How Societal Cultures Moderate Gender Differences in Career Success: A Meta‐Analysis

Abstract

Gender disparities in career success – who earns more, advances faster, and feels more satisfied about their jobs and careers – persist across societies, yet how societal cultures shape the magnitude and direction of such disparities remains less understood. Drawing on social role theory, which recognizes the influence of cultural contexts on the enactment of gender roles, our meta‐analysis examines how cultural levels and changes moderate the relationship between gender and career success. We consider both objective career success (salary, promotions, and rank) and subjective career success (career and job satisfaction) across 1115 studies spanning several decades and multiple countries. We find that the gender–career success relationship is influenced by a society's levels of power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and motivation towards achievement and success. Unexpected patterns also emerged, illuminating the distinct role of each cultural dimension, differences between objective and subjective career outcomes, and meaningful variation across specific indicators of career success. We further highlight the importance of distinguishing between static cultural levels and their change over time. Overall, our findings offer implications for social role theory and gender gap research, as well as for multinational organizations seeking to promote and monitor gender equity.