Analysis Assignment Social Capital and Networking Behavior Write a paper, 1-2 pages and single-spaced, that addresses the following questions as it pertains to your pers

Impact of Social Networks on the Advancement of Women

and RaciallEthnic Minority Groups

Monica L. Forret

here have been glimmers of progress in U.S. corporations for women and bers of racial and ethnic minority groups. In 2002, Fortune published its ist of the 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in ~mer i ca . ' The Executive

eadership Council, a professional network for senior African American ex- utives in Fortune 500 firms, has grown from I9 members in 1956 t o over 340 embers today, with women making up one-third of the membership. Although e signs of upward movement are becoming more visible, the pace is slow. For stance, although women account for about half of all managerial a n d profes- onal positions, they hold only 8 percent of executive vice president positions d higher at Fortune 500 companies, and only 5 percent are among the top five ghest paid for each company.*

A number of explanations exist for the lack of upward advancement for omen and minorities. A Catalyst study found that both Fortune 1000 CEOs d women executives agreed that lack of line experience was a major factor eventing women's upward movement. Other major barriers cited include ex- usion from informal networks, negative stereotypes about women, lack of ac-

ountability of top leaders for advancing women, lack of role models, lack of entoring, and lack of awareness of organizational politics.3 Constraints posed social networks can help explain the obstacles women and minorities face that ult in their restricted upward movement in organizations. The constraints me in a variety of forms, such as increased difficulty in forming social networks

and lower levels of influence held by the members of their social networks. onsistent with Ragins's definition, the term nlinority will be used here to refer those groups traditionally lacking power in organizations-including women d members of racial and ethnic groups.4

In this chapter, I will first discuss the need for more attention to the social pita1 of minorities and important factors to consider in building social net- rks. Second, I explore three major barriers minorities face in developing their

1 52 Orgariizational Practices and Indiv idual Strategies

control the flow of information between them, which may be used to one's advantage.22 In addition to Burt, Podolny and Baron found that structural holes were associated with upward mobility, and Rodan and Galunic showed that they were related to greater managerial pe r fo rmar~ce .~~

F i r ~ a l l ~ , the resources of a tie refer to the benefits that may be derived from a relationship. These benefits may take a wide variety of forks, including in- formation, friendship, materialslservices, and i n f l u e n ~ e . ' ~ In particular, re- lationships with high-status individuals have the potential to provide valued outcomes. To illustrate, in their study of job seekers, Lin, Ensel, and Vaughn found that the status of the contact had a strong positive effect on the prestige of the attained job, indicating the ability of powerful contacts to exert influence on one's behalf.25

T o summarize, network size, tie strength, pattern of ties, and resources of ties are critical factors to consider in building one's social network. However, mino~ities experience unique barriers in their attempts to develop their social networks, which will now be considered.

BARRIERS MINORITIES FACE IN BUILDING THEIR SOCIAL NETWORKS

Three explanations for the difficulties minorities experience in building their social networks are centered on: ( 1 ) the similarity-attraction paradigm, (2) tokenism theory, and (3) existing organizational structures.

Similarity-Attraction Paradigm

Using Byrne's similarity-attraction paradigm, those who are considered si- milar on ascriptive characteristics (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) are likely to perceive greater interpersonal similarities, which in turn leads to increased attrac- t ~ o n and more frequent c o i ~ ~ m u n i c a t i o n . ~ ~ Gender, racial, and ethnic sin~ila- rities facilitate interactions with others like oneself. Similarity on these factors increases the likelihood ofshared values, beliefs, and attitudes, which helps reduce uncertainty and create trusting relationships. For example, Tsui and O'Reilly found that subordinates in same-gender superior-subordinate dyads were rated higher in perceived effectiveness and lilting by their superiors and experienced lower role conflict and ambiguity than subordinates in mixed-gender dyadsz7

According to March and Simon, similarity on ascribed characteristics influences t l ~ e "language compatibility" between two people and makes com- munication easier.28 Roberts and O'Reilly found that participants in a coin- ~nunication network tend to have higher job satisfaction, more organizational commitment, and higher job performance than isolate^.'^ Furthermore, by communicating frequently, individuals develop similar attitudes and beliefs, which facilitate their integration into the o r g a n i ~ a t i o n . ~ ~

Impact of Social Networks on Women and Minor i ty Groups 153

Mou~ever, the similarity-attraction paradigm poses a problem for minorities in organizations in that the demographic makeup offers fewer opportunities for interactioi~s with others like themselves based on gender, race, or et l~nici ty.~ ' For example, based on a sample of managers from four Fortune 500 companies, Ibarra found that minorities had fewer same-race ties and fewer strong ties than white This lack of similarity affects the availability of social support for minority employees. Furthermore, given that minorities have less power in organizations, ties to other minorities are less instrumental in their ability to provide access to valued resources. Therefore, minorities have to seek out dis-

. similar others to obtain what they need. This necessity was illustrated in Ibarra's study of an advertising firm, in which men developed both instrumental and expressive (i.e., fi-iendship) contacts with other males, whereas females devel- oped instrumental contacts with men and expressive contacts with women.

3 3

Tokenism Theory

According to Kanter, the presence of a small, easily identifiable minority group of individuals (referred to as tokens) results in increased performance pressures and boundary heightening. Given that minorities are highly visible in

: organizations, they face added pressures to perform. If a niinority employee performs poorly, it is more liltely to be known throughout the organization. This may encourage ~n,ajority employees to distance tliemselves from minorities to avoid negative perceptions that association might convey. Furthermore, the

: behavior of a minority employee is likely to be construed as being symbolic for

1 ' the group. For example, if a woman fails at her position, majority members are ' likely to view this as evidence that women as a group are unable to handle those

types of jobs.34 Bouildary heightening occurs due to polarization that magnifies distinc-

tions betweell minority and majority groups. Boundary heightening results in an ' increase in stereotyping and isolation of minorities from areas where informal

socializing and politicking take place.35 To illustrate, Ely found that sex-role stereotypes were exaggerated in law firms dominated by men, in contrast to

: firms with a more balanced gender r e ~ r e s e n t a t i o n . ~ ~ Furthermore, Lyness and Thompson found that female executives were more likely than male executives to report lack of culture fit and bein excluded from informal networks as barriers to their career advancement."These results support the research on

; organizatioilal interaction networks in that minorities, due to their token status, have less access to members of the dominant power structures. 3 8

According to Baron and Pfeffer, white males are motivated to prescrve the ingroupioutgroup distinctions to protect their status and privilege in organizations.

39

'

Applying tokenism theory to the building of social networks, one c a n surmise that there will be a tendency for white males to avoid developing relationships with minority employees, resulting in smaller social networks comprised of less instru~nental contacts.

154 Organizational Practices and Individual Strategies Impact of Social Networks on Women and Minority Groups 155

Existing Organizational Structures

An individual's position in the organizational structure influences that person's social n e t w ~ r l i . ~ ~ T l ~ e hierarchy ofauthority indicated by an organization chart determines the superior and subordinates one interacts with to facilitate vertical coordination. Furthermore, the design and flow of the work necessitates coordination with other individuals, and changes in the technology used have been found to affect communication patterns.41 T o the extent that the job held calls for coordination with individuals from a variety of work units, there is more opportunity to develop personal relationships, which may influence network size, the strength of ties, the pattern of ties

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