Gender Gaps in Anticipated Peer Support and Interest in Leadership

• In Event: Gender Stereotypes about Leadership: Development and Consequences

Abstract

This investigation focused on understanding how gender norms and beliefs about leadership might give rise to gender differences in leadership aspirations. Throughout the world, leadership roles are dominated by men. Research indicates that this gap is due partly to gender bias, as female leaders are often undermined and disliked by others (Brescoll et al., 2018; Vial et al., 2018; Williams & Tiedens, 2016). In turn, anticipating resistance from others reduces women’s interest in leadership (Fisk & Overton, 2019) and assertive behavior generally (Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010). It is not well understood how early in life this gap in ambition emerges or whether young girls also anticipate low levels of support for acting as leaders. If young girls anticipate low support, they might avoid opportunities to lead over the course of development, contributing to adult gender gaps in leadership ambition.

To test these ideas, three studies examined children’s expectations about the social rewards and costs of leadership and their interest in a leader role. In Study 1, we read 99 5- to 10-year-old children four stories featuring a boy or a girl (between-participants) who spontaneously took on the leader role in a group activity (e.g., building a sandcastle at the beach). After each story, we asked four questions assessing children’s anticipation of peer support for the leader (e.g., “Would the others like him/her more? Or less?”). Children anticipated similar levels of support for girl and boy leaders, but girl participants anticipated less support than boy participants for all leaders, p = .012 (Fig. 1). Responses were unrelated to age.

In Study 2, we tested whether girls might be less interested than boys in taking on a leader role. We presented a racially-diverse sample of 149 5- to 10-year-old children (31.5% White) with a novel group game in which a player could choose to be the leader, and we examined how interested children were in this leader role and their self-efficacy as leaders. Although there was no gender difference in self-efficacy, p = .554, girls (vs. boys) were less interested in the leader role, p = .064 (Fig. 2).

This gender gap was larger among younger children, particularly White children. We also asked children to justify their decisions, which revealed that girls anticipated higher perceived costs and lower rewards for being a leader (e.g. “It’s boring,” “I don’t like the pressure”).

In Study 3, we investigated means to close the gender gap in interest by making the leader role more congruent with the feminine gender role. We manipulated between-participants whether the leader role was described as “helpful” (i.e., communal) or not, and whether past leaders were gender-balanced (i.e., 50/50% male/female) or mostly boys. Preliminary results from 237 5- to 10-year-old children indicate that more girls (48%) than boys (25%) were interested in the leader role when the leader was described as helpful and past leaders were gender-balanced.

As a whole, this research has implications for understanding the origins of the seemingly intractable gender gap in leadership and interventions to redress it.

Authors

• Andrea Vial, New York University Abu Dhabi
  Presenting Author

• Andrei Cimpian, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author