The Role of Gender Attributions in Shaping Employee Attitudes and Behaviors: A Perspective From Attribution Theory

ABSTRACT This study examines how employees use ability‐based and gender‐based explanations to make sense of promotion and pay decisions, and how these attributional interpretations relate to employees' attitudes. Drawing on survey and organizational data from 1651 employees in a large Italian bank, we employ latent profile analysis to identify four attributional profiles characterized by different configurations of attributions to ability and gender in explaining promotion and pay decisions. These profiles provide valuable insights into the diverse—and sometimes ambiguous—ways individuals interpret the role of gender in organizational decisions. Our person‐centered methodology allows for a holistic examination of individuals, revealing how attributions interconnect to relate to employee attitudes. Specifically, we examine how these attributional profiles relate to distributive justice, work engagement, affective organizational commitment and perceived organizational support while accounting for demographic and work‐related covariates, including age, gender, seniority, education, performance, role‐level compensation and the role‐specific gender pay gap. Results indicate that demographic characteristics—such as age, seniority, and gender—play a more significant role in predicting profile membership than objective role‐ and pay‐related indicators. By deepening our comprehension of the cognitive mechanisms underlying attributions, and by acknowledging the influence of individual differences, sociocultural factors and attributional ambiguity, organizations can better address gender‐related concerns in promotion and compensation processes. This understanding is crucial for designing and communicating effective compensation and career advancement strategies, while supporting employees' perceptions of fairness, development opportunities, and career progression.