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Decoding bias: Gendered language in finance internship job postings
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the language content of job postings as a potential explanation for the gender imbalance in the finance industry. We conduct two interlinked studies of internship job postings by finance companies that assess the use and effects of agentic (e.g., ambitious) versus communal (e.g., caring) language. We find high levels of agentic language within finance job postings, and our results reveal that women applicants are more likely to perceive a higher level of fit with the position and exhibit an interest in applying to internship postings that are high in communal language and low in agentic language suggesting a current mismatch between our findings and current practice. We discuss the theoretical implications associated with the wording of internship job postings as well as implications for finance recruiters looking to increase the gender diversity of their workforce.
... Diğer yandan araştırmalar, çoğu örgütte işe almanın kapsayıcı olmadığını ve ön yargılara tabi olduğunu göstermektedir (Frissen ve diğerleri, 2023). İş ilanlarında verilen bilgilerin özgüllüğünün ve türünün başvuranın başvuru kararını etkilediğini göstermektedir (Born ve Taris, 2010;Oldford ve Fiset, 2021). İş ilanlarındaki cinsiyete dayalı sosyal-psikolojik ipuçlarının belirli bir cinsiyetten adayları çekme eğilimindeyken, diğer cinsiyetten adayları caydırdığı da vurgulanmaktadır (Gaucher ve diğerleri, 2011). ...
... Araştırmalar, iş arama sürecinde cinsiyet, medeni durum, fiziksel görünüm ve din gibi demografik özellikler üzerinden doğrudan ayrımcılık uygulamalarının hâlâ var olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır (Tang ve diğerleri, 2017;Ningrum ve diğerleri, 2020;Hu ve diğerleri, 2022). İş dünyasındaki cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin aşırı eril bir kültür, toplumsal cinsiyet önyargıları, rol model azlığı ve zayıf iş-yaşam dengesi gibi çeşitli nedenlere dayalı olduğu belirtilmektedir (Oldford ve Fiset, 2021). Bunlara ek olarak mesleki cinsiyet ayrımcılığının en önemli nedenlerinden biri de işe alımda ortaya çıkan cinsiyete ilişkin önyargılardır (Jiang ve diğerleri, 2023). ...
... 1974'te oluşturulan Bem Cinsiyet Rolü Envanteri, cinsiyet sözlüğünün en eski temeli olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bem Cinsiyet Rolü Envanterindeki kelimeler, Gaucher ve diğerleri (2011) tarafından eril ve dişil kelime listelerini oluşturmak için derlenmiştir (Oldford ve Fiset, 2021;O'Brien ve diğerleri, 2022a;Jiang ve diğerleri, 2023). ...
İnsan kaynaklarına ilişkin verilen iş ilanlarında cinsiyetçi dil kullanımı
... Diğer yandan araştırmalar, çoğu örgütte işe almanın kapsayıcı olmadığını ve ön yargılara tabi olduğunu göstermektedir (Frissen ve diğerleri, 2023). İş ilanlarında verilen bilgilerin özgüllüğünün ve türünün başvuranın başvuru kararını etkilediğini göstermektedir (Born ve Taris, 2010;Oldford ve Fiset, 2021). İş ilanlarındaki cinsiyete dayalı sosyal-psikolojik ipuçlarının belirli bir cinsiyetten adayları çekme eğilimindeyken, diğer cinsiyetten adayları caydırdığı da vurgulanmaktadır (Gaucher ve diğerleri, 2011). ...
... Araştırmalar, iş arama sürecinde cinsiyet, medeni durum, fiziksel görünüm ve din gibi demografik özellikler üzerinden doğrudan ayrımcılık uygulamalarının hâlâ var olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır (Tang ve diğerleri, 2017;Ningrum ve diğerleri, 2020;Hu ve diğerleri, 2022). İş dünyasındaki cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin aşırı eril bir kültür, toplumsal cinsiyet önyargıları, rol model azlığı ve zayıf iş-yaşam dengesi gibi çeşitli nedenlere dayalı olduğu belirtilmektedir (Oldford ve Fiset, 2021). Bunlara ek olarak mesleki cinsiyet ayrımcılığının en önemli nedenlerinden biri de işe alımda ortaya çıkan cinsiyete ilişkin önyargılardır (Jiang ve diğerleri, 2023). ...
... 1974'te oluşturulan Bem Cinsiyet Rolü Envanteri, cinsiyet sözlüğünün en eski temeli olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bem Cinsiyet Rolü Envanterindeki kelimeler, Gaucher ve diğerleri (2011) tarafından eril ve dişil kelime listelerini oluşturmak için derlenmiştir (Oldford ve Fiset, 2021;O'Brien ve diğerleri, 2022a;Jiang ve diğerleri, 2023). ...
... Gender effects have been examined in a wide range of contexts including communication [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Past studies demonstrated that gendered content of advertisements, including wording and endorser's gender, may often influence responses to communication among men and women in a different way [11][12][13][14]. Whilst the impact of communication on behaviour is disputed, policy makers, practitioners and advertisers continue using communication to raise awareness and influence behaviours. ...
... Whilst endorser's gender and gender role portrayal have been investigated in numerous advertising contexts [e.g., [35][36][37], gendered wording has only been researched predominantly in the context of job ads [12,27]. Moreover, no studies so far examined gendered wording effectiveness in the context of the UK. ...
... Our findings stand in opposition to some past research which claimed that women are discouraged by agentic wording, albeit such findings relate to the context of job ads and in non-UK samples. For example, Oldford and Fiset [12] found women were more likely to apply for finance jobs when the advert featured communal wording and discouraged when the job advert contained agentic wording. ...
Following mixed-methods sequential design and drawing on the message-audience congruence concept and homophily theory, across three studies in the UK, we examined the effect of gendered wording and endorser’s gender on the effectiveness of leaflets promoting walking. In Study 1, a mall-intercept study achieved 247 completed questionnaires. Results demonstrated that men and women indicated the highest behavioural intentions for communal wording presented by a male endorser. However, pairwise comparisons revealed that when the wording of the advert was agentic and the endorser was male, males indicated significantly higher scores of behavioural intentions compared with females. Attitude towards the ad for women was highest for communal wording/female endorser; for men it was for agentic wording/male endorser. In Study 2, consumers’ views towards the gendered content were explored in 20 semi-structured interviews. In study 3 we examined the impact of the respondent’s gender role identity on gendered content effectiveness. Overall, when controlled for level of gender role identity, only masculine males evaluated leaflets featuring communal wording negatively which suggests that wording matters only for masculine males, but not for other men and women. Theoretically, we identified that gender-based message-respondent congruence is not a necessary aspect of communications to be effective, except for one group: masculine males. Our study identified dominant gender role identity as a factor that explained respondents’ preferences for presented stimuli. Specifically, males who display masculine gender role identity differ in evaluations of communal wording from all other groups. Social and commercial marketers who target men and women with exercise-related services should consider the use of agentic wording endorsed by a male endorser when targeting masculine men to increase the likelihood of eliciting positive attitudes towards the communication. However, such distinctions should not be associated with differences in women’s evaluations or men who do not report masculine gender role identity.
