Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether gender retains its significance as a predictor of salary, after controlling for the well-documented influences of human capital accumulation and job level, and the less well-researched effects of both influence tactics and job characteristic preferences. Second, this study investigates whether similar factors predict salary attainment for males and females. Finally, the question of whether males and females differ in all of the hypothesized variables of interest is investigated. Exempt staff at a state university are surveyed. Of those respondents, 52.8% are female and 47.2% are male, the majority of whom are white, with other ethnic and racial categories representing less than one-fifth of the sample. After controlling for all other hypothesized influences, gender retains its significance as a predictor of salary. A significant interaction between job level and gender indicates that females in high-level jobs earn significantly less than males in high level jobs. Human capital variables and two job characteristics preferences also displayed significant main effects in predicting salary.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bacharach, S. B., & Lawler, E. J. (1980).Power and politics in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Baron, J. N., & Bielby, W. T. (1980). Bringing the firms back in: Stratification, segmentation, and the organization of work.American Sociological Review, 46, 737–765.
Barr, D. F. (1980). More needs analysis.Training and Development Journal, 34, 70–74.
Bartol, K. M., & Martin, D. C. (1990). When politics pays: Factors influencing managerial compensation decisions.Personnel Psychology, 43, 599–614.
Bartol, K. M., & Martin, D. C. (1988). Influences on managerial pay allocations: A dependency perspective.Personnel Psychology, 41, 361–378.
Baysinger, R., & Youngblood, S. A. (1988). The role of gender and the determinants of salary: An empirical study.Proceedings of the Academy of Management.
Becker, G. (1975).Human capital. Chicago: University of Chicago Press for the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Becker, G. (1981).A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Betz, N. E., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1987).The career psychology of women. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Centers, R., & Bugental, D. E. (1966). Intrinsic and extrinsic job motivations among different segments of the working population.Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 193–197.
Corcoran, M., & Duncan, G. (1979). Work history, labor force attachment, and earnings differences between races and sexes.Journal of Human Resources, 14, 3–20.
Cowan, G., Drinkard, J., & MacGavin, L. (1984). The effects of target, age, and gender on use of power strategies.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1391–1398.
DeNisi, A., Cafferty, T., & Meglino, B. (1984). A cognitive view of the performance appraisal process: A model and research propositions.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 360–396.
Donnell, S. M., & Hall, J. (1980). Men and women as managers: A significant case of no significant differences.Organizational Dynamics, 8, 60–77.
Dreher, G. F., Dougherty, T. W., & Whitely, W. (1989). Influence tactics and salary attainment: A gender-specific analysis.Sex Roles, 20, 535–550.
DuBrin, A. J. (1989). Sex differences in endorsement of influence tactics and political behavior tendencies.Journal of Business and Psychology, 4, 3–14.
England, P. (1982). The failure of human capital theory to explain occupational sex segregation.The Journal of Human Resources, 17, 358–371.
Falbo, T. (1977). Multidimensional scaling of power strategies.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 537–547.
Falbo, T. (1982). PAQ types and power strategies used in intimate relationships.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 6, 399–405.
Ferris, G. R., & Judge, T. A. (1991). Personnel/Human Resources Management: A political influence perspective.Journal of Management, 17, 447–488.
Filer, R. K. (1985). Male-female wage differentials: The importance of compensating differentials.Industrial and Labor Relations, 38, 426–437.
Filer, R. K. (1986). The role of personality and tastes in determining occupational structure.Industrial and Labor Relations, 39, 412–424.
Filer, R. K. (1989). Occupational segregation, compensating differentials and comparable worth. In R. Michael & H. Hartmann (Eds.),Pay inquiries: Empirical inquiries. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Gerhart, B., & Milkovich, G. (1992). Employee compensation: Research and practice. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.),Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting-Psychologists Press.
Gould, S., & Penley, L. (1984). Career strategies and salary progression: A study of their relationship in a municipal bureaucracy.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34, 244–265.
Graen, G. B. (1989).Unwritten rules for your career. New York: John Wiley.
Gruber, K. J., & White, J. W. (1986). Gender differences in the perceptions of self's and others' use of power strategies.Sex Roles, 15, 109–118.
Hersch, J. (1991). Male-female differences in hourly wages: The role of human capital, working conditions, and housework.Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 44, 746–759.
Jencks, C., Perman, L., & Rainwater, L. (1988). What is a good job? A new measure of labor-market success.American Journal of Sociology, 93, 1322–1357.
Johnson, P. (1976). Women and power: Toward a theory of effectiveness.Journal of Social Issues, 32, 99–110.
Johnston, J. (1972).Econometrics. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Jones, E. E. (1964).Ingratiation. New York: Appleton, Century.
Judge, T. A., & Bretz, R. D., Jr. (1994). Political influence behavior and career success.Journal of Management, 20, 43–65.
