The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure supervisor behaviors that integrally support women's continued employment and career development. The target of this study is female Japanese career-track employees. Although supervisor behaviors play a key role in promoting women's active engagement in their professional career, previous studies have not captured the whole picture of the supervisor behaviors, including support for women's career development. This study uses “inclusion” as a key concept, which means one's sense of both belongingness and uniqueness are satisfied. Focusing on supervisor behaviors that support the perception of inclusion for female career-track employees, we approach this theme from the perspective of “managerial behavior studies.” In study 1, interviews were conducted with 19 female career-track employees, and 49 questions were developed after identifying 5 dimensions of the supervisor behaviors that enhance the perception of inclusion. In study 2, exploratory factor analysis extracted 5 dimensions of the supervisor behaviors based on 224 data collected through a web-based survey, which are “support for skill development”, “support for demonstrating strengths”, “treatment as a valued member”, “individualized work-life balance support”, and “elimination of male-dominant bias”, based on an exploratory factor analysis. Reliability was tested by internal consistency, and validity by correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, in study 3, reliability and validity were tested by test-retest analysis and confirmatory factor analysis based on 164 data collected three weeks after study 2. By these studies, the scale to measure inclusion supportive supervisor behavior (ISSB) with 31 items was developed, and its validity and reliability were confirmed.