... Different studies have referred to the concept of language agency to evaluate job descriptions as masculine or feminine coded. Oldford and Fiset (2021) have followed Gaucher et al. (2011)'s method of annotating job descriptions using a dictionary look-up approach. They focused on classifying finance internship job postings based on masculine and feminine words, as well as evaluating the text based on the percentage of adjectives and verbs that are either agentic (e.g., overcomes, confident, etc.) or communal (e.g., aided, loyal, etc.). ...
... Most of the works that evaluate gender bias in job descriptions (Bernstein et al., 2022;Born and Taris, 2010;O'Brien et al., 2022;Frissen et al., 2022;Oldford and Fiset, 2021;Read et al., 2023;Sella et al., 2023;Zhu et al., 2021), rely on the frequency of individual gender-coded words to assess gender bias in job advertisements, neglecting to explore the contextual positioning of these words within the advertisements. This limitation is noteworthy as it overlooks the nuanced interplay between language and context in conveying bias or its absence. ...
... Researchers have used language-focused analysis to evaluate the presence of gendered text across a range of job advertisements (e.g., Ningrum et al., 2020;Castilla and Rho, 2023) and in specific fields, e.g., construction (Askehave and Zethsen, 2014), start-up funding (Kanze et al., 2018), finance internships (Oldford and Fiset, 2021), libraries (Tokarz and Mesfin, 2021), information technology (Breese et al., 2020), psychology (Fatfouta, 2021), and leadership (Eichenauer et al., 2022). This paper, therefore, aims to establish the possibility of systemic barriers in the PSM field by using a language-based research method to explore the extent of the gendered language across the hierarchical range of PSM advertisements. ...
... We limited our search to large companies (over 1,000 employees according to Glassdoor specifications), as large companies tend to have dedicated PSM teams spanning the hierarchical levels (see below). This figure is comparable to other research that used job advertisements as their sources of data in different contexts, such as 180 in logistics (Kovács et al., 2012), 150 in librarians (Clyde, 2002) and 381 in finance (Oldford and Fiset, 2021). We identified the hierarchy level for which the advertisement was posted, using the four levels discussed in Mulder et al. (2005), along with an additional most senior PSM role: assistant buyer, buyer, senior buyer, purchasing manager and head of purchasing/procurement. ...
... Finally, whilst we hypothesised that masculine gendered language would be associated with perception of an anticipated chilly climate for women, we found that masculine gendered language in job ads was also related to the perceptions of chilly climate for men. Past evidence on this topic shows no difference between job appeal and masculine versus feminine language for male applicants (Gaucher et al., 2011;Oldford and Fiset, 2021). However, our study suggests that both men and women, both young jobseekers and older, established employees prefer job ads with feminine-themed words. ...
... Our finding that masculine gendered language was unattractive to men was unexpected in the light of past studies that did not find negative effects of masculine language in job posts on male candidates (Gaucher et al., 2011;Oldford and Fiset, 2021). However, it provides evidence consistent for the argument that gender-diverse environments are enjoyed by everyone. ...
Purpose
This study develops a measure of anticipated chilly climate for women and provides initial evidence of its validity.
Design/methodology/approach
We draw on three studies. Study 1 consisted of three focus groups to gain deeper insights into the meaning of the concept for prospective female jobseekers and generate scale items. In Study 2, we pre-tested job post vignettes (N = 203), refined the scale items and explored the factor structure (N = 136). Study 3 aimed to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of the new scale (N = 224) by testing its relationships with organisational attractiveness, person-organisation fit perceptions and gendered language.
Findings
The results show that the anticipated chilly climate is an important concept with implications for applicants’ career decision-making and career growth in the technology industry, where women tend to be underrepresented. Perceptions of anticipated chilly climate comprise expectations of devaluation, marginalisation and exclusion from the prospective employment. The masculine stereotypes embedded in the language of the job posts signalled a chilly climate for both genders, negatively affecting perceptions of fit and organisational attractiveness.
Originality/value
Most previous studies have focussed on the actual experiences of chilly climates in organisations. We extend this body of literature to anticipatory climates and draw on social identity threat theory and signalling theory to highlight that job applicants make inferences about the climate they expect to find based on job ads. Specifically, they may anticipate a chilly climate based on cues from job ads signalling masculine stereotypes. Whilst the literature has emphasised women’s perceptions of chilly climates within organisations, our results show that both genders anticipate chilly climates with detrimental consequences for both organisations and prospective job applications.
... One explanation was that women lost their jobs more than men due to COVID-19. Another study (Oldford & Fiset, 2021) set in a men-dominated industry, in this case, Finance, concluded, consistent with earlier works, that high agentic language may contribute to the occupational gender imbalance. Finally, the only known study (Tokarz & Mesfin, 2021) set in a women-dominated occupation used gendered words (Gaucher et al., 2011) to determine if there was any impact between librarian instructors and managers. ...
... In gaining a 'seat at the table' as a strategic partner, HR is unreflexively perpetuating gendered agentic traits of leaders; job adverts for senior roles carry the traits typically associated with men (Eagly & Carli, 2018;Williams, 2015). This finding signals how job adverts contribute to a systemic reproduction of women's exclusion from senior roles, even in a women-dominated occupation, therefore extending Oldford and Fiset's (2021) study in a men-dominated industry, which found that high agentic language may contribute to the occupational gender imbalance. Following the work of Gaucher et al. (2011), the continued gendering of job adverts in HR perpetuates hierarchical segregation. ...
While there has been an increase of women in the workplace, why do they remain underrepresented at the senior level, even in women‐dominated occupations such as Human Resources (HRs)? This article examines gendered wording in UK HR job adverts and the extent to which job adverts are a gendered practice contributing to women's underrepresentation in senior roles—even within a women‐dominated profession. We analysed 158 HR job adverts to identify the use of gendered language, traits and behaviours, equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI), and flexible working practices. Findings show that as the salary or title seniority increases, the proportion of masculine words in the job adverts increases, the prevalence of EDI statements, and flexible working practices decreases. We theorise how job adverts are a hidden gendered barrier to women's progress in HR, contributing to the (re)production of patriarchy, the masculine discourse of leadership and a negative cycle sustaining hierarchical segregation where men dominate in senior roles. HR is not leading by example in reducing systemic inequality practices and is complicit in reinforcing gender stereotypes.
... Researchers have used language-focused analysis to evaluate the presence of gendered text across a range of job advertisements (e.g. Castilla & Rho, 2023;Ningrum, Pansombut, & Ueranantasun, 2020) and in specific fields, e.g., construction (Askehave & Zethsen, 2014), start-up funding (Kanze, Huang, Conley, & Higgins, 2018), finance internships (Oldford & Fiset, 2021), libraries (Tokarz & Mesfin, 2021), information technology (Breese, Conforti, & Peslak, 2020), psychology (Fatfouta, 2021), and leadership (Eichenauer, Ryan, & Alanis, 2022). This paper, therefore, aims to establish the possibility of systemic barriers in the PSM field by using a language-based research method to explore the extent of the gendered language across the hierarchical range of PSM advertisements. ...
