Organizational-Level Gender Dissimilarity and Employee Commitment

Abstract

This study explores the extent to which gender dissimilarity in the workplace affects employees' commitment to their organization, using data from the British (1998) Workplace Employee Relations Survey. The results showed that the effects of organizational-level gender dissimilarity on organizational commitment were more complex than has commonly been assumed in the literature. The relationship between organizational-level gender dissimilarity and employee commitment was U-shaped for women whereas it was not significant for men. The relationship was moderated by the respondents' status as measured by their level of pay. For men, the relationship between gender dissimilarity and commitment was negative for high-paid individuals but not for low-paid ones, while for women the U-shaped relationship was weaker for high-paid individuals than for low-paid individuals.