Marginality and the Organizational Socialization of Female Managers

Abstract

Although social movements and legislation have provided the impetus for women to enter the managerial ranks, relatively few females have become top-level managers. Using the sociological theory of marginality, the paper explores this phenomenon and suggests that women are still caught between emerging corporate and traditional roles. Implications of this marginal status are then examined in the context of the multistaged process of organizational socialization.