Gender differences in performance motivation

Published on:

22 January 2006

Men and women differ in their perceptions of what is important and motivating for good work performance, a
Czech survey reveals. The distribution of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards should, therefore, be tied to the
specific needs or preferences of men and women.
The Research Institute of Labour and Social Affairs carried out an analysis on motivations for good work
performance under a project entitled Measuring the Quality of Working Life (CZ0502SR01). The results are
based on an extensive employee survey, which was conducted in October 2004.

Motivating factors
Employees in the Czech Republic consider financial compensation, in the form of basic pay, as the most
important factor motivating good performance. Positive inter-personal relations in the workplace are ranked in
second place, followed by respectful treatment by the employer.
From a gender perspective, men place a higher value than women do on the so-called instrumental values
(basic salary and bonuses) as motivational factors in their work performance and identification with the employer.
Women, on the other hand, place more importance than men do on inter-personal relationships at the workplace,
respectful treatment by the employer, and the possibility of reconciling work and family life. Thus, it is clear that
women place more value on so-called soft issues.
Table 1: Gender gap in key drivers of motivation and commitment
Gender gap in key drivers of motivation and commitment

Extremely/ Very
important (%)
Promotion opportunities

Long-term career potential

Learning and development

Flexible working arrangements

Bonuses**

Benefits

Work-life balance**

Important
(%)

Not very
important/Not
important at all (%)

Men

36.8

34.7

28.6

Women

32.5

37.3

30.2

Men

37.6

35.3

27.1

Women

34.2

34.1

31.7

Men

38.0

39.7

22.3

Women

40.5

38.0

21.5

Men

44.5

43.5

11.9

Women

43.7

43.3

13.0

Men

58.2

34.9

7.0

Women

52.7

37.4

9.9

Men

56.8

35.6

7.6

Women

55.1

34.8

10.1

Men

59.1

36.3

4.5

Women

65.8

31.1

3.1

Nature of work

Providing good service to

customers/colleagues**

Being treated with respect**

People you work with**

Basic pay *

Men

63.1

33.8

3.1

Women

61.8

34.3

3.8

Men

63.4

33.0

3.6

Women

69.1

28.9

2.0

Men

69.4

28.0

2.6

Women

76.3

22.3

1.4

Men

78.1

20.4

1.5

Women

83.4

15.8

0.9

Men

85.0

14.2

0.8

Women

80.4

18.7

0.9

Chi squared test: Statistically, significant differences exist between men and women at confidence level: *
p?0.05; **p?0.01

Fewer differences at management level

Women and men holding managerial posts do not differ in the way they rate individual motivation factors, an
analysis of motivation according to superiority in the workplace reveals. Gender differences were found only
among rank-and-file staff. This finding supports the notion, often cited in specialist literature, that women in
management adapt to male thinking and conduct, whether knowingly or not, and internalise the values
prevailing in a male-dominated labour market.
As certain public opinion surveys have shown (Kalnick, 2000), female managers are not universally accepted by
the Czech public. The fact that Czech society still regards women in management as unusual may result in a
greater likelihood of these managers encountering prejudice or discrimination. For this reason, it might be
beneficial for female managers to assimilate behaviour patterns typical for men in the same positions. This kind
of behaviour will more likely enable them to meet the general expectations associated with the role of manager.
Focusing solely on women, the logical consequence of the previous conclusions is the emergence of two
different employee categories. Compared with other female employees, women in management are more
motivated by: the nature of the work (67%, compared with 61% of female employees who stated that the
particular aspect of work/reward is extremely or very important); the chance of promotion (48%, compared with
29%); and long-term career growth (47%, compared with 31%). Female managers are also more likely than other
working women to regard as motivating the chance of acquiring new skills and opportunities for personal growth
(57%, compared with 37%).

Perception of reward systems

Women regard reward systems as unfair and unrelated to their performance more frequently than men do. More
than a quarter of Czech female employees are convinced that they are not remunerated according to their
performance; just one in five male employees thinks so.
More women than men feel undervalued compared with male/female colleagues in the same position in the
company. When respondents compared themselves with colleagues in the same position, 57.2% of men and
51.6% of women rated their remuneration as fair. More women than men also believe that they work in
companies where they are paid less than employees in other firms in the same locality.
This suggests that, in the subjective opinion of respondents, there still exist a number of companies where equal
and transparent, performance-related pay is not a matter of course.
Table 2: Fairness and transparency of reward system, as perceived by men and women
Perceived fairness and transparency of reward system

Total
(%)

Men
(%)

Women (%)

Gender gap
(p.p.)

My pay is fair with regard to my performance

and contribution to the organisations results

I think I am fairly paid when compared with

others working in a similar position in my
organisation

Remuneration in our organisation is sufficiently

performance-related

I think that my pay in my organisation is

comparable to or better than in other
organisations in our area
I think that my pay in the organisation is
comparable to or better than in organisations in
our sector

47.3

48.9

45.4

3.5

30.9

31.9

29.8

2.1

21.8

19.2

24.8

-5.6

54.6

57.2

51.6

5.6

28.1

27.3

29.0

-1.8

17.3

15.6

19.4

-3.8

48.7

50.9

46.2

4.7

28.7

29.3

28.1

1.1

22.6

19.9

25.7

-5.8

46.9

49.2

44.1

5.1

29.7

30.0

29.4

0.5

23.4

20.8

26.4

-5.6

42.2

43.9

40.1

3.8

33.2

32.8

33.7

-0.9

24.6

23.3

26.2

-2.9

1) I certainly agree/agree rather than disagree; 2) Neither yes nor no; 3) I certainly dont agree/disagree rather
than agree.

References
Kalnick,V., Men and women in managerial positions. Survey information , IVVM 00-07, 2000.
Vakov, R., Employee rewards as a source of motivation. How Czech women and men in the workplace
perceive them , Paper presented at the international Women, Work and Health Conference, New Delhi, India,
November 2005.

Source URL (modified on 2006-01-22 22:00):

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/articles/gender-differences-in-performancemotivation

14 January 2017