Gender and professional e-networks: Implications of gender heterophily on job search facilitation and outcomes

A lack of access to high stature, typically male, professional contacts and the social capital they provide is one likely barrier to women's career advancement. The increasing use of electronic professional networking sites is making these high value contacts more accessible and changing the composition characteristics of people's professional networks; yet limited research explores e-networks in professional contexts. This study examines the role of gender heterophily on e-network facilitation and, in turn, on a set of job-search related outcomes through a survey of full-time, salaried LinkedIn users. We find that women's e-networks are characterized by greater gender heterophilly than men's. E-networks comprised of high proportions of ties with men enabled individuals to experience shorter job search duration and attain higher salaries. These effects were partially explained by the increased likelihood of receiving direct assistance from a network contact to secure new employment (i.e. network facilitation). Women's e-networks are characterized by greater gender heterophilly than men's.A higher proportion of ties with men enabled shorter job search duration.A higher proportion of ties with men enabled higher salaries.Higher likelihood of direct assistance from a contact partially explained effects.

[1]  B. Reskin,et al.  A Sociological Perspective on Gender and Career Outcomes , 2005 .

[2]  Ray Reagans,et al.  Preferences, Identity, and Competition: Predicting Tie Strength from Demographic Data , 2005, Manag. Sci..

[3]  M. McPherson,et al.  Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks , 2001 .

[4]  J. Cotton,et al.  Mentor functions and outcomes: a comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships. , 1999 .

[5]  Susan Vinnicombe,et al.  Gender and Impression Management: Playing the Promotion Game , 2002 .

[6]  Roberto M. Fernandez,et al.  Social Capital at Work: Networks and Employment at a Phone Center , 2000, American Journal of Sociology.

[7]  Ann M. Morrison,et al.  Women and minorities in management. , 1990 .

[8]  Nan Lin,et al.  Network diversity, contact diversity, and status attainment , 2012, Soc. Networks.

[9]  Nick Bryan-Kinns,et al.  Exploring mutual engagement in creative collaborations , 2007, C&C '07.

[10]  Elena Obukhova,et al.  Do Job Seekers Benefit from Contacts? A Direct Test with Contemporaneous Searches , 2013, Manag. Sci..

[11]  W. Markham,et al.  Social structure and intergroup interaction: men and women of the federal bureaucracy , 1982 .

[12]  Lillian T. Eby,et al.  Predictors of Networking Intensity and Network Quality Among White-Collar Job Seekers , 2006 .

[13]  Herminia Ibarra,et al.  Paving an alternative route : Gender differences in managerial networks , 1997 .

[14]  Claude S. Fischer,et al.  A Research Note on Friendship, Gender, and the Life Cycle , 1983 .

[15]  Fred Luthans,et al.  A Descriptive Model of Managerial Effectiveness , 1988 .

[16]  G. Yukl,et al.  Managerial Level and Subunit Function as Determinants of Networking Behavior in Organizations , 1993 .

[17]  Thomas W. Dougherty,et al.  Networking behaviors and career outcomes: differences for men and women? , 2004 .

[18]  Ellen A. Ensher,et al.  Virtual relationships and real benefits: using e‐mentoring to connect business students with practicing managers , 2008 .

[19]  Maria L. Kraimer,et al.  A Social Capital Theory of Career Success , 2001 .

[20]  M. Sobel.  Asymptotic Confidence Intervals for Indirect Effects in Structural Equation Models , 1982 .

[21]  Marco S. DiRenzo,et al.  Relationship between protean career orientation and work–life balance: A resource perspective , 2015 .

[22]  H. Ibarra.  Race, Opportunity, And Diversity Of Social Circles In Managerial Networks , 1995 .

[23]  Connie R. Wanberg,et al.  Predictors and outcomes of networking intensity among unemployed job seekers. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[24]  L. Ehrich.  Mentoring and Networking for Women Educators , 1994 .

