Gender Differences in Personal Selling Ethics Evaluations Do They Exist and What Does Their Existence Mean for Teaching Sales Ethics

Sales career opportunities are growing, and the number of women in sales is increasing. Educators must adequately prepare both men and women for today’s ethical sales dilemmas. Using the Personal Selling Ethics Scale, the current study analyzes the impact of idealism and relativism on the sales ethics evaluations of men and women. Results indicate that women evaluate sales ethics scenarios as less ethical than males and that varying positions on these ethical frameworks partially explain the divergence. Results also imply that today’s sales educators should primarily emphasize moral idealism when teaching sales ethics. Ethical codes and situation-based frameworks can aid this effort. When teaching relativistic individuals, educators can supplement idealistic methods via the use of cognitive moral development frameworks.