Stereotype threat and women’s work satisfaction: The importance of role models.

Abstract

Globally across OECD countries, increasingly more women than men are graduating from a higher education institution with at least a bachelor's degree (OECD, 2017), yet women continue to be highly underrepresented in top leadership positions around the world. What can explain the stark workplace and economic gender inequity despite the growing pool of educated women? One key contributor to gender inequity in the workplace is the psychological experience of women, and decades of research have found that concerns about confirming negative gender stereotypes in professional contexts can hinder women's motivation, performance, and engagement, all of which can ultimately contribute to the exacerbation of workplace gender inequity. This research explores whether and in what way(s) social support from different workplace sources (role models, formal and informal mentors/sponsors, supportive supervisors, and peer support) benefit and protect women's psychological resilience to disrupt the negative cycle of gender inequity.

Social and Professional Impact of Learning Communities Within the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program at Michigan State University

“…Our findings about gender and race are consistent with other researchers ( Ellis, 2001 ; Cortland and Kinias, 2019 ). Cortland and Kinias (2019) observed that women in the workforce feel less work satisfaction when they feel less role models, sponsors, or peer support are available.…”

“…Our findings about gender and race are consistent with other researchers ( Ellis, 2001 ; Cortland and Kinias, 2019 ). Cortland and Kinias (2019) observed that women in the workforce feel less work satisfaction when they feel less role models, sponsors, or peer support are available. Ellis investigated the experiences of black and white doctoral students at a predominantly white research institution to determine whether there were differences in student socialization, satisfaction with doctoral study, and commitment to degree completion based on race or gender.…”

Women’s Disempowerment and Preferences for Skin Lightening Products That Reinforce Colorism: Experimental Evidence From India

“…Our participant pools only represented women and men who understood English, were reachable through online platforms in India, and whose self-reported demographic characteristics revealed that they were well-educated on average. A natural extension would be to conduct experiments involving more or less vulnerable consumers with varying levels of literacy, connectivity, or stable sources of psychological resilience (e.g., self-compassion or positive role models; Cortland & Kinias, 2019; Wollast et al, 2019).…”

Psychological and medical advantages of breastfeeding; the role of psychological consultations for women after birth

“…Reducing fears related to stereotypes at work, especially in women holding managerial positions, has a huge impact on their job satisfaction and reduces their fears. Various authors point to the importance of social support in equalizing opportunities for women and reducing gender inequalities in workplaces [20].…”