[25]  Timothy R. Hill,et al.  Gender Differences in Social Networking Presence Effects on Web Based Impression Formation , 2009, AMCIS.

[26]  Stacy D. Blake-Beard.  Taking a hard look at formal mentoring programs , 2001 .

[27]  M. Thelwall.  Social networks, gender, and friending: An analysis of MySpace member profiles , 2008 .

[28]  Sarah Pedersen,et al.  Gender Differences in British Blogging , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[29]  M. Morris,et al.  Do People Mix at Mixers? Structure, Homophily, and the “Life of the Party” , 2007 .

[30]  Jeffrey J. Johnson,et al.  Gender Differences in Email and Instant Messaging: A Study of Undergraduate Business Information Systems Students , 2008, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[31]  Karen E. Campbell,et al.  Gender Differences in Job-Related Networks , 1988 .

[32]  Hans-Georg Wolff,et al.  Effects of networking on career success: a longitudinal study. , 2009, The Journal of applied psychology.

[33]  P. V. Marsden,et al.  Social Networks, Job Changes, and Recruitment , 2001 .

[34]  Daniel J. Brass,et al.  At the Margins: A Distinctiveness Approach to the Social Identity and Social Networks of Underrepresented Groups , 1998 .

[35]  Valerie Barker,et al.  Older Adolescents' Motivations for Social Network Site Use: The Influence of Gender, Group Identity, and Collective Self-Esteem , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[36]  Jeffrey Pfeffer,et al.  Organizational Demography: Implications for Management , 1985 .

[37]  Chad Edwards,et al.  Social presence on LinkedIn: Perceived credibility and interpersonal attractiveness based on user profile picture , 2015 .

[38]  H. Ibarra.  Personal Networks of Women and Minorities in Management: A Conceptual Framework , 1993 .

[39]  Stephen B. Knouse,et al.  Virtual networking for women and minorities , 2001 .

[40]  Eileen M. Trauth,et al.  Women and Social Capital Networks in the IT Workforce , 2006 .

[41]  Larry E. Penley,et al.  Career strategies and salary progression: A study of their relationships in a municipal bureaucracy , 1984 .

[42]  Martin Euwema,et al.  Networking your way through the organization , 2013 .

[43]  Daniel J. Brass.  Men's and Women's Networks: A Study of Interaction Patterns and Influence In an Organization , 1985 .

[44]  H. Ibarra.  Homophily and differential returns: Sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. , 1992 .

[45]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[46]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[47]  G. Green,et al.  Racial and ethnic differences in job-search strategies in Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles , 1999 .

[48]  Diane H. Sonnenwald,et al.  Interactivity Between Protégés and Scientists in an Electronic Mentoring Program , 2006 .

[49]  Jay H. Hardy,et al.  Understanding the role of networking in organizations , 2014 .

[50]  Vladlena Benson,et al.  Social career management: Social media and employability skills gap , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[51]  Adalbert Mayer,et al.  Online social networks in economics , 2009, Decis. Support Syst..

[52]  Maura A. Belliveau.  Blind Ambition? The Effects of Social Networks and Institutional Sex Composition on the Job Search Outcomes of Elite Coeducational and Women's College Graduates , 2005 .

[53]  Yannis M. Ioannides,et al.  Job Information Networks, Neighborhood Effects, and Inequality , 2004 .

[54]  Geraldine Pratt,et al.  Job Search and the Occupational Segregation of Women , 1991 .

[55]  H. Flap,et al.  Assortative Meeting and Mating: Unintended Consequences of Organized Settings for Partner Choices , 2001 .

[56]  J. Montgomery.  Social Networks and Labor-Market Outcomes: Toward an Economic Analysis , 1991 .

[57]  S. Jackson,et al.  Cross-level effects of workplace diversity on sales performance and pay , 2006 .

[58]  Leigh Anne Clark,et al.  Employer’s Use of Social Networking Sites: A Socially Irresponsible Practice , 2010 .

