Code #_______
Educational Symposium for Research and Innovations: February 25, 2006
The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human
Development
Title of Presentation___ Social Network Structures of Women in Academic Medicine: A Literature Essay
Presentation Format (check only one)
Scholarly paper
Symposia
____Research findings
____Research orientation
____Research proposal ____Practice/innovation orientation
__X_Literature review
____Demonstration/Research orientation
____Policy analysis
____Demonstration/Practice orientation
Marketplace of Ideas
____Poster Fair/Research orientation
____Poster Fair/Practice orientation
Abstract: Since informal communications are often the key to information acquisition (Baker,
2001; Burt, 1998; Krackhardt & Kilduff, 2002; Lyness & Thompson, 2000; McCarty, 2003; Ragins &
Sundstom, 1989), when women are underrepresented in key positions, their insulation from men’s
information channels is detrimental to their leadership success (Burt, 1998; Krackhardt & Kilduff, 2002;
Lyness & Thompson, 2000; Ragins & Sundstom, 1989). The literature fails to include a study of women
in a male-dominated field at differing career stages. This literature essay explores this gap in relationship
to women in academic medicine.
Research purpose & main question supported by this literature review: The purpose of this study
is to characterize the social network structures of women in academic medicine at two career levels
(junior and senior) by asking the following: What literature supports an investigation of social network
structures? What gaps exist in that literature regarding women in a male-dominated field or characterizing
women’s network types at different career stages?
Brief introduction to theoretical & research foundations of the study: The intersection of the
accessed social capital model, social network analysis, and the social exchange theory of leadership forms
the theoretical framework of this study. “Accessed social capital” refers to the resources (e.g.,
information, power) individuals can reach through their social connections. In other words, it is the
structure of and benefits reaped from social networks that constitute social capital. Social network
researchers seek to operationalize and quantify social capital and offer clues as to how to take advantage
of the “opportunities” (Baker, 2001; Burt, 1998; Lin, 1999; McCarty, 2003) that characterize social
capital. Social exchange theory contends that leaders are those who use their relationships to their and the
organization’s benefit, not necessarily those who occupy positions of formal power. The problem to be
addressed by this project is that while social network structure is integral to leadership success, the
literature fails to include a study of women in a male-dominated field or characterize women’s network
types at different career stages.
Synthesis and integration of literature to research purpose/question: The field of social network
analysis has documented social network structure characteristics of a host of populations and for a range
of purposes. These analyses have covered individual and whole networks, utilized both position and
name generators, and instituted computer and interviewer-driven collection techniques. Much recent
research has furthered social network theory discourse. Yet this scholarshp has failed to show whether
those who are underrepresented in organizations are “also less likely to mobilize the optimal resources
available to them” (Lin, 1999, p. 482), and reap the corresponding benefits of social capital. Social
network analysis research has traditionally failed to focus on women professionals in male-dominated
fields (Krackhardt & Brass, 1994), and, with few exceptions, the field has not addressed “differential
access to social networks and social structure” (Dika & Singh, 2002, p. 46).
Examples of research conducted on women’s social network structures—as individuals or within
intact groups—are sparse (Burt, 1998; Burt et al, 1998; Boxman et al., 1991; GSS, 1998; Raider & Burt,
1996). Perhaps as a result of the relatively short period of time women have occupied top positions, a
cross-sectional study of women in the upper echelons of male-dominated fields is not found in the
literature. This literature essay supports a cross-sectional analysis of women in such a field to address this
gap in the literature in terms of the nature of network characteristics relative to career stage.