Question

Does a woman’s attire affect her climb up the corporate ladder? Many years ago, women in executive positions were attired in somber business suits and blouses with bows at the neck. As women achieved more security in executive positions through their performance within the corporate structure, media reports indicated that successful female executives could now look more feminine. However, studies published in the academic literature indicated that even with relaxed dress codes in the business workplace, it is still not acceptable for women to appear too feminine in the workplace.

According to a leading newspaper, this result does not mean that a dark suit is the only acceptable professional dress; tailored dresses and skirts worn with a jacket are also acceptable business attire for women. Apparently, a women whose dress is “extremely feminine gives the message that she needs to be taken care of” or that she is not as serious as someone dressing more conservatively. This dual standard concerning dress codes seems to have little to do with performance. Nonetheless, “women whose clothes were described as conservative were twice as likely to receive promotions as those whose dress was labeled as frilly, frivolous, or sexy.”

As part of the survey conducted by (Copp?), 298 women in corporate sales positions were classified according to their perceived job performance and their type of dress. The data is presented below:

______________________________________________________

Job                                          Very                            Just                  Sexy &             Poorly

Performance                           Conservative              Appropriate    Fashionable    Dressed

Outstanding Performers        12.5%                         12.6%              11.5%             10.1%

Above Average                       59.4%                          37.75%                        29.45%                        30.5%

Just Average                           21.1%                          40.70%                        46.75%                        42.4%

Failing                                     7.0%                            8.95%              12.3%             17.0%

Total                                       92                                95                    59                    52

_____________________________________________________________________________

Does the information provided in the above table appear to support the contention that job performance evaluations for women in corporate positions depend upon their choice of attire?

Let α=0.05

Rubrics:

1. Correct observed value in each cell – 10 points

2. Correct expected value in each cell – 10 points

(Remember that if your observed values are wrong you will get zero for this HW; if your

expected values are wrong, you will get zero also).

3. Correct null and alternative hypothesis – 5 points

4. Correct computation of Chi-square. (Remember that you have 4 rows and 4 columns. So you have to compute 16 times). 50 points

5. Correct degrees of freedom - 5 points

6. Correct critical value – 5 points

7. Correct statistical decision- 3 points

8. Correct conclusion – 2 points

Answer 1

The hypothesis being tested is:

H0: Job performance evaluations for women in corporate positions does not depend upon their choice of attire

Ha: Job performance evaluations for women in corporate positions depend upon their choice of attire

		Col 1	Col 2	Col 3	Col 4	Total
Row 1	Observed	13	13	12	10	47
	Expected	11.68	11.68	11.68	11.68	46.70
	O - E	0.82	0.92	-0.18	-1.58	0.00
	(O - E)² / E	0.06	0.07	0.00	0.21	0.35
Row 2	Observed	59	38	29	31	157
	Expected	39.28	39.28	39.28	39.28	157.10
	O - E	20.13	-1.53	-9.83	-8.78	0.00
	(O - E)² / E	10.31	0.06	2.46	1.96	14.79
Row 3	Observed	21	41	47	42	151
	Expected	37.74	37.74	37.74	37.74	150.95
	O - E	-16.64	2.96	9.01	4.66	0.00
	(O - E)² / E	7.34	0.23	2.15	0.58	10.30
Row 4	Observed	7	9	12	17	45
	Expected	11.31	11.31	11.31	11.31	45.25
	O - E	-4.31	-2.36	0.99	5.69	0.00
	(O - E)² / E	1.64	0.49	0.09	2.86	5.08
Total	Observed	100	100	100	100	400
	Expected	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	400.00
	O - E	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
	(O - E)² / E	19.35	0.86	4.70	5.61	30.52
		3.33	critical value
		30.52	chi-square
		9	df
		.0004	p-value

The p-value is 0.0004.

Since the p-value (0.0004) is less than the significance level (0.05), we can reject the null hypothesis.

Therefore, we can conclude that job performance evaluations for women in corporate positions depend upon their choice of attire.