... We limited our search to large companies (over 1,000 employees according to Glassdoor specifications), as large companies tend to have dedicated PSM teams spanning the hierarchical levels (see below). This figure is comparable to other research that used job advertisements as their sources of data in different contexts, such as 180 in logistics (Kovács, Tatham, & Larson, 2012), 150 in librarians (Clyde, 2002) and 381 in finance (Oldford & Fiset, 2021). We identified the hierarchy level for which the advertisement was posted, using the four levels discussed in Mulder, Wesselink, and Bruijstens (2005), along with an additional most senior PSM role: Assistant Buyer, Buyer, Senior Buyer, Purchasing Manager and Head of Purchasing/Procurement. ...
... In fact, while many sectors have a technical and specialized terminology, finance's jargon not only excludes those who are unable to understand it, but it is also embedded in the values of its specific organizational cultures. Indeed, the financial sector's language is described as gendered and characterized by the use of specific wording and expressions recalling power hierarchies that are traditionally masculine, competitive and aggressive in terms of behaviour and work pressure (Griffin, 2013;Oldford and Fiset, 2021). The capture of views articulated by senior financial executives, as well as by financial regulators, seems to clearly identify the existence of a common language and narrative that endures despite the gender diversity policies pushed after the 2007-08 financial crisis (Porino and De Vita, 2020). ...
... can deter nonmale candidates (Oldford & Fiset, 2021). Qualifications and descriptions that use individualistic language-for example, describing workers as "fearless" or "assertive" have also been found to discourage women (Cleveland & Smith, 1989;Gaucher et al., 2011). ...
The language used in job postings can deter applicants and contribute to the employment gap, which refers to high rates of youth unemployment occurring simultaneously with high levels of job vacancies. We tested youth preferences for job postings modified using a free online tool that uses natural language processing to make them more appealing to young and diverse candidates. Using data from 1050 respondents aged 18–35 with education below a postsecondary degree, we found a consistent and statistically significant preference for modified postings, irrespective of the extent or types of changes made. More traditionally disadvantaged respondents (i.e., with lower education, lower incomes, disabilities, women, and unemployed youth) displayed a stronger preference for modified postings. These findings suggest that this tool can help employers recruit disadvantaged youth and bridge the employment gap.
Immigrant women significantly shape economic and societal landscapes in both origin and destination countries, comprising nearly half of the world's international immigrants and a substantial portion of the labor force. Their contributions enrich host countries through valuable skills, workforce participation, and cultural exchange, while also supporting their home countries via remittances. However, they face considerable workplace challenges, including wage disparities, job insecurity, and discrimination, exacerbated by gender and immigration status. Despite their critical roles, systemic issues such as undervaluation of their work and restrictive policies hinder their professional advancement. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive understanding of their multifaceted experiences and targeted strategies to foster inclusive and equitable workplaces. This chapter aims to explore these dynamics and propose actionable solutions to enhance the professional lives of immigrant women.
The relevance of this study consists in the entire society’s strong awareness of the need for gender equality, not only in a practical sense but also at the level of communicative culture. This culture strongly influences people’s self-awareness and often determines their role in everyday life, depending on the attitude inherent in the lexical units that are applied to an individual. The purpose of the study is the most complete consideration of the specific features of gender stereotype functioning and development in the Kazakh language in different aspects, the identification of types of gender vocabulary, and consideration of the historical and cultural context of the development and functioning of a gender stereotype in the Kazakh language. Both linguistic and historical methods were used, which allowed for considering the communicative culture of the Kazakh language not only in modern realities but also in a historical context. As a result of the study, the phraseologisms of the Kazakh language, including gender stereotypes, were considered, and the features of gender stereotype development in the historical context were considered. As a result of the study, a conclusion was made about the specific features of the development and functioning of the gender stereotype in the Kazakh language, its spread in the communicative culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the influence on the perception of individuals due to the use of gender-coloured lexical units in their address, and the definition of gender stereotypes of “masculinity” and “femininity” was made, which allowed for a more accurate classification of the gender-coloured group of lexical units in the Kazakh language.
Considering the importance and role of training and internship courses in empowering students and graduates, the present study was conducted with the aim of designing an effective training and internship model in the curriculum. The research method was qualitative and the participants included faculty members of University of Tehran, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Isfahan University of Technology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Yazd, Mazandaran University, Valiasr University of Rafsanjan, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Sirjan University of Technology and Shiraz University, who have presented at least one internship course. Validity and reliability of the interview questions were confirmed by experts. After analyzing 30 interviews, the researchers could have limited themselves to the same number of interviews according to the principle of theoretical saturation, but since the variety of academic fields and universities was considerable, the interviews continued up to 80 people on a quota basis. By analyzing the interviews, the current status of the implementation of these courses showed that, according to faculty members, internships are not implemented effectively and 8 components of time, personal problems, organizational structure and organization, lack of allocation of necessary and sufficient resources, lack of proper understanding of the program by individuals, lack of commitment of individuals and organizations, lack of proper evaluation and monitoring system and lack of inter-organizational and interpersonal communication system were as the main obstacles to effective implementation of these courses. Considering that the main problem in the lack of effective implementation of internship courses is the lack of proper and sufficient coordination and communication between the circles of organizations (Ministries, university and work environments) and the circles of individuals (Faculty members, supervisor of internship center and student) with each other, a model was designed based on which it is appropriate to form minimum interactions between faculty member and student in training and internship courses, and the main emphasis should be on creating communication circles.
Activist shareholders face a challenging task in preemptively identifying executives who they perceive might destroy shareholder value—before harm is done. We develop a framework where activist shareholders resolve this problem by forming attributions about executives’ intentions based on their displays of agentic values, which reflect independence and control. For activist shareholders, a strong display of independence can evoke concerns that an executive will act without the regulation of shareholder input, and a strong display of control can create concerns an executive will engineer governance provisions to their own benefit. As such, we hypothesize that above-average agentic value displays by CEOs increase the likelihood firms are targeted by shareholder activists. Extending our theory, we argue the positive effect that agentic value displays have on attracting shareholder activism is stronger when CEOs permit higher spending on corporate and stakeholder investment, both of which can exacerbate shareholder harm when executed poorly. We also posit that activism campaigns driven by CEOs’ agentic value displays will largely come from activist shareholders seeking to exert their own control over agentic-speaking CEOs. Using data on shareholder activism campaigns at US-based companies from 2003–2018, we find support for our hypotheses. We discuss multiple theoretical implications for research on corporate governance, stakeholder management, and investor relations.
