Do you like what you see? Exploring the process of junior women’s rejection of senior women as role models in male-dominated contexts

Abstract: Female role models are critical for fostering women’s sense of belonging and career aspirations in male-dominated professions where women are underrepresented and negatively stereotyped. However, research shows that it is in these same settings that the nature and quality of professional relationships between women are negatively affected. How can junior women expect to identify with and be inspired by senior women with whom they share strained relationships? To answer this question, we conducted an inductive, qualitative study using 52 semi-structured interviews with investment bankers (41 women and 11 men) supplemented with archival data to examine the process through which junior women’s identification with female role models may be disrupted in contexts that simultaneously challenge these relationships. The present study reveals how the inherent factors of male-dominated contexts, along with cultural beliefs, create and dismantle the idealized version of senior women, ultimately leading to their rejection as role models.

Keywords: Female role models, interpersonal relationships, male-dominated contexts, qualitative methods