Date of Award

2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Bowen, Cheih-Chen

Subject Headings

Psychology, Quantitative Psychology, Sociology

Abstract

The current study aims at examining the effects of sex, race, and socioeconomic status on young Malaysians; attitudes toward women as managers and the perceived barriers to their own careers. This paper also examined a moderated mediation, with the moderator being the working status of an individual's mother and the mediator being gender role attitudes. A great wealth of research in this area has been conducted in the Western culture, but much less is known about Malaysia and its young adults. This study provides a historical and sociocultural overview of Malaysia, and how its unique sociopolitical and societal structure impacts the relationships among the variables. Results indicated that women have more favorable and positive attitudes toward women as managers than their male counterparts; individuals who have higher socioeconomic status have more favorable and positive attitudes toward women as managers, and individuals with higher socioeconomic status also seem to perceive fewer barriers to employment than those with lower socioeconomic status. Results also indicated that contrary to what previous literature have demonstrated, the working status of an individual's mother did not play a significant role in the relationship of the examined variables. This paper also discusses some practical implications for policy makers and organizations.

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