While women make up approximately half of the workforce in financial jobs in the United States, they are proportionately less represented in higher level financial sector work. One potential factor decreasing female representation in the financial industry is implicit bias against women in financial roles in general and higher-level financial roles specifically. This study measured bias towards females versus males in financial jobs using the implicit association test. Response time and error rates of trials associating men and finance professions compared to trials that associate women and finance professions were measured. Significant differences between response times and error rates were found with a positive D-score mean of 0.15597, showing that it took significantly longer on average for women’s names to be paired with financial jobs compared to men’s names. These results suggest an implicit bias against women in financial positions. This difference could be a factor in the disproportionate representation of women in higher-paying financial sector jobs.
This study advances a differentiated understanding of job ad pre-hire effectiveness. It analyzes the utility values for varying levels of job ad attributes through a hierarchical Bayesian approach to conjoint analysis. This method allows not only to measure the relative importance of different attributes on the individual level but also to explore heterogeneity in evaluations influenced by educational level, international career orientation and time to graduation. The main results from the experiment show that for both undergraduate and graduate business students, salary and opportunity for advancement by far outweigh employer familiarity and the description of job-related tasks. The study contributes to the recruitment literature by assessing to what extent these four core attributes of a job ad drive job pursuit intentions. It also discusses the implications of attribute trade-offs for employer branding activities.
Wording of job advertisements is assumed to impact job seekers’ perceptions of organizational attraction, yet little is known about the role narcissism plays in this context. To begin to fill this gap, we investigated how narcissists who self-enhance in communal domains (e.g., friendliness, helpfulness, and trustworthiness) respond to systematic wording differences in job advertisements. In an experimental study (N = 318), wording was manipulated using an agentically versus communally worded job advertisement. Results revealed that communal narcissism was positively related to company attractiveness and intentions to apply for a job and this relationship was stronger when agency (but not communion) was made salient. A practical implication is that organizations may influence the number of communal narcissists applying for particular jobs by modifying the wording of job advertisements.
Agentic and communal goal orientations are widely used to predict career interests. However, the number of dimensions that underlie measures of goal orientations remains unclear. Across two studies, using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor confirmatory factor analysis, we found that communal goal orientation was unidimensional. However, agentic goal orientations comprised a single global agentic factor that represents a competence dimension plus two domain-specific factors: dominance and self-direction. Structural equation modeling indicated that gender differences in goal orientations, as well as the indirect effects of gender on career interest via goal orientations, were small. However, goal orientations exhibited sizeable direct effects on career interests, with agentic dominance goals the strongest predictor of organizational fit (Study 1 with 318 U.S. college students) and career interests (Study 2 with 789 U.S. MTurk workers). Future studies should consider the multidimensional structure of agentic goals and examine how dominance goals may help us better understand gender differences, social roles, and career preferences.
Four studies developed and validated two dictionaries to capture agentic and communal expressions in natural language. Their development followed the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) approach (Study 1) and we tested their validity with frequency‐based analyses and semantic similarity measures. The newly developed Agency and Communion dictionaries were aligned with LIWC categories related to agency and communion (Study 2), and corresponded with subjective ratings (Study 3), confirming their convergent validity. Very low or absent correspondence between proposed dictionaries and unrelated LIWC categories demonstrated their discriminant validity (Study 2). Finally, we applied both dictionaries to language used in advertisements. In correspondence to gender stereotypes, male‐dominated jobs were advertised with more agentic than communal words, and female‐dominated jobs with more communal than agentic words (Study 4). Both dictionaries represent reliable tools for quantifying agentic and communal content in natural language, and will improve and facilitate future research on agency and communion.
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Qualification-based targeted recruitment strategies aim to increase the number of qualified applicants from certain social groups, such as women. Typically, such strategies assume that individuals are more likely to apply for a job when they possess the requirements needed for that job. However, how job seekers react to requirements in job ads is not often considered and is explored in the present study. In two experimental studies with Belgian university students we investigated whether person requirements about which women have negative meta-stereotypes (like the trait of emotionality) and the way such requirements are formulated in job ads (i.e., using trait-like adjectives, “You are calm/not nervous,” or behavior-like verbs, “You remain calm in stressful situations”) affected women’s job attraction and decision to apply. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that job attraction was lower if women held negative meta-stereotypes about required personality traits in job ads (Study 1; 218 women; M age = 23.44 years, range = 21–42; 97% ethnic majorities). Moreover, qualified women applied to a lesser extent if a negatively meta-stereotyped trait was worded in a trait-like way than when it was worded in a behavior-like way (Study 2; n = 183; M age = 23.68 years, range = 21–44; 58% women; 97% ethnic majorities). A practical implication is that recruiters should be sensitive to how they formulate job ads if they wish to attract a highly qualified and gender-diverse applicant pool.
The number of online experiments conducted with subjects recruited via online platforms has grown considerably in the recent past. While one commercial crowdworking platform - Amazon's Mechanical Turk - basically has established and since dominated this field, new alternatives offer services explicitly targeted at researchers. In this article, we present www.prolific.ac and lay out its suitability for recruiting subjects for social and economic science experiments. After briefly discussing key advantages and challenges of online experiments relative to lab experiments, we trace the platform's historical development, present its features, and contrast them with requirements for different types of social and economic experiments.
To reduce the horizontal gender segregation in the labor market, we need to understand gender differences in career choice. The current study followed a large group of Swedish adolescents as they made their first educational choice, and tested for mediation of gender differences using measures of ability beliefs and career goals, which were collected shortly prior to the choice. Findings revealed strong gender differences in high-tech ability beliefs (e.g. computers), which combined with social ability beliefs (e.g. listening skills) and, to a lesser degree, communal career goals (e.g. helping) explained gender differences in educational choice. A new measure of career goal choice revealed that a majority of the adolescents prefer agentic (e.g. status) over communal goal fulfilment if made to choose, although this preference was stronger amongst the boys. Our results support social cognitive career theory, expectancy-value theory and the goal congruity perspective as they demonstrate how gender differences in educational choice can be understood in terms of differences in competence beliefs and career goals. Furthermore, the results suggest that one reason why gender balanced programs appeal to adolescents is their perceived ability to fulfill both agentic and communal career goals.
Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines as a whole have made advances in gender parity and greater inclusion for women, these increases have been smaller or nonexistent in computing and engineering compared to other fields. In this focused review, we discuss how stereotypic perceptions of computing and engineering influence who enters, stays, and excels in these fields. We focus on communal goal incongruity–the idea that some STEM disciplines like engineering and computing are perceived as less aligned with people's communal goals of collaboration and helping others. In Part 1, we review the empirical literature that demonstrates how perceptions that these disciplines are incongruent with communal goals can especially deter women and girls, who highly endorse communal goals. In Part 2, we extend this perspective by reviewing accumulating evidence that perceived communal goal incongruity can deter any individual who values communal goals. Communal opportunities within computing and engineering have the potential to benefit first generation college students, underrepresented minority students, and communally-oriented men (as well as communally-oriented women). We describe the implications of this body of literature: describing how opting out of STEM in order to pursue fields perceived to encourage the pursuit of communal goals leave the stereotypic (mis)perceptions of computing and engineering unchanged and exacerbate female underrepresentation. In Part 3, we close with recommendations for how communal opportunities in computing and engineering can be highlighted to increase interest and motivation. By better integrating and publically acknowledging communal opportunities, the stereotypic perceptions of these fields could gradually change, making computing and engineering more inclusive and welcoming to all.
