Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore gender differences in the work and career experiences and psychological health of women and men in managerial and professional jobs in Turkey.

Data were collected for 94 men and 48 women in managerial and professional jobs in Turkey. Comparisons of women and men using one‐way ANOVA provided considerable support for the hypotheses.

Women and men were found to differ on many personal demographic and work situation characteristics: women were younger, less likely to be married or have children, were at lower organizational levels, worked fewer hours and earned less income. Women and men had similar levels of education, however. Women and men were similar on almost all work outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction, work engagement, intent to quit) and indicators of psychological health (e.g. exhaustion, life satisfaction). However, men worked significantly more hours than did women.

The research extends previous work by scholars using a sample from Turkey. It is not often that research of this nature utilizes samples from countries outside of North America, Europe and Australasia. Furthermore, unlike some published research, this study uses many instruments/measures, all with excellent psychometric properties.

Although qualified women are still underrepresented at ranks of senior management in all countries, considerable progress has been made in identifying work experiences associated with career success and advancement. The studies of mentor relationships in North America have shown that women receiving more functions from their mentors reported benefits such as greater job and career satisfaction, and female mentors provided more psychosocial functions than did male mentors. The present study examined antecedents and consequences of mentor relationships in a sample of managerial and professional women working for a large organization in Turkey. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Data were collected from 192 women managers and professionals using anonymously completed questionnaires.

The following results were obtained: having a mentor relationship had little impact on work outcomes, female and male mentors generally provided the same mentor functions, and mentor functions had little impact on work outcomes.

Highlights the potential role of both organizational and societal values in mentoring programs.

These findings are at odds with previously reported results obtained in Anglo-Saxon countries. Possible explanations for the failure to find previously reported benefits of mentoring are offered.