LITERATURE REVIEW OF BEHAVIOURAL THEMES ON WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT

Abstract

This review paper, based on survey of literature in the field of women in management, presents a panoramic view of the behavioural themes that recur in research during the past about four decades. The field of women in management spans a variety of disciplines ranging from feminism to gender studies and the role of women in society, family and organisations. Coupled with the fact that women increasingly play an important role in all these areas, research in the field has traversed a number of themes and issues.

This review article identifies five broad behavioural themes in the literature. These are: attitudes, communication styles, leadership styles, motivational patterns and personality traits. While many studies reported may be confined to one theme yet there are a number of studies that transcend one specific theme and incorporate elements of the other prevalent themes. This results in a rich tapestry of research studies. In view of the abundance of studies reported in literature, this paper picks up some representative research studies to demonstrate the nature, content, and direction of research in this challenging field.

Keywords: women studies, women managers, women as managers, women in management, research on women managers.