Killingsworth, M. R. (1987). Heterogeneous preferences, compensating wage differentials, and comparable worth.Quarterly Journal of Economics, 102, 727–742.
Kipnis, D., Schmidt, S., & Wilkinson, I. (1980). Intraorganizational influence tactics: Explorations in getting one's way.Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 440–452.
Kipnis, D., & Schmidt, S. (1983). An influence perspective on bargaining. In M. Bazerman & R. Lewicki (Eds.),Negotiating in organizations. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Kipnis, D., & Schmidt, S. (1985). The language of persuasion.Psychology Today, 4, 40–46.
Kipnis, D., & Schmidt, S. (1988). Upward influence styles: Relationship with performance, evaluation, salary, and stress.Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 528–542.
Kipnis, D., & Vanderveer, R. (1971). Ingratiation and the use of power.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 280–286.
Liden, R. C., & Mitchell, T. R. (1988). Ingratiatory behaviors in organizational settings.Academy of Management Review, 13, 572–587.
London, M., & Stumpf, S. A. (1982).Managing careers. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Madden, J. F. (1985). The persistence of pay differentials: The economics of sex discrimination. In L. Larwood, A. Stromberg, & B. Gutek (Eds.),Women and work: An annual review (Vol. 1). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Mainiero, L. A. (1986). Coping with powerlessness: The relationship of gender and job dependency to empowerment-usage strategy.Administrative Science Quarterly, 31, 633–653.
Manhardt, P. J. (1972). Job orientation of male and female college graduates in business.Personnel Psychology, 25, 672–678.
Marwell, G., & Schmitt, D. (1967). Dimensions of compliance-gaining behavior: An empirical analysis.Sociometry, 30, 350–364.
Miceli, M. P., & Lane, M. C. (1991). Antecedents of pay satisfaction: A review and extension. In G. R. Ferris & K. M. Rowland (Eds.),Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 9). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Mincer, J., & Ofek, H. (1982). Interrupted work careers: Depreciation and restoration of human capital.Journal of Human Resources, 17, 3–25.
Mincer, J., & Polachek, S. (1978). Women's earnings reexamined.Journal of Human Resources, 13, 118–134.
O'Neill, J. (1983).The determinants and wage effects of occupational segregation. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Pfeffer, J. (1981).Power in organizations. Boston: Pitman.
Polachek, S. (1975). Differences in expected post-school investment as a determinant of market wage differentials.International Economic Review, 16, 451–470.
Polachek, S. (1981). Occupational self-selection: A human capital approach to sex differences in occupational structure.Review of Economics and Statistics, 63, 60–69.
Ralston, D. A. (1985). Employee ingratiation: The role of management.Academy of Management Review, 10, 477–487.
Raush, H., Barry, W., Hertel, R., & Swain, M. (1974).Communication, conflict, and marriage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rizzo, A. M., & Mendez, C. (1988). Making things happen in organizations: Does gender make a difference?Public Personnel Management, 17, 9–20.
Roos, P. A. (1985).Gender and work: A comparative analysis of industrial societies. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Rosenbaum, J. E. (1985). Persistence and change in pay inequalities: Implications for job evaluation and comparable worth. In L. Larwood, A. Stromberg, & B. Gutek (Eds.),Women and work: An annual review (Vol. 1). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Ross, J., & Ferris, K. R. (1982). Interpersonal attraction and organizational outcomes.Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 617–632.
Schuler, R. S. (1975). Sex, organizational level, and outcome importance: Where the differences are.Personnel Psychology, 28, 365–375.
Sorensen, E. (1989). Measuring the pay disparity between typically female occupations and other jobs: A bivariate selectivity approach.Industrial and Labor Relations, 42, 624–639.
Thacker, R. A., & Wayne, S. J. (1995). An examination of the relationship between upward influence tactics and assessments of promotability.Journal of Management 21, 739–756.
Treiman, D. J., & Hartmann, H. I. (Eds.). (1981).Women and wages: Equal pay for jobs of equal value. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Wayne, S. J., & Ferris, G. R. (1990). Influence tactics, affect, and exchange quality in supervisor subordinate interactions: A laboratory experiment and field study.Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 487–499.
Weber, M. (1947). In A. Henderson & T. Parsons (Eds.),The theory of social and economic organization. New York: Oxford University Press.
White, J. W. (1988). Influence tactics as a function of gender, insult, and goal.Sex Roles, 18, 433–448.
Wortman, C. B., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (1977). Interpersonal attraction and techniques of ingratiation in organizational settings. In B. M. Staw & G. R. Salancik (Eds.),New directions in organizational behavior. Chicago: St. Clair.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thacker, R.A. Gender, influence tactics, and job characteristics preferences: New insights into salary determination. Sex Roles 32, 617–638 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544215
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544215