Humans make sense of their social environment by forming impressions of others that allow predicting others’ actions. In this process of social perception, two types of information carry pivotal importance: other entities’ communion (i.e., warmth and trustworthiness) and agency (i.e., status and power). Although commonly thought of as orthogonal dimensions, we propose that these Big Two of social perception are curvilinearly related. Specifically, as we delineate from four different theoretical explanations, impressions of communion should peak at average agency, while entities too high or too low on agency should be perceived as low on communion. We show this pattern for social groups across one novel and five previously published datasets, including a meta-analysis of the most comprehensive data collection in the group perception literature consisting of 36 samples from 20+ countries. Addressing the generalizability of this curvilinear relation, we then report recent and unpublished experiments establishing the effect for the perception of individuals and animals. Based on the proposed curvilinear relation we revisit the primacy of processing communion (rather than agency) information. Finally, we discuss the possibility of a more general curvilinear relation between communion and dimensions other than agency.
Because women are in the minority in masculine fields like finance and banking, women in these fields may experience stereotype threat or the concern about being negatively stereotyped in their workplace. Research demonstrates that stereotype threat among women in management and accounting leads to negative job attitudes and intentions to quit via its effects on identity separation, or the perception that one’s gender identity is incompatible with one’s work identity. The current work extends this research to related outcomes among women in finance. In this study, 512 women working in finance completed a survey about their work environment, their well-being at work, and whether they would recommend the field of finance to younger women. Results showed that, to the extent women experienced stereotype threat in their work environment, they reported diminished well-being at work and were less likely to recommend their field to other women, and these outcomes were mediated by identity separation. Recruitment and retention of women into fields where they have been historically underrepresented is key to achieving the “critical mass” of women necessary to reduce perceptions of tokenism as well as stereotyping and devaluing of women. The current work sheds light on psychological factors that affect these outcomes.
The construct of motivational readiness is introduced and explored. Motivational readiness is the willingness or inclination, whether or not ultimately realized, to act in the service of a desire. Building on prior relevant conceptions that include, among others, animal learning models (Hull, 1943; Spence, 1956; Tolman, 1955) and personality approaches (e.g., Atkinson, 1964; Lewin, 1935), a general theory of motivational readiness is presented. Major parameters of this theory include the magnitude of a Want state (i.e., individual's desire of some sort) and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy it. The Want is assumed to be the essential driver of readiness: Whereas some degree of readiness may exist in the absence of Expectancy, all readiness is abolished in the absence of desire (Want). The concept of incentive is conceptualized in terms of a Match between the contents of the Want and perceived situational affordances. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first-order determinant of motivational readiness, it is depicted here as a second-order factor that affects readiness via its impact on the Want and/or the Expectancy. A heterogeneous body of evidence for the present theory is reviewed, converging from different domains of psychological research. The theory's relation to its predecessors and its unique implications for new research hypotheses are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Differences in the ways that men and women use language have long been of interest in the study of discourse. Despite extensive theorizing, actual empirical investigations have yet to converge on a coherent picture of gender differences in language. A significant reason is the lack of agreement over the best way to analyze language. In this research, gender differences in language use were examined using standardized categories to analyze a database of over 14,000 text files from 70 separate studies. Women used more words related to psychological and social processes. Men referred more to object properties and impersonal topics. Although these effects were largely consistent across different contexts, the pattern of variation suggests that gender differences are larger on tasks that place fewer constraints on language use.
Organizations trying to attract job applicants face a trade-off in the design of their recruiting advertisements. The use of general ads that include limited job attribute specificity has the potential to appeal to a wide array of job applicants and to increase the size of the applicant pool. However, such advertisements may also increase the number of unqualified or inappropriate applicants pursuing employment, and may be unappealing to job candidates who are highly focused in their job search strategies. Using a three-factor experimental design, two studies examine the impact of providing specific/general information on three position facets (i.e., the company, the job itself, and the work context) on a series of dependent variables. Results suggest that all three facets of message specificity impact, to varying degrees, individuals' opinions about the ad, perceived appropriateness of the job, attitudes toward the ad and company, as well as intentions to complete the job application process.
Our use of language embodies attitudes as well as referential meanings. ‘Woman's language’ has as foundation the attitude that women are marginal to the serious concerns of life, which are pre-empted by men. The marginality and powerlessness of women is reflected in both the ways women are expected to speak, and the ways in which women are spoken of. In appropriate women's speech, strong expression of feeling is avoided, expression of uncertainty is favored, and means of expression in regard to subject-matter deemed ‘trivial’ to the ‘real’ world are elaborated. Speech about women implies an object, whose sexual nature requires euphemism, and whose social roles are derivative and dependent in relation to men. The personal identity of women thus is linguistically submerged; the language works against treatment of women, as serious persons with individual views.
These aspects of English are explored with regard to lexicon (color terms, particles, evaluative adjectives), and syntax (tag-questions, and related aspects of intonation in answers to requests, and of requests and orders), as concerns speech by women. Speech about women is analyzed with regard to lady : woman, master : mistress, widow : widower , and Mr : Mrs., Miss , with notice of differential use of role terms not explicitly marked for sex (e.g. professional ) as well.
Some suggestions and conclusions are offered for those working in the women's liberation movement and other kinds of social reform; second language teaching; and theoretical linguistics. Relevant generalizations in linguistics require study of social mores as well as of purely linguistic data.
