Dear HR Executive:
Does your organization walk the walk when it comes to equal opportunities for women? Or do low expectations and hidden barriers continue to block their path? I was reminded about how insidious those barriers can be by a fascinating new study of golf courses. Yes, golf courses! It seems many have a “grass ceiling” when it comes to female golfers.
Three researchers from the University of New Mexico looked at data from about 455 golf courses in all 50 states. Each course was matched with a census locale. In parallel, the researchers looked at locality-specific earnings data for men and women in three occupations for which networking is critical – sales, sales and marketing management, and general management. Here’s what the researchers – two men and one woman – found:
Distance from tee to green
In geographical areas where the women’s tees were farther in front of the men’s tees (the average national distance was 50 yards) women managers consistently earned less money than comparable men. In other words, short distances for women correlated closely with short salaries. Why is this? The researchers saw two reasons:
- Where women’s tees are closer to the hole, there may be negative beliefs about women’s golfing prowess – and abilities in general.
- Large tee-box distances tend to segregate men and women into separate golf carts, and limit the time women spend networking with men in carts and waiting to tee off.
Although many overt barriers to women’s advancement have come down, the researchers concluded, “We are left with more subtle barriers like different golf tee placements.” Does your organization harbor any such barriers? It might be worth running a self-check to see.
John Hiatt
Executive Editor
Source: “The Impact of Gender-Differentiated Golf Course Structures on Women’s Networking Abilities,” by Michelle M. Arthur et al. Info: www.aomonline.org
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