This meta-analysis integrated 16 nationally representative U.S. public opinion polls on gender stereotypes (N ϭ 30,093 adults), extending from 1946 to 2018, a span of seven decades that brought considerable change in gender relations, especially in women's roles. In polls inquiring about communion (e.g., affectionate, emotional), agency (e.g., ambitious, courageous), and competence (e.g., intelligent, creative), respondents indicated whether each trait is more true of women or men, or equally true of both. Women's relative advantage in communion increased over time, but men's relative advantage in agency showed no change. Belief in competence equality increased over time, along with belief in female superiority among those who indicated a sex difference in competence. Contemporary gender stereotypes thus convey substantial female advantage in communion and a smaller male advantage in agency but also gender equality in competence along with some female advantage. Interpretation emphasizes the origins of gender stereotypes in the social roles of women and men.

Gender-fair language (GFL) aims at reducing gender stereotyping and discrimination. Two principle strategies have been employed to make languages gender-fair and to treat women and men symmetrically: neutralization and feminization. Neutralization is achieved, for example, by replacing male-masculine forms (policeman) with gender-unmarked forms (police officer), whereas feminization relies on the use of feminine forms to make female referents visible (i.e., the applicant… he or she instead of the applicant… he). By integrating research on (1) language structures, (2) language policies, and (3) individual language behavior, we provide a critical review of how GFL contributes to the reduction of gender stereotyping and discrimination. Our review provides a basis for future research and for scientifically based policy-making.

In the present study we analyzed cultural variations of managerial gender typing, i.e., that managers are perceived as possessing traits that are part of the masculine stereotype.Management students of both sexes from three different countries-Australia, Germany, and India-estimated the percentage to which one of three stimulus groups, i.e., executives-ingeneral (no gender specification), male executives, or female executives, possesses personoriented and task-oriented leadership traits. Participants also rated the importance of these characteristics for the respective group. Furthermore, another group of participants described themselves regarding the two types of traits and their importance for themselves. Altogether, the results indicate a less traditional view of leadership compared to previous findings, which is very similar in all three countries. Nevertheless, there exists an interculturally shared view of a female-specific leadership competence according to which women possess a higher person orientation than men. The self-descriptions of the female and male management students regarding person-and task-oriented traits were found to be very similar.

The current studies investigate how social categorization may influence the perception of facial expressions. Across two experiments, we find that the speed and accuracy of facial expression categorization is modulated by the targets' social category. Specifically, we test the extent to which the Happy Face Advantage in expression categorization (the tendency for happy expressions to be accurately categorized more quickly than negative expressions) is moderated by target sex. Both experiments indicate that target sex moderates categorization speed and accuracy, such that happy faces are categorized more quickly and accurately on female than on male target faces. Importantly, Experiment 2 pits an evaluative explanation against a stereotyping explanation for this effect, and finds that the effects are better explained by evaluation than by stereotyping. Thus, the results suggest that the sex of a target may provide an evaluative context in which facial expressions are perceived, yielding further evidence that social categorization and the perception of facial affect are intertwined.The communicative function of facial expressions is central to our social lives. Quickly and accurately decoding the expressions of others in our social environment is critical to understanding the internal states, beliefs, and intentions of others (Keltner & Haidt, 1999), which itself is key in successful social action. Indeed, recent research suggests that damage to the amygdala, a key brain structure known to 516

Drawing on theories of stereotype content and role congruity, this research investigated the role of stereotypes for employment discrimination against older candidates. Study 1 investigated the content of stereotypes about older workers, focusing on warmth and competence as the two core dimensions in social judgement. As predicted, older workers were perceived as less competent but warmer than younger workers. Studies 2 and 3 investigated how these stereotypes interact with job requirements to predict age bias in an experimental setting. Further, they tested if warmth-and competence-related stereotypical inferences mediate the relation between candidate age and selection bias. Results showed that age bias was robust. Older candidates were discriminated against, even if the job primarily required warmth-related qualities, and independently of evaluators' own age or professional experience in human resources. Moreover, age bias was mediated by competence-related stereotypical inferences. Age bias was also mediated by inferences related to warmth but those inferences were opposite to the highwarmth older worker stereotype identified in Study 1. Implications of the findings for theoretical approaches to age discrimination and for organizational practice designed to combat age discrimination are discussed.