Despite concentrated research and important legislative milestones on gender equality over the past quarter century, gender-related disparities in science, technology, and math careers persist into the 21st century. This persistence sustains a troubling state of gender inequity in which women are not sharing in the salary and status advantages attached to scientific and technical careers. In this landmark volume, editors Helen M. G. Watt and Jacquelynne S. Eccles, both well known for their research contributions in this area, have compiled a rich source of longitudinal analysis that places the problem in context. Experts from different countries in the fields of developmental and social psychology, human development, biology, education, and sociology draw from longitudinal data on the gender-related variables that influence occupational outcomes. Together, the studies bring a variety of perspectives, theoretical models, and cultural settings to bear on the book's central questions. Further, the contributors highlight policy implications, suggesting which circumstances best promote a more comprehensive and realistic understanding of gender differences in career choice and persistence. Detailed explanations of study design will serve as an invaluable resource for future researchers in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Mixed- and same-sex dyads were observed to examine effects of gender composition on language and of language on gender differences in influence. Ss discussed a topic on which they disagreed. Women were more tentative than men, but only in mixed sex dyads. Women who spoke tentatively were more influential with men and less influential with women. Language had no effect on how influential men were. In a 2nd study, 120 Ss listened to an audiotape of identical persuasive messages presented either by a man or a woman, half of whom spoke tentatively. Female speakers who spoke tentatively were more influential with male Ss and less influential with female Ss than those who spoke assertively. Male speakers were equally influential in each condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Using a theoretical framework first developed by Eccles and her colleagues (Eccles, 1993; Eccles et al, 1990) the authors discuss how gender is linked to parents' beliefs regarding their children's abilities, and then how these beliefs may affect both children's performance and involvement in various activities, and their perceptions of their own competence. With regard to this chapter, they predict that parents' gender-role belief systems, in interaction with their child's gender, affect the inferences parents draw from their role-stereotyped activity domains. These inferences, in turn, should affect parents' expectations for their children's future performance in these activities and should affect the opportunities these parents give their children to develop skills in these various domains. Longitudinal data drawn from two different studies relevant to these hypotheses is summarized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Due to major work disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, supervisors in organizations are facing leadership challenges as they attempt to manage “work from home” arrangements, the health and safety of essential workers, and workforce reductions. Accordingly, the present research seeks to understand what types of leadership employees think is most important for supervisors to exhibit when managing these crisis-related contexts and, in light of assertions that women may be better leaders during times of crisis, examines gender differences in how male and female supervisors act and how subordinates perceive and evaluate them in real (Study 1) and hypothetical (Study 2) settings. Results indicate that communal leader behaviors were more important to employees in all three crisis contexts. In Study 1, communality was a stronger predictor than agency of supervisor likability and competence. In Study 2, communality was also more positively related to likability, but agency and communality were equally predictive of competence ratings. Ratings of real supervisors suggest that women were not more communal than men when managing these crises, nor did perceptions of leader behavior differ by supervisor gender in a controlled experiment. However, evaluations of women's competence were more directly related to their display of communal behaviors than were evaluations of male supervisors. This research is helpful practically in understanding effective supervisory leadership during the COVID-19 crisis and contributes to the literature on gender and leadership in crisis contexts by attempting to disentangle gender differences in leader behaviors, perceptions, and evaluations.
The sport management internship has been deemed a critical component of students’ academic preparation, as well as a foot in the door for many students seeking full-time employment after graduation. The number of sport management programs has grown in recent years, and the field itself remains highly competitive. Thus, it is increasingly important for sport management programs to help prepare their students for the internship hiring process. Scholarship in this area has largely focused on student perceptions of their internship experience and employer perceptions of student preparedness. But to prepare students for internship experiences in the sport industry, it is essential for faculty to understand the key skills that are sought by industry practitioners making hiring decisions, as well as the administrative requirements included. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the nature of professional sport industry internship job postings in the United States by examining the content of online announcements during a 6-month period. The results indicated that digital content, sales, and operations internships were the most highly sought positions, while basic computer skills, communication skills (both oral and written), and the ability to withstand long hours were the most commonly desired skills.
This study examines data from 35 countries and 24 industries to understand the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. Previous studies report conflicting evidence: some find that gender-diverse firms experience more positive performance, and others find the opposite. However, most research to date has focused on a single country or industry and has not accounted for possible variation across social contexts. This paper advances an institutional framework and predicts that gender diversity’s relationship with performance depends on both its normative and regulatory acceptance in the broader institutional environment. Using a unique longitudinal sample of 1,069 leading public firms around the world, I find that the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance varies significantly across countries and industries owing to differences in institutional context. The more that gender diversity has been normatively accepted in a country or industry, the more that gender-diverse firms experience positive market valuation and increased revenue. These findings underscore the importance of the broader social context when considering the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical analysis of talent acquisition software and its potential for fostering equity in the hiring process for underrepresented IT professionals. The under-representation of women, African-American and Latinx professionals in the IT workforce is a longstanding issue that contributes to and is impacted by algorithmic bias.
Design/methodology/approach
Sources of algorithmic bias in talent acquisition software are presented. Feminist design thinking is presented as a theoretical lens for mitigating algorithmic bias.
Findings
Data are just one tool for recruiters to use; human expertise is still necessary. Even well-intentioned algorithms are not neutral and should be audited for morally and legally unacceptable decisions. Feminist design thinking provides a theoretical framework for considering equity in the hiring decisions made by talent acquisition systems and their users.
Social implications
This research implies that algorithms may serve to codify deep-seated biases, making IT work environments just as homogeneous as they are currently. If bias exists in talent acquisition software, the potential for propagating inequity and harm is far more significant and widespread due to the homogeneity of the specialists creating artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Originality/value
This work uses equity as a central concept for considering algorithmic bias in talent acquisition. Feminist design thinking provides a framework for fostering a richer understanding of what fairness means and evaluating how AI software might impact marginalized populations.
Male entrepreneurs are known to raise higher levels of funding than their female counterparts, but the underlying mechanism for this funding disparity remains contested. Drawing upon Regulatory Focus Theory, we propose that the gap originates with a gender bias in the questions that investors pose to entrepreneurs. A field study conducted on question and answer interactions at TechCrunch Disrupt New York City during 2010 through 2016 reveals that investors tend to ask male entrepreneurs promotion-focused questions and female entrepreneurs prevention-focused questions, and that entrepreneurs tend to respond with matching regulatory focus. This distinction in the regulatory focus of investor questions and entrepreneur responses results in divergent funding outcomes for entrepreneurs whereby those asked promotion-focused questions raise significantly higher amounts of funding than those asked prevention-focused questions. We demonstrate that every additional prevention-focused question significantly hinders the entrepreneur's ability to raise capital, fully mediating gender's effect on funding. By experimentally testing an intervention, we find that entrepreneurs can significantly increase funding for their startups when responding to prevention-focused questions with promotion-focused answers. As we offer evidence regarding tactics that can be employed to diminish the gender disadvantage in funding outcomes, this study has practical as well as theoretical implications for entrepreneurship.
The recent surge of interest concerning data analytics in both business and academia has been accompanied by significant advances in the commercialization of HRM (Human Resource Management)-related algorithmic applications. Our review of the literature uncovered 22 high quality academic papers and 122 practitioner-oriented items (e.g., popular press and trade journals). As part of our review, we draw several distinctions between the typical use of HRM algorithms and more traditional statistical applications. We find that while HRM algorithmic applications tend not to be especially theory-driven, the “black box” label often invoked by critics of these efforts is not entirely appropriate. Instead, HRM-related algorithms are best characterized as heuristics. In considering the implications of our findings, we note that there is already evidence of a research-practitioner divide; relative to scholarly efforts, practitioner interest in HRM algorithms has grown exponentially in recent years.
Purpose
This paper aims to review the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hiring process and its practical implications. This paper highlights the strategic shift in recruitment industry caused due to the adoption of AI in the recruitment process.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is prepared by independent academicians who have synthesized their views by a review of the latest reports, articles, research papers and other relevant literature.
