Gendered Pathways to the Hiring Decision

• In Event: 390 - Section on Race, Gender and Class Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 12. Race, Gender, Class and Work Part II

Abstract

Laboratory experiments show that gender stereotypes influence the performance and evaluation of male-typed tasks, yet field studies of highly technical and male-typed occupations find little evidence of gender bias. To gain insight into this paradox, I present findings from a case study of a software engineering hiring process at a high technology firm in Silicon Valley. Using qualitative data from semi-structured, in-person interviews with employers and participant observation of evaluation meetings, in conjunction with novel quantitative data from interviewers’ candidate evaluations, I argue that candidate gender frames candidate performance and interviewer evaluations, causing employers to perceive female candidates as less competent and less confident, but more interpersonally warm than male candidates. Rather than a blatant penalty in hiring, this creates gendered pathways to hire – employers hiring men for their strong technical evaluations while hiring women for their interpersonal warmth.

Author

• Koji Rafael Chavez, Stanford University