Problem Organizational structure may create and reinforce barriers for women’s leadership journeys. Ambiguity about organizational structure shrouds how those barriers manifest. For organizations seeking to be equitable, that ambiguity presents a hurdle in understanding systemic barriers. Solution This paper offers new insights by providing a user-friendly, evidence-based definition of organizational structure and classification of its systems. Drawing from existing research, organizational structure is defined as the relatively stable characteristics and manifestations of an organization’s systems, constructed by members and their interactions. Structure is classified into seven systems: (1) positions, tasks, and status; (2) selection, promotion, and turnover; (3) authority and decision making; (4) rules and procedures; (5) development and training; (6) performance monitoring and evaluation; (7) reward systems. Women’s leadership-related barriers are then mapped on, creating a framework for assessing systems-level impacts. Stakeholders This user-friendly framework is meant to benefit organizations and their members and human resources practitioners, and scholars.
","abstract_html":"<p>Problem Organizational structure may create and reinforce barriers for women’s leadership journeys. Ambiguity about organizational structure shrouds how those barriers manifest. For organizations seeking to be equitable, that ambiguity presents a hurdle in understanding systemic barriers. Solution This paper offers new insights by providing a user-friendly, evidence-based definition of organizational structure and classification of its systems. Drawing from existing research, organizational structure is defined as the relatively stable characteristics and manifestations of an organization’s systems, constructed by members and their interactions. Structure is classified into seven systems: (1) positions, tasks, and status; (2) selection, promotion, and turnover; (3) authority and decision making; (4) rules and procedures; (5) development and training; (6) performance monitoring and evaluation; (7) reward systems. Women’s leadership-related barriers are then mapped on, creating a framework for assessing systems-level impacts. Stakeholders This user-friendly framework is meant to benefit organizations and their members and human resources practitioners, and scholars.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Trainor, Leslie L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psychology, PhD","degree_level":"Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michelle C. Bligh","Stephen W. Gilliland","Susan E. Murphy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:17Z","subjects":["Organizational structure","Structural systems","Women in leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1026","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michelle C. Bligh","Stephen W. Gilliland","Susan E. Murphy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Trainor, Leslie L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2027-08-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psychology, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Organizational structure","Structural systems","Women in leadership"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1026"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Problem Organizational structure may create and reinforce barriers for women’s leadership journeys. Ambiguity about organizational structure shrouds how those barriers manifest. For organizations seeking to be equitable, that ambiguity presents a hurdle in understanding systemic barriers. Solution This paper offers new insights by providing a user-friendly, evidence-based definition of organizational structure and classification of its systems. Drawing from existing research, organizational structure is defined as the relatively stable characteristics and manifestations of an organization’s systems, constructed by members and their interactions. Structure is classified into seven systems: (1) positions, tasks, and status; (2) selection, promotion, and turnover; (3) authority and decision making; (4) rules and procedures; (5) development and training; (6) performance monitoring and evaluation; (7) reward systems. Women’s leadership-related barriers are then mapped on, creating a framework for assessing systems-level impacts. Stakeholders This user-friendly framework is meant to benefit organizations and their members and human resources practitioners, and scholars.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Role of Organizational Structure in Women’s Leadership"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michelle C. Bligh","Stephen W. Gilliland","Susan E. Murphy"],"dc:creator":["Trainor, Leslie L."],"dc:date.available":["2027-08-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Problem Organizational structure may create and reinforce barriers for women’s leadership journeys. Ambiguity about organizational structure shrouds how those barriers manifest. For organizations seeking to be equitable, that ambiguity presents a hurdle in understanding systemic barriers. Solution This paper offers new insights by providing a user-friendly, evidence-based definition of organizational structure and classification of its systems. Drawing from existing research, organizational structure is defined as the relatively stable characteristics and manifestations of an organization’s systems, constructed by members and their interactions. Structure is classified into seven systems: (1) positions, tasks, and status; (2) selection, promotion, and turnover; (3) authority and decision making; (4) rules and procedures; (5) development and training; (6) performance monitoring and evaluation; (7) reward systems. Women’s leadership-related barriers are then mapped on, creating a framework for assessing systems-level impacts. Stakeholders This user-friendly framework is meant to benefit organizations and their members and human resources practitioners, and scholars.
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