ArticlePublisher preview available

Do satisfaction, gender issues, and financial inclusion impact Italian female managers?

Authors:
Rosella Castellano at University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza
Rosella Castellano
  • University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza
Jessica Riccioni
Jessica Riccioni
Jessica Riccioni
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Azzurra Rinaldi at Sapienza University of Rome
Azzurra Rinaldi
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract and Figures

In this paper, we investigate the levels of satisfaction achieved by Italian women managers concerning family welfare, working life, and personal life. We analyze the possible effects of specific drivers influencing women's satisfaction and their perception of the impact of financial inclusion on their professional lives. To achieve these goals, we have developed an online questionnaire divided into four sections. The collected data have been studied by using Cluster Analysis and Mixed Effect Models to gain some insights into the key factors that should be considered in terms of policy implications. This paper aims at filling the gap in the existent scientific literature on this topic. This is one of the few studies conducted on the level of women’s satisfaction and the only one analyzing the Italian female managers’ population.
Figures - available from: Review of Managerial Science
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
Learn more
Content available from Review of Managerial Science
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Vol.:(0123456789)
Review of Managerial Science (2024) 18:1837–1854
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00675-4
1 3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Do satisfaction, gender issues, andfinancial inclusion
impact Italian female managers?
RosellaCastellano1· JessicaRiccioni1,2· AzzurraRinaldi1
Received: 2 July 2022 / Accepted: 25 May 2023 / Published online: 7 July 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the levels of satisfaction achieved by Italian women
managers concerning family welfare, working life, and personal life. We analyze the
possible effects of specific drivers influencing women’s satisfaction and their per-
ception of the impact of financial inclusion on their professional lives. To achieve
these goals, we have developed an online questionnaire divided into four sections.
The collected data have been studied by using Cluster Analysis and Mixed Effect
Models to gain some insights into the key factors that should be considered in terms
of policy implications. This paper aims at filling the gap in the existent scientific
literature on this topic. This is one of the few studies conducted on the level of wom-
en’s satisfaction and the only one analyzing the Italian female managers’ population.
Keywords Italian female managers· Gender issues· Financial inclusion· Cluster
analysis· Mixed effect models
JEL Classification C38· C35· C80· B55· B54
1 Introduction
In the 2000s, the ESG approach has been started to expand the theme of socially
responsible investments to a holistic vision of the environmental, social, and gov-
ernance factors that have begun to be integrated at different levels. In 2015, the
long history of the ESG universe took a new step with the definition of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). At its heart is the adherence to the 17 objectives aim-
ing at designing a better and more sustainable future. Among them, Goal 5 focuses
on the achievement of gender equality.
* Rosella Castellano
rosella.castellano@unitelmasapienza.it
1 University ofRoma UnitelmaSapienza, Roma, Italy
2 University ofRoma Tre, Roma, Italy
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Subjective Well-Being of Professional Females: A Case Study of Dalian High-Tech Industrial Zone
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2022
The education level and social participation of contemporary Chinese women have reached their historical peak; work is fast becoming the dominant theme of their lives. However, influenced by traditional attitudes, women are still expected to undertake the main family care tasks, thus, facing dual constraints of family and work, which seriously affect their life happiness. Based on the theory of subjective well-being and feminist geography, this study used the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview results of professional females in Dalian High-tech Industrial Zone as basic data to explore the life satisfaction and emotional cognition in intra- and extra-household life of professional females (Professional females: In this study, they are the women who have received formal education and currently have full-time and steady job (including regular employees in the national systems and those who have signed labor contracts with labor units).). The following results were obtained: (1) Most professional females reported higher life satisfaction in intra- rather than extra-household life, and it varied with individual attributes, reflecting the internal differences among them. (2) The positive emotions of professional females came from the company of family and friends in intra-household life, and satisfaction with the working environment and treatment in extra-household life. (3) The negative emotions came from the pressure of “marriage,” “birth,” and other traditional concepts in intra-household life. In extra-household life, it came from the health problems caused by working stress, interpersonal problems and gender inequality in the workplace, and the anxiety of age and future career development. Therefore, this study committed to revealing the living status and subjective feelings of contemporary professional females in China, hoping to improve women’s life quality and enhance their life happiness from a theoretical and realistic perspective.
View
The gender gap in bank credit access
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2020
  • J CORP FINANC
We use a sample of over 80,000 Spanish companies started by a sole entrepreneur between 2004 and 2014, and distinguish between male and female entrepreneurs demand for credit, credit approval ratio, and credit performance. We find that female entrepreneurs who start a business are less likely to ask for a loan. Of the female entrepreneurs requesting a credit, the probability of obtaining one in the founding year is significantly lower than their male peers in the same industry. This lower credit access disappears over the subsequent years, once the company has a track record of profits and losses. We also observe that women-led companies that receive a loan in the founding year are less likely to default as compared to men-led companies. This superior performance disappears for subsequent years, coinciding with the disappearance of the lower credit access. Taking all these results together, we rule out both taste-based discrimination and statistical discrimination in the credit industry, and point to the possible presence of double standards which might be a consequence of implicit (unconscious) discrimination.
