We use affect control theory (ACT) and its computer simulation program, Interact, to theoretically model the interactional dynamics that women and men business executives are likely to face in the workplace, and we show how these dynamics may contribute to the gender gap in business leadership. Using data from 520 simulated events and two analysis strategies, we use ACT to develop empirically grounded hypotheses regarding these processes. The simulations suggest that women executives face a wider range of situations that require gender deviance than men executives, many of which may be unavoidable (e.g., confronting an unreliable employee). They also suggest that observers will attribute negative characteristics to both women and men executives who engage in a gender-deviant action but that the characteristics attributed to gender-deviant women executives (e.g., ruthless, sadistic) move their identity further from the affective meaning of “an executive” than the characteristics attributed to comparably gender-deviant men executives (e.g., awestruck, gullible), patterns that are likely to make the path to and retention of business leadership positions more difficult for women. We also discuss how our approach could be used to theorize about interactional processes underlying other inequalities, including those based on race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, disability, and age.

中文翻译：

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企业领导力中的性别差距：影响控制理论解释

我们使用情感控制理论（ACT）及其计算机仿真程序Interact从理论上对男女企业高管在工作场所可能面临的互动动态进行建模，并展示这些动态如何助长企业中的性别差距领导。利用来自520个模拟事件的数据和两种分析策略，我们使用ACT来开发关于这些过程的基于经验的假设。模拟结果表明，与男性高管相比，女性高管面临的性别差异更大，其中许多情况是不可避免的（例如，面对不可靠的员工）。他们还建议观察者将负面特征归因于从事性别偏离行为的男女高管，但归因于性别偏离女性主管的特征（例如，无情，虐待狂）将其身份从情感的意义上移开。 “高管”，而不是具有相对性别差异的男性高管（例如，敬畏，易变的人）所具有的特征，这种模式可能会使女性更难获得和保留企业领导职务。我们还将讨论如何使用我们的方法来理论化其他不平等背后的相互作用过程，包括基于种族，种族，阶级，性取向，残疾和年龄的那些不平等。虐待狂）将他们的身份从“高管”的情感含义中移开，而不是将性别差异过大的男性高管（例如敬畏，易变的人）所赋予的特征，可能使企业领导职位更趋并留任的模式女人很难。我们还将讨论如何使用我们的方法来理论化其他不平等背后的相互作用过程，包括基于种族，种族，阶级，性取向，残疾和年龄的那些不平等。虐待狂）将他们的身份从“高管”的情感含义中移开，而不是将性别差异过大的男性高管（例如敬畏，易变的人）所赋予的特征，可能使企业领导职位更趋并留任的模式女人很难。我们还将讨论如何使用我们的方法来理论化其他不平等背后的相互作用过程，包括基于种族，种族，阶级，性取向，残疾和年龄的那些不平等。