Influence of gender stereotypes on women's career progression to senior managerial roles in the Bangladeshi banking sector

Mahmood, Gibran (2026) Influence of gender stereotypes on women's career progression to senior managerial roles in the Bangladeshi banking sector. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Globally, women hold nearly one-third of senior-level roles, yet their career advancement remains constrained by multiple factors despite increased labour force participation. In Bangladesh, a developing economy where banking is a key source of employment, women’s representation in managerial positions is far below the global average, raising significant concern. Existing literature shows that women’s career progression is shaped by gender stereotypes, which vary across cultural and social contexts. Gender stereotypes shape expectations, and women in non-traditional roles are often perceived as incongruent with femininity. In this regard, Eagly and Karau’s role congruity theory has been widely used to understand and explore stereotypes and prejudice against female leaders. However, the theory has focused primarily on gender over the years and has largely overlooked intersectionality. Hence, a multilevel relational framework was employed to build on existing literature and examine how women’s career progression is shaped by perceptions of role incongruity arising from macro-national, meso-organisational, and micro-individual factors, alongside the intersections of colourism and social class. Fieldwork was conducted in foreign and local private banks in Bangladesh with current and former male and female officers and managers, providing an inclusive understanding of culture and practice across organisational contexts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.
The research found that women’s career progression in banking is often constrained by a complex interplay of factors, reflecting incongruity between expectations of their social role and those of senior management. These include family support, networking opportunities, long working hours, work allocation, and performance management. Gendered norms were also found to vary by organisational ownership: women in foreign banks reported better experiences than those in local private banks, particularly regarding organisational practices and intersectional factors such as performance appraisal, social class, and colourism. Overall, women’s lived experiences and workplace outcomes are impacted by complex yet interconnected social, cultural, organisational, and intersectional dynamics. This research makes key theoretical contributions by extending role congruity theory to show how macro-national, meso-organisational, and micro-individual intersectional factors overlap and interact, creating a multilevel gendered career progression framework. It also offers practical insights for government and industry stakeholders to guide policy reforms and strategic actions that promote women’s equal representation in senior managerial roles in the Bangladeshi banking sector.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Supported in part by College of Social Science, University of Glasgow and the Charles Wallace Trust.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HG Finance; H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Funder's Name: College of Social Science, University of Glasgow, Charles Wallace Trust
• Supervisor's Name: Hurrell, Dr. Scott and Wilson, Professor Fiona
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85943
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 21 May 2026 13:23
• Last Modified: 21 May 2026 15:20
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85943
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85943