The Unequal Effects of Work Experience on Evaluations of Men and Women Professionals’ Leadership Traits

• In Event: 335 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Paper Sessions. Gender Inequality at Work

Abstract

A promotion gap between men and women is a major source of inequality in the labor market, particularly within men-dominated professions. One explanation for the gap is that hegemonic gender beliefs negatively impact employers’ evaluations of women’s leadership potential. Hegemonic masculinity is characterized by a pragmatism that is highly valued in organizational leaders (e.g., assertiveness, devotion to paid work), while hegemonic femininity is characterized by a type of warmth that is linked with support positions and motherhood. I
explored if a woman’s long-term employment in a men-dominated profession (such as law) neutralizes negative gender expectations regarding her career devotion and leadership potential. I created a factorial vignette survey to test if women lawyers with 11 years of work experience are evaluated as more pragmatic (knowledgeable, assertive, hard-working) than women with 2 years of experience. In my study, increased experience did not earn women lawyers a significant boost in any pragmatic trait rating, but it did result in a gain for men. Men lawyers with senior status were rated as significantly more knowledgeable than men with very little experience. Results provide evidence that men in men-dominated professions are associated with leadership traits. When I conducted a comparison with the women-dominated social work profession, increased experience resulted in a significantly higher mean assertive rating for women social workers. Hegemonic gender beliefs may not have the same impact within women-dominated professions, possibly allowing for more women leaders in these professions.

Author

• Adilia E.E. James, University of Chicago