Influence of gender equality practices and work–life programs on women in leadership, management, and nonmanagement: The role of industry gender composition

Gender equality remains a persistent challenge worldwide. Little is known about the impact of equality initiatives in improving women’s representation in organizations in different industry contexts. Drawing on the theory of workplace inequality remediation and signaling theory, we investigate how gender equality practices and work–life programs influence women’s representation in leadership (top management team), lower-to-middle management (LTMM), and nonmanagement, and assess whether industry gender composition moderates these relationships. Using a large archival dataset spanning 7 years, our 1-year lagged panel analyses show that work–life programs are positively associated with women’s representation at all three organizational levels, whereas gender equality practices are not significantly related to women’s representation. Industry-specific results indicate that gender equality practices enhance women’s representation in nonmanagement in female-tilted industries, while work–life programs improve women’s representation in LTMM and nonmanagement in male-tilted/balanced industries. Together, these findings demonstrate that while gender equality practices may be insufficient on their own and work–life programs serve as effective mechanisms for advancing women’s representation, their effects are contingent on industry context. We note theoretical and research contributions and practical implications.