View
Why Managerial Women are Less Happy Than Managerial Men
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2018
Women with managerial careers are significantly less satisfied with their life than their male counterparts. Why? In a representative German panel dataset (GSOEP) we find biological constraints and substitutive mechanisms determining the subjective well-being of female managers. Women’s terminated fertility has a negative impact on women’s life satisfaction between the ages of 35 and 45, when managerial careers usually take off. Money and spare time can compensate for this biological difference. But to maintain an equivalent level of happiness, women need to be compensated by much more income for each hour of spare time given up than men do. So, in order to reach better gender equality in leadership positions, women must be either paid higher incomes (on average around 10%) or must be incentivized with more spare time than men. In the conclusion, we speculate on a new mix of carrots and sticks for advanced careers in order to boost female representation in leadership positions.
View
Creating a Caring Society
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2000
View
View
Gender Gap and Access to Finance: A Cross-country Analysis
Article
  • Feb 2022
Using rich firm-level dataset pertaining to 80 countries, this paper investigates the relationship between institutional gender equality and financial constraints of women-led firms. We employ a broad index of gender inequality as well as alternate measures in terms of economic, educational, and political inequality. We observe that institutional gender equality benefit female entrepreneurs’ access to finance. In addition, in a gender-equal environment, we observe that female-owned and female-managed firms are less likely to be discouraged from applying for formal finance. We find these effects are more pronounced in the case of SMEs and young firms. Further, our results suggest that economic, educational, and political gender equality is vital to improving women enterprises access to external finance.
View
The Effects of Fairness on Female Managers’ Perception of Career Prospects and Job Satisfaction: A Study across Sectors
Article
  • Feb 2021
The perception of organizational fairness is particularly important to women employees, who constantly confront challenges while climbing the hierarchy. This study examines the impacts of the fairness of three organizational levels – Superior, CEO, and HR practices – on women’s career prospects and job satisfaction. We constructed a panel dataset using three waves of the Korean Women Manager Panel with 1,115 women managers across the three sectors in South Korea. We find that women managers’ job satisfaction is positively associated with the fairness of superiors and HR practices in all three sectors, while the fairness of CEO has no impact on job satisfaction in all three sectors. We also find that the fairness of CEO has a positive impact on career prospects in the for-profit sector but no such impact in the public and nonprofit sectors. The findings suggest that CEO fairness may involve procedural justice rather than interactional justice.
View
Access to credit by SMEs in South Asia: Do Women Entrepreneurs Face Discrimination
Article
  • May 2017
  • Res Int Bus Finance
This study investigates gender balance in the credit market for small and medium enterprise (SME) finance in South Asia. This current study is significant in that it provides insights for emerging economies into the danger of second-best solutions resulting from capital market imperfections. Using data sourced from World Bank Enterprise Surveys, recognises the likely endogeneity of gender in credit constraints. Using IV-probit estimation we find that enterprises owned by female entrepreneurs are on average 3% less likely to be credit constrained compared to their male counterparts.
View
Changing priorities for female managers in mid-career: How perceptions of work can change
Article
  • May 2016
Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Middle-age is regarded as a significant stage of life. It is typically either perceived as a time of crisis or an ideal opportunity for new beginnings. The common denominator is that major decisions are the norm on both sides of this particular debate. The issue is especially pertinent in the context of careers. Reaching a mid-career point often prompts individuals to evaluate current and past experiences and relationships in order to guide future direction. Practical implication The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent, information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
View
A fuzzy relative of the ISODATA Process and Its Use in Detecting Compact Well-Separated Clusters
Article
  • Nov 1973
Two fuzzy versions of the k-means optimal, least squared error partitioning problem are formulated for finite subsets X of a general inner product space. In both cases, the extremizing solutions are shown to be fixed points of a certain operator T on the class of fuzzy, k-partitions of X, and simple iteration of T provides an algorithm which has the descent property relative to the least squared error criterion function. In the first case, the range of T consists largely of ordinary (i.e. non-fuzzy) partitions of X and the associated iteration scheme is essentially the well known ISODATA process of Ball and Hall. However, in the second case, the range of T consists mainly of fuzzy partitions and the associated algorithm is new; when X consists of k compact well separated (CWS) clusters, Xi, this algorithm generates a limiting partition with membership functions which closely approximate the characteristic functions of the clusters Xi. However, when X is not the union of k CWS clusters, the limiting partition is truly fuzzy in the sense that the values of its component membership functions differ substantially from 0 or 1 over certain regions of X. Thus, unlike ISODATA, the “fuzzy” algorithm signals the presence or absence of CWS clusters in X. Furthermore, the fuzzy algorithm seems significantly less prone to the “cluster-splitting” tendency of ISODATA and may also be less easily diverted to uninteresting locally optimal partitions. Finally, for data sets X consisting of dense CWS clusters embedded in a diffuse background of strays, the structure of X is accurately reflected in the limiting partition generated by the fuzzy algorithm. Mathematical arguments and numerical results are offered in support of the foregoing assertions.
View