifier
10.1037/apl0000892
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Citation
YAN, Thomas Taiyi; TANGIRALA, Subrahmaniam; VADERA, Abhijeet K.; and EKKIRALA, Srinivas.
How employees learn to speak up from their leaders: Gender congruity effects in the development of voice self-efficacy. (2022). Journal of Applied Psychology. 107, (4), 650-667.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6960
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000892