Findings
This paper describes the impact of developments in the field of AI on the hiring process and the recruitment industry. The application of AI for managing the recruitment process is leading to efficiency as well as qualitative gains for both clients and candidates.
Practical implications
This paper offers strategic insights into automation of the recruitment process and presents practical ideas for implementation of AI in the recruitment industry. It also discusses the strategic implications of the usage of AI in the recruitment industry.
Originality/value
This article describes the role of technological advancements in AI and its application for creating value for the recruitment industry as well as the clients. It saves the valuable reading time of practitioners and researchers by highlighting the AI applications in the recruitment industry in a concise and simple format.
Gender inequalities in the workplace persist, and scholars point to gender discrimination as a significant contributor. As organizations attempt to address this problem, we argue that theory can help shed light on potential solutions. This paper discusses how the lack of fit model can be used by organizations as a framework to understand the process that facilitates gender discrimination in employment decisions and to identify intervention strategies to combat it. We describe two sets of strategies. The first is aimed at reducing the perception that women are not suited for male-typed positions. The second is aimed at preventing the negative performance expectations that derive from this perception of unsuitability from influencing evaluative judgments. Also included is a discussion of several unintentional consequences that may follow from enacting these strategies. We conclude by arguing for the importance of the interplay between theory and practice in targeting gender discrimination in the workplace.
This integrative review presents the Agentic–Communal Model of Advantage and Disadvantage to offer insight into the psychology of inequality. This model examines the relation between individuals’ position of advantage or disadvantage in a social hierarchy and their propensity toward agency and communion. We begin by identifying and reviewing four inequalities—Resources, Opportunities, Appraisals, and Deference, or the ROAD of inequality—that are fundamental to social advantage and disadvantage. We explain how these inequalities can instill a sense of advantage and disadvantage in individuals. Next, we discuss two core drivers of human behavior: agency and communion. We integrate these literatures to introduce the model's central propositions: a sense of advantage orients individuals toward agency and a sense of disadvantage orients individuals toward communion. We review evidence for this model across four distinct social hierarchies: power, social class, gender, and race. A number of findings suggest that higher-power individuals, higher-class individuals, men, and Whites express greater agency, whereas lower-power individuals, lower-class individuals, women, and minorities express greater communion. We also consider results in the literature that appear inconsistent with our propositions (i.e., when the advantaged are communal and the disadvantaged are agentic) and offer theoretical integrations to resolve these apparent contradictions. In particular, we highlight how the orthogonal nature of agency and communion can produce behavior that results from the combination of high agency and communion. To help motivate a future research agenda, we note the importance of both hierarchy salience and cultural considerations in determining individuals’ orientations toward agency and communion. Finally, we consider the implications of this model for the study of social hierarchy and inequality, as well as the consequences of rising inequality levels.
We document significantly lower inflows in female-managed funds than in male-managed funds. This result is obtained with field data and with data from a laboratory experiment. We find no gender differences in performance. Thus, rational statistical discrimination is unlikely to explain the fund flow effect. We conduct an implicit association test and find that subjects with stronger gender bias according to this test invest significantly less in female-managed funds. Our results suggest that gender bias affects investment decisions and thus offer a new potential explanation for the low fraction of women in the mutual fund industry.
The internet appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2939 .
This paper was accepted by Lauren Cohen, finance.
“STEM parents” refers to parents who work in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field. Using survey data from CFA Institute members, we show that parental careers differentially affect the future career choices of girls and boys. Among CFA Institute members, women are more likely to have a STEM parent (particularly a STEM mother) than men. Relative to the base rates at which girls and boys become CFA Institute members, STEM mothers increase the girls’ rate by 48% more than the boys’ rate; STEM fathers increase the girls’ rate 29% more than the boys’ rate. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early role models, particularly female role models, influence women’s choice of a finance career.
For millions of workers, online job listings provide the first point of contact to potential employers. As a result, job listings and their word choices can significantly affect the makeup of the responding applicant pool. Here, we study the effects of potentially gender-biased terminology in job listings, and their impact on job applicants, using a large historical corpus of 17 million listings on LinkedIn spanning 10 years. We develop algorithms to detect and quantify gender bias, validate them using external tools, and use them to quantify job listing bias over time. We then perform a user survey over two user populations (N1=469, N2=273) to validate our findings and to quantify the end-to-end impact of such bias on applicant decisions. Our findings show gender-bias has decreased significantly over the last 10 years. More surprisingly, we find that impact of gender bias in listings is dwarfed by our respondents' inherent bias towards specific job types.
The goal congruity perspective provides a theoretical framework to understand how motivational processes influence and are influenced by social roles. In particular, we invoke this framework to understand communal goal processes as proximal motivators of decisions to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM fields are not perceived as affording communal opportunities to work with or help others, and understanding these perceived goal affordances can inform knowledge about differences between (a) STEM and other career pathways and (b) women's and men's choices. We review the patterning of gender disparities in STEM that leads to a focus on communal goal congruity (Part I), provide evidence for the foundational logic of the perspective (Part II), and explore the implications for research and policy (Part III). Understanding and transmitting the opportunities for communal goal pursuit within STEM can reap widespread benefits for broadening and deepening participation.
Part I. From There to Here - Theoretical Background: 1. From visiousness to viciousness: theories of intergroup relations 2. Social dominance theory as a new synthesis Part II. Oppression and its Psycho-Ideological Elements: 3. The psychology of group dominance: social dominance orientation 4. Let's both agree that you're really stupid: the power of consensual ideology Part III. The Circle of Oppression - The Myriad Expressions of Institutional Discrimination: 5. You stay in your part of town and I'll stay in mine: discrimination in the housing and retail markets 6. They're just too lazy to work: discrimination in the labor market 7. They're just mentally and physically unfit: discrimination in education and health care 8. The more of 'them' in prison, the better: institutional terror, social control and the dynamics of the criminal justice system Part IV. Oppression as a Cooperative Game: 9. Social hierarchy and asymmetrical group behavior: social hierarchy and group difference in behavior 10. Sex and power: the intersecting political psychologies of patriarchy and empty-set hierarchy 11. Epilogue.
Literature on diversity in organisations is limited and even fewer studies investigate its impact on innovation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study how gender diversity within R&D teams, among other factors, impacts innovation, drawing on data from an innovation survey in Spain. Our findings support the assertion that gender diversity within R&D teams generates certain dynamics that foster novel solutions leading to radical innovation. The results indicate that gender diversity is positively related to radical innovation. However it does not promote incremental innovation in the same way. The positive relation occurs under particular conditions of the task (a higher degree of novelty), as the two types of innovation might require different skills for their effective performance. These results have several implications for academics, politicians and practitioners.
