Mind Games: How Stereotypes Shape Women Leaders’ Self-Perceptions and Performance

1. Mind Games: How Stereotypes Shape Women Leaders’ Self-Perceptions and Performance Crystal L. Hoyt University of Richmond March, 2007

2. Wendy Kopp Teach for America Andrea Jung CEO: Avon Meg Whitman CEO: Ebay Nancy Pelosi House Speaker Oprah Harpo Inc. Condi Rice Secretary of State Barbara Boxer US Senator

3. The Glass Ceiling

4. The Glass Ceiling 50.3% Women in Managerial/Professional Positions 46.4% Women in the U.S. Labor Force 57.5% Women Obtaining Bachelor Degrees

5. Claire McCaskill US Senator Diane Feinstein US Senator The Glass Ceiling 16.3% Women in US Congress Glass Ceiling 50.3% Women in Managerial/Professional Positions 46.4% Women in the U.S. Labor Force 57.5% Women Obtaining Bachelor Degrees

6. Anne Mulcahy CEO: Xerox Indra Nooyi CEO: PepsiCo The Glass Ceiling <2% Women CEOs 7.9% Women Highest Titles 16.3% Women in US Congress Glass Ceiling 50.3% Women in Managerial/Professional Positions 46.4% Women in the U.S. Labor Force 57.5% Women Obtaining Bachelor Degrees

7. MEN • AGENTIC • Confident • Assertive • Independent • Decisive • WOMEN • COMMUNAL • Kind • Helpful • Sympathetic • Concerned for others Good Leadership is a Manly Business….or so many think…. • Gender leader stereotype • Good leaders are described with masculine attributes • Stereotypically male qualities are thought necessary to being a successful leader

8. “…people could perceive me only as one thing or the other - either a hardworking professional woman or a conscientious and caring hostess ... It was becoming clear to me that people who wanted me to fit into a certain box, traditionalist or feminist, would never be entirely satisfied with…my many different, and sometimes paradoxical, roles ... “We were living in an era in which some people still felt deeply ambivalent about women in positions of public leadership and power.” Role Incongruity

9. Activity • Watch video and count how many times members of the team in white pass the ball to each other. Try to be as accurate as possible. • http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/15.html

10. Women are presumed to be less competent leaders than men and less worthy of the leadership position across a variety of contexts Women elicit disapproval for behaving assertively Biased Perceptions and Evaluations

11. Experiencing Bias

12. Experiencing Bias • Stereotype Threat • The way individuals feel when they are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group • Anecdotal evidence “When I talk in class, I feel as though I’m totally on stage, like everyone’s thinking, ‘oh what’s the Black girl going to say? ” —Stanford Undergraduate

13. Gender Stereotypes “Math Class is Tough!” "I love shopping" “Let’s plan our dream wedding” "Meet me at the mall" “Will we ever have enough clothes?"

14. Stereotype Threat & Women LeadersDavies, Spencer, Steele, 2005 • Exposed participants to gender-stereotypic TV commercials • Exposure undermined female participants leadership aspirations on an upcoming task.

15. Stereotype Vulnerability and Women LeadersSimon & Hoyt, 2007A

16. Stereotype Vulnerability and Women LeadersSimon & Hoyt, 2007A

17. Findings • Participants who saw stereotypic ads thought they did worse on the leadership task

18. Findings • Participants who saw stereotypic ads has lower levels of self-esteem and psychological well-being

19. In a related study…. Simon & Hoyt, 2007B • Task: • “task was a reliable measure of decision-making abilities in leadership situations” • Reverse Remotes Associates Task

20. Stereotype Activation • Stereotype activation: • “the task has consistently shown robust gender differences in leadership ability” • Stereotype nullification: • “the task has shown no gender differences in leadership ability”

21. Findings • Participants in the stereotype condition thought they did worse on the leadership task and identified less with leadership.

22. Findings • Participants in the stereotype condition had lower levels of self-esteem and higher disappointment

23. Stereotypes Are Not Always Threatening • Stereotype Reactance • Behave in manner inconsistent with stereotype • Women and negotiations • Women blatantly presented w/stereotype, outperform men at bargaining table (Kray, Thompson, & Galinsky, 2001)

24. Rosabeth Moss Kanter Harvard Business School Leadership Confidence & Self-efficacy • Confidence is a critical component of effective leadership • Leadership Self-efficacy • One’s perception regarding his or her general capabilities to lead

25. Reactance and Leadership • In the face of stereotypes, highly confident female leaders will • Perform better • Identify more with leadership • Have greater psychological well-being

26. Study Procedures Stereotype activation Group employee hiring task Stereotype ReactanceHoyt & Blascovich, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

27. Perceived Performance • F(1,117)= 9.08, p<.01, η2 = .07 Scale: 0 to 6

28. Rated Performance Scale: 1 to 9 • F(1,101)= 2.90, p=.09, η2 = .03

29. Leadership Identification Scale: 0 to 6 • F(1,117)= 5.91, p<.05, η2 = .05

30. F(1,66)= 4.48, p<.05, η2 = .06 • F(1,67)= 5.10, p<.05, η2 = .07 Scale: 0 to 6 Well-Being Self-Esteem Depressed Affect

31. Conclusions—Glass Ceiling • Biases against women in the leadership role contribute to the glass ceiling.

32. Female leaders are perceived and evaluated poorly Stereotypes can threaten women Conclusions—Biases

33. Diane Feinstein US Senator Angela Merkel Prime Minister: Germany Conclusions—Women are on the Rise

34. Conclusions—Confidence