We argue that gender roles influence managers’ interpretation of professional social network ties. Analyzing perceptions of competence and affective camaraderie in the professional social networks of female and male managers, we observed how these factors related to upward career mobility for men and women. We show that women occupying high positions in organizational hierarchies have more relationships underlined with affect and evaluate their network members as more competent. For men, the opposite is true: the higher up in the organizational hierarchy they are, they report less competent network members, and less affect in their networks

Tanja Sliskovic, PhD

Assistant Professor, Organization and Management Department Faculty of Economics and Business University of Zagreb