From bias to exclusion: A multilevel emergent theory of gender segregation in organizations Richard F. Martell a, * , Cynthia G. Emrich b,1 , James Robison-Cox c,2 a College of Business, Montana State University, 412 Reid Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717-3040, United States b Duke Corporate Education, 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DY, UK c Department of Mathematical Sciences, Montana State University, P.O. Box 172400, Bozeman, MT 59717-2400, United States Available online 10 November 2012 Abstract This article presents a multilevel emergent theory of organizational segregation linking gender bias in performance assessment (a micro-level phenomenon) to gender segregation in organizations (a macro-level phenomenon). Based on an integration of multilevel research, emergence and signaling theory , we propose the following: (a) gender segregation in organizations is an emergent phenomenon that arises from the collective behavior of individuals who express only a small bias in favor of males, in concert with the signals governing promotion decisions and organizational mobility; (b) the emergence of a gender-segregated organization is often unintentional and the bottom–up and top–down processes that produce segregation are difficult to see; and (c) agent-based modeling is especially well-suited for illuminating the dynamics of bias that produce gender-segregated organizations. This multilevel emergent-based theory contributes to the research literature on organizational stratification by: (a) revealing the manner in which micro-level and macro-level forces conspire, oftentimes unwittingly, to produce gender-segregated organizations; (b) providing new and very different directions for future research on gender segregation that rely on agent-based modeling; and, most importantly, (c) moving a 30-year debate over the ‘‘real-world’’ impact of gender bias that continues to occupy the field of human resource management and, most recently, Supreme Court justices on to more fertile ground. # 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Gender bias and organizational segregation: much ado about something (or nothing)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 2. Organizational segregation as a multilevel emergent phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 2.1. Features of emergent phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 3. Professor Schelling’s neighborhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 4. Downward causation and gender segregation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 5. Using computer modeling to illuminate gender segregation at work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 5.1. Agent-based modeling: its uses and benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 6. An agent-based study of ethnic residential segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 7. A test of two theories using agent-based modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Research in Organizational Behavior 32 (2012) 137–162 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 406 600 9932; fax: +1 406 587 2193. E-mail addresses: richard.martell@montana.edu (R.F. Martell), cynthia.emrich@dukece.com (C.G. Emrich), jimrc@math.montana.edu (J. Robison-Cox). 1 Tel.: +44 757 332 4230; fax: +44 757 332 4230. 2 Tel.: +1 406 994 5340; fax: +1 406 994 5340. 0191-3085/$ – see front matter # 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2012.10.001