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Influence of Biological Sex and Gender Roles on Ethicality

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Abstract

Earlier evidence predominantly supports that women are more ethical than men. With the replication of such a hypothesis for testing, this study further examined whether feminine gender roles are a better predictor of ethical attitudes, ethical behaviors, and corporate responsibility values than the biological sex. Four hundred ten management students from two technical institutes in eastern India participated in this study. Along with the socio-demographic variables in the questionnaire, inventories were used to assess gender roles, ethical attitudes, ethical behaviors, and corporate responsibility values. The inventories had acceptable reliability and validity. The results suggested that when the confounding effects of age, caste, and rural/urban origin are controlled, women manifest higher corporate responsibility values than men, but they embody similar ethical attitudes and ethical behaviors as men. Furthermore, the feminine roles of the participants were found to be more consistent, potent, and direct predictors of ethical attitudes, ethical behaviors, and corporate responsibility values than the biological sex. Hence, individuals with feminine roles may be better suited for ethical responsibilities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Alex Michalos, Editor in Chief, and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticisms and suggestions to improve the quality of the manuscript.

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  1. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721 302, West Bengal, India

    Damodar Suar & Jyotiranjan Gochhayat

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  1. Damodar Suar
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Correspondence to Damodar Suar.

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Suar, D., Gochhayat, J. Influence of Biological Sex and Gender Roles on Ethicality. J Bus Ethics 134, 199–208 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2424-0

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