A correlational study of gender barriers of women striving for a corporate officer position

This quantitative correlation study investigated the relationships between gender, biological sex, age, ethnicity, self-esteem, and the characteristics of corporate officers of 205 current MBA students at a university in Boston, MA. The instrument used to measure gender was the 30-item shortened Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Biological sex, age, and ethnicity were collected through demographic questions. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (RSE). The Schein Descriptive Index (SDI) was the instrument used to measure the characteristics of corporate officers. For research question one rs analysis used p-value tests to demonstrate a significant relationship between the characteristics of corporate officers and gender. A positive correlation was found with the following sub-items: not uncomfortable about being aggressive; ambitious; self-control; direct; strong need for achievement; and strong need for monetary rewards. Significant negative correlations were observed for the submissive and timid sub-items. Research question two demonstrated through ANOVA and rs analysis using F distribution and p-value tests that there was no significant relationship between biological sex and gender, age and gender, ethnicity and gender, and self-esteem and gender. Research question three demonstrated through ANOVA and rs analysis using F distribution and p-value tests that there is a significant relationship between the characteristics of corporate officers and biological sex, characteristics of corporate officers and age, characteristics of corporate officers and ethnicity, and characteristics of corporate officers and self-esteem. Future research will analyze different variables, geographic locations, and psychological and sociological barriers.