Patterns of managerial effectiveness and career development for male and female MBAs

Anne Harlan, Radcliffe College. Henry A. Murray Research Center

These data were collected in 1976 to explore the behavioral patterns and antecedents which differentiate more successful from less successful managers and to determine the extent to which these patterns vary by sex. In May, 1976, questionnaires were sent to the 340 women who had graduated from Harvard Business School's MBA program during the 16 years women had been enrolled, and to a random sample of 938 male MBA's stratified by year of degree and age from those years (1960-1975). A total of 185 women and 500 men completed the questionnaire. The data collection instrument was a 10-page self-administered questionnaire consisting of both precoded and open-ended questions on demographics, educational background, work history, job transitions, objective measures of success, attitudinal measures, life style, and marriage. Computer-accessible data and copies of open-ended questionnaire...