Describe the four pervasive gender biases in the workplace identified by Joan Williams and Rachel Dempsey (2014), explaining how they may inhibit to women’s progress in the workplace. Detail two research studies that provide evidence for two of these biases.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The prove-it-again bias reflects doubts about women’s competence. Because women are less represented in some jobs--particularly in positions of power--they may not seem as well-suited for these jobs. As a result, women often have to provide extra evidence of competence in order to seem as competent as men. For example, even when women’s work accomplishments are identical in quality to men’s, others perceive women’s work as inferior. A second bias, called the maternal wall, reflects the challenges that employed women face as mothers. Women suffer a “motherhood penalty,” whereas no parallel “fatherhood penalty” exists. Cuddy and colleagues (2004) demonstrated this by having participants rate the profiles of fictitious employees of a consulting firm who either did or did not have children. Participants rated working mothers as less competent than childfree women, and expressed more reluctance to hire and promote them. Working fathers suffer no penalties in the workplace comparable to those experienced by working mothers. Williams and Dempsey identify a third type of bias called the tightrope. Some types of jobs require masculine qualities of agency and assertiveness, but people stereotype women as lower in agency than men. As a result, women who occupy male-dominated jobs may find themselves caught in a bind: If they behave assertively--which may be required for job performance--they violate gender role norms and are often viewed as less likable. If they behave warmly--which is expected for their sex--they may undermine their own job performance and appear lacking in competence. For instance, Heilman et al. (2004) found that people view women who succeed in male-typed jobs as successful and competent, however, they also tend to like them less than equivalently successful men. Finally, women show a tug of war against other women. Women sometimes feel like they have to compete with other women for access to limited jobs, promotions, and workplace rewards. This can lead women to dissociate themselves from each other and make it difficult for women to support other women.