The purpose of this article is to consider the gender imbalance at top management level from a discourse analytical perspective. More specifically, it investigates the language of 39 Danish top executive job advertisements and considers which leadership identities are projected as desirable or necessary. This is done by carrying out two interlinked studies: a semantic field analysis of the sections in the job advertisements describing the leadership traits of the ideal candidate (Study 1) and a study of MBA students' responses to extracts from the advertisements as far as gender is concerned (Study 2). Semantic field analysis reveals that all the job advertisements are gender-biased and that most traits described in the advertisements are associated with traditional or stereotypical masculine attributes. Study 2 confirms this finding, as respondents (MBA students) assign a masculine identity to the vast majority of the extracts from the job advertisements.
The current work examines whether a brief exposure to a computer science role model who fits stereotypes of computer scientists has a lasting influence on women’s interest in the field. One-hundred undergraduate women who were not computer science majors met a female or male peer role model who embodied computer science stereotypes in appearance and stated interests or the same role model who did not embody these stereotypes. Participants and role models engaged in an interaction that lasted approximately 2 minutes. Interest in majoring in computer science was assessed following the interaction and 2 weeks later outside the laboratory. Results revealed that exposure to the stereotypical role model had both an immediate and an enduring negative effect on women’s interest in computer science. Differences in interest at both times were mediated by women’s reduced sense of belonging in computer science upon interacting with the stereotypical role model. Gender of the role model had no effect. Whether a potential role model conveys to women a sense of belonging in the field may matter more in recruiting women into computer science than gender of the role model. Long-term negative effects of exposure to computer scientists who fit current stereotypes in the media and elsewhere may help explain current gender disparities in computer science participation.
Children's occupational interests and their perceptions of the divergent occupational successes of women and men reflect cultural gender norms. Since language is a vehicle for transporting gender cues and gender norms, we tested the premise that children's perceptions of stereotypically male jobs can be influenced by the linguistic form used to present an occupational title. Three experiments with 809 primary school students suggest that occupations presented in pair form (e.g., Ingenieurinnen und Ingenieure, female and male engineers), compared to descriptions using the generic masculine form (e.g., Ingenieure), generally increase the mental accessibility of female jobholders, promote more gender-balanced perceptions of the success of males and females, and strengthen girls' interest in stereotypically male occupations.
Recent meta-analytic reviews have documented that the sexes typically differ in a variety of social behaviors, including aggression, helping, nonverbal behavior, and various aspects of inter-action in task-oriented groups. In general, these findings are consistent with a social-role theory of sex differences, which emphasizes the causal impact of gender roles-that is, of people's beliefs about the behavior that is appropriate for each sex. To move beyond the demonstration of consistency between role expectations and social behavior, meta-analyses have examined the moderators and mediators specified by this theoretical model The outcomes of these moderator and mediator analyses are illustrated from several meta-analyses of gender and social behavior. These meta-analyses thus show that quantitative reviewing is not limited to the mere summarizing of research findings; the technique also allows reviewers to examine the plausibility of theories that are relevant to these findings.
The purpose of this paper is to establish the importance of distinguishing unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion from agency and communion. First, we examine the empirical overlap and distinctions among the four constructs. Then, we demonstrate the differential association of unmitigated agency, unmitigated communion, agency, and communion to relationship and health outcomes. We conclude that only unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion are associated with relationship difficulties and poor health. Finally, we distinguish between the difficulties of the unmitigated agency and the unmitigated communion individual by focusing on interpersonal problems.
AN ESSAY ON THE PROBLEM OF ULTIMATE CONCERN, I.E., ON " "THAT WHICH DETERMINES OUR BEING OR NOT BEING . . . .' " IN THIS CONTEXT, 2 TERMS, AGENCY AND COMMUNION, ARE DEVELOPED "TO CHARACTERIZE 2 FUNDAMENTAL MODALITIES IN THE EXISTENCE OF LIVING FORMS, AGENCY FOR THE EXISTENCE OF AN ORGANISM AS AN INDIVIDUAL, AND COMMUNION FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN SOME LARGER ORGANISM OF WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL IS A PART." THESE NOTIONS, AND THE PROBLEM OF ULTIMATE CONCERN, ARE DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO "SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, SCIENCE, IDEOLOGY, MYTH, SEXUALITY, DEATH, DISEASE, AND MAN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL LIFE." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
An experiment conducted in New Zealand investigating the impact of the inclusion of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements in job advertisements is reported. Male and female participants were presented with one of three versions of a recruitment advertisement for a managerial position with a fictitious organisation. Participants then completed a measure of organisational attractiveness for the company. The three advertisements were identical except for the Equal Employment Opportunity policy statement they included. One version included no EEO statement, one a minimal statement and one an extensive statement. There was no overall difference in organisational attractiveness as a function of the EEO statement type. However, there was an interaction between statement type and sex of participants. For female participants ratings of organisational attractiveness were highest in the extensive EEO statement condition and for male participants in the minimal statement condition. In addition female participants rated the organisation more positively than did male participants in the extensive statement condition. Implications for recruitment advertising are discussed.
Two related studies investigated sex differences in self- and parental estimates of IQ scores on specific scales derived from standardized and validated IQ tests. In the first study 210 participants were asked to estimate their scores on the 11 WAIS-R subtests as well as their overall general IQ. Results showed males estimated their overall score, plus their total WAIS score, significantly higher than females, with effect sizes around 0.5. Factor analysis showed participants did differentiate between verbal and performance subscale scores on this test. In the second study 117 participants performed a similar task, but this time on the 12 subscales of the Stanford-Binet test. Males estimated their overall score higher than females. Factor analysis also showed 2 clear factors that reflected exactly the verbal and performance subscale scores.
An important line of research using laboratory experiments has provided a new potential reason for gender imbalances in labour
markets: men are more competitively inclined than women. Whether, and to what extent, gender differences in attitudes toward
competition lead to differences in naturally occurring labour markets remains an open question. To examine this, we run a
natural field experiment on job-entry decisions where we randomize almost 9000 job-seekers into different compensation regimes.
By varying the role that individual competition plays in setting the wage and the gender composition, we examine whether a
competitive compensation regime, by itself, can cause differential job entry. The data highlight the power of the compensation
regime in that women disproportionately shy away from competitive work settings. Yet, there are important factors that attenuate
the gender differences, including whether the job is performed in teams, whether the position has overt gender associations,
and the age of the job-seekers. We also find that the effect is most pronounced in labour markets with attractive alternative
employment options. Furthermore, our results suggest that preferences over uncertainty can be just as important as preferences
over competition per se in driving job-entry choices.
Research on recruitment practices (recruiters, recruitment sources, administrative procedures, vacancy characteristics, and selection standards) and recruitment processes (time-related, social, information-related, and interactive processes plus applicant self-selection and person-organization fit) is reviewed, and increments to knowledge about recruitment over the past decade are summarized. Trends in recruitment practices are noted, along with their potential implications for organizations and organizational researchers. A call is made for increased cross-level recruitment research, as well as recruitment research at the organizational level of analysis.