Gendered Appraisals of Doing Bad and Doing Good: Differential Responses To and From Men and Women at Work

The organizational benefits of greater gender diversity have been well documented. In order to realize these advantages however, organizations must manage the pitfalls of more gender diverse workplaces. Indeed, without effective management, gender differences in perceptions and treatment can seed interpersonal conflict. The current symposium illuminates these differences so that these potential sources of conflict can be addressed. Our first two papers reveal a novel source of discrimination against women, showing that punishment decisions are biased by the gender of the wrong-doer and by their apology. Our last three papers delineate important differences in how men and women experience the same phenomena. Papers three and four address variation in how men and women perceive sociosexual behavior, demonstrating women tend to view these behaviors negatively across a wider array of initiator characteristics and situations. Our final paper addresses differences in the experienced benefits of high job performance, showing the positive relationship between job performance and job satisfaction is weakened for women. Together these papers will contribute to a rich discussion on important questions central the conflict management domain. For example, how might conflict management outcomes (like punishment) be biased against women? How can we mitigate potential conflict stemming from differential perceptions of sociosexual behavior? What are the workplace implications of the lessened relationship between job performance and job satisfaction for women? Our symposium will spark conversation on these vital topics, generating insight into how organizations can reap the rewards of more gender diverse workplaces without sowing interpersonal conflict.