[59]  Valery Yakubovich,et al.  Stages of the Recruitment Process and the Referrer's Performance Effect , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[60]  Jonathan Donner,et al.  The Rules of Beeping: Exchanging Messages Via Intentional "Missed Calls" on Mobile Phones , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[61]  Sarah van der Land,et al.  Professional Personal Branding: - Using a "Think-Aloud" Protocol to Investigate How Recruiters Judge LinkedIN Profile Pictures , 2016, HCI.

[62]  A. Akkerman,et al.  Does where you stand depend on how you behave? Networking behavior as an alternative explanation for gender differences in network structure , 2013, Journal of Management & Organization.

[63]  Kevin Borders,et al.  Social networks and context-aware spam , 2008, CSCW.

[64]  N. Bozionelos.  Intra‐organizational network resources: How they relate to career success and organizational commitment , 2008 .

[65]  Dina Shatnawi.  The Online Professional Social Network: Further Understanding the Relationship between Contacts and Labor Market Outcomes , 2015 .

[66]  P. V. Marsden,et al.  Homogeneity in confiding relations , 1988 .

[67]  James D. Westphal,et al.  How Experience and Network Ties Affect the Influence of Demographic Minorities on Corporate Boards , 2000 .

[68]  Jian Han,et al.  Network-based recruiting and applicant attraction in China: insights from both organizational and individual perspectives , 2009 .

[69]  Lindsey Trimble O'Connor,et al.  Ask and you shall receive: Social network contacts' provision of help during the job search , 2013, Soc. Networks.

[70]  Amy Bruckman,et al.  Why it works (when it works): success factors in online creative collaboration , 2010, GROUP.

[71]  Eszter Hargittai,et al.  Whose Space? Differences Among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[72]  Axel Franzen,et al.  Social Networks and Labour Market Outcomes: The Non-Monetary Benefits of Social Capital , 2006 .

[73]  Emilio J. Castilla.  Vaccines: Preventing Disease & Protecting Health Edited by Ciro A. de Quadros Annapolis Junction, MD: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Publications, 2004. 412 pp., illustrated. $62.00 (paper) , 2005 .

[74]  Shannon Scielzo,et al.  A comparison of face-to-face and electronic peer-mentoring: Interactions with mentor gender , 2008 .

[75]  N. Weinberg,et al.  Sifting and sorting : Personal contacts and hiring in a retail bank , 1997 .

[76]  L. Smith-Lovin,et al.  Homophily in voluntary organizations: Status distance and the composition of face-to-face groups. , 1987 .

[77]  Matthew Bidwell,et al.  Do Women Choose Different Jobs from Men? Mechanisms of Application Segregation in the Market for Managerial Workers , 2013, Organ. Sci..

[78]  Lynn Smith-Lovin,et al.  Women and Weak Ties: Differences by Sex in the Size of Voluntary Organizations , 1982, American Journal of Sociology.

[79]  Marco S. DiRenzo,et al.  A moderated mediation model of e-mentoring , 2010 .

[80]  Philip N. Cohen,et al.  Engendering Change: Organizational Dynamics and Workplace Gender Desegregation, 1975–2005 , 2010 .

[81]  Alexandra Kalev,et al.  Are Referrals More Productive or More Likeable? Social Networks and the Evaluation of Merit , 2014 .

[82]  David Beer,et al.  Social network(ing) sites...revisiting the story so far: A response to danah boyd & Nicole Ellison , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[83]  Ronald S. Burt,et al.  The network structure of management roles in a large matrix firm , 1992 .

[84]  Nadine V. Kegen.  Science Networks in Cutting-edge Research Institutions: Gender Homophily and Embeddedness in Formal and Informal Networks☆ , 2013 .

[85]  Jon Olson,et al.  Rationality and Equity in Professional Networks: Gender and Race as Factors in the Stratification of Interorganizational Systems , 1981, American Journal of Sociology.