Will Feminization Change the Ethics of the Sales Profession?

Abstract

If the ratio of females to males in selling jobs continues to increase, will it change the ethics of the sales profession? Do women entering sales have a distinctly different moral orientation from men? This article reports on research that sought answers to these questions by examining the ethical standards and moral reasoning of a sample of young men and women college students preparing for business and sales careers. The findings suggest that women's ethical judgements are likely to differ from men's in ways that could enhance the ethical climate of sales organizations but may also cause controversy.