Dataset

In Bangladesh, it is customary for men to hold the highest leadership positions, with women relegated to submissive roles and required to obey the man's instructions. Additionally, IFC's study in 2022 disclosed that only 18% of women in Bangladesh occupy directorship roles in listed companies. It is a common misconception that women cannot lead whereas men are more suitable due to their inherent think managers think male quality. The question is how often women get the opportunity to play a leadership role in Bangladesh before we judge them. Moreover, how often do they get their colleagues' support to continue leadership if they get the opportunity to play the lead role and why can’t they sustain it? In reality, we are yet ready to give or accept female leadership in the name of these gender stereotypes we hold. It’s important to answer these questions from the perspective of the Leader Member Exchange Theory and Career Curve which have been overlooked by previous researcher specially in the Bangladeshi context.<b>Data Collection Procedure</b>Primary data: The data was collected through in-depth interviews with women and men working in different private organizations located in Bangladesh. A pilot study was conducted before sending final interview questionnaires to the participants. It helped the authors identify the weak points in the questionnaires and design better questionnaires to get better outcomes from the data. A pilot study was conducted on two female employees and one male employee.The primary target population of this study was female employees who were employed in the mid-level to top-level. The reason behind targeting these populations is primarily to identify the barriers they are facing due to gender in their mid-career that is troubling them to secure the top position and to know the experience faced by the top-level female employees when they lead in the male-dominated corporate sector.Then, this study secondarily targeted female employees who are working at the entry-level to know their leadership aspirations in the top position.Furthermore, to validate the findings of the study, the authors found the importance of cross-verification. Hence, this study also targeted male employees from the mid-level to the top level to understand their perception regarding gender stereotypes and female leadership in top management.This study applied face-to-face interaction in the office premises (it lets the authors observe the organization's working environment for females) and telephone researcher interviews by phone, mail, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Before taking the interview, an appointment letter was forwarded to the interviewees with a brief description and interview questionnaire of the study. It took around 5 months to collect the data. These data were collected between May to September 2023.<b>Data Analysis Procedure</b>The data analysis process was carried out using Nvivo 14 software for the in-depth interview transcripts. Upon importing the data into Nvivo, a systematic coding strategy was employed to identify recurring themes and patterns within the dataset. The process of thematic analysis involved the development of codes that aligned with the core concepts discovered in the interviews. Project and concept maps were generated using Nvivo to visually illustrate the connections, providing a comprehensive view of the findings.<b>The main codes that were identified:</b> gender stereotype and female leadership, perception regarding women leadership, masculine perception of leadership, gender based discrimination in the promotion, result of biased perception. The software facilitated a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the qualitative data, enhancing the depth and coherence of the research.

在孟加拉国，男性占据最高领导职位是普遍社会惯例，女性则被置于顺从的从属地位，必须遵从男性的指令。此外，国际金融公司（International Finance Corporation, IFC）2022年的研究披露，孟加拉国仅有18%的女性在上市公司中担任董事职务。一种广为流传的错误观念认为，女性无法胜任领导工作，而男性因天生具备管理者眼中适配领导岗位的特质，故而更适合担任领导职位。我们亟待厘清的问题是：在我们评判女性的领导能力之前，孟加拉国的女性究竟有多少机会获得领导岗位？更进一步，倘若女性有幸获得领导职位，她们能否获得同事的支持以延续领导履职？若无法持续，其根源又是什么？事实上，我们仍以所持有的这些性别刻板印象为借口，不愿给予或接纳女性领导者。过往研究者往往忽视了领导者-成员交换理论（Leader Member Exchange Theory）与职业曲线（Career Curve）的分析视角，而从这两个维度解答上述问题，在孟加拉国的研究语境中尤为重要。

<b>数据收集流程</b>
一手数据：本研究通过对孟加拉国不同私营机构任职的男女员工开展深度访谈收集一手数据。在向受访者发放正式访谈问卷前，我们先行开展了预调研：对2名女性员工与1名男性员工进行预访谈，借此识别问卷设计中的缺陷，优化问卷结构以提升后续数据采集质量。
本研究的首要目标群体为中高层女性雇员，旨在挖掘她们在职业中期因性别遭遇的职业壁垒——这些壁垒阻碍其晋升至高层职位，并了解女性高层管理者在男性主导的企业环境中履职的真实体验。其次，本研究也纳入了基层女性雇员作为调研对象，以了解她们对高层领导岗位的职业抱负。此外，为验证研究发现的可靠性，研究者认为有必要开展交叉验证，因此同时选取了中高层男性雇员作为调研对象，以了解他们对性别刻板印象以及女性高层领导的认知态度。
本研究采用线下办公室面谈（便于研究者观察女性在企业中的工作环境）与线上访谈结合的方式，线上渠道包括电话、邮件、领英（LinkedIn）及WhatsApp。访谈前，研究者会向受访者发送预约函，附带研究简介与访谈问卷。本次数据采集耗时约5个月，采集时段为2023年5月至9月。

<b>数据分析流程</b>
本研究使用NVivo 14软件对深度访谈的转录文本开展分析。将数据导入NVivo后，我们采用系统化编码策略识别数据集内反复出现的主题与模式。主题分析过程中，我们围绕访谈中发现的核心概念构建编码体系，并借助NVivo生成项目图谱与概念图谱，以可视化方式呈现关联关系，全面展现研究发现。

<b>识别出的核心编码如下：</b>
性别刻板印象与女性领导、女性领导认知、领导特质的男性化认知、晋升中的性别歧视、偏见认知的后果。该软件助力研究者对定性数据开展全面且系统化的评估，强化了研究的深度与连贯性。