A Meta-Analysis of Gender Proportionality Effects on Job Performance

Abstract

Critical mass theory and the tokenism hypothesis propose that females’ job performance is adversely affected by perceptions and experiences that stem from females comprising a smaller proportion of organizations than males. Although belief in the gender token effect appears to be widely held, empirical evidence of this effect is relatively scarce; furthermore, the evidence that does exist is somewhat inconsistent. The purpose of the present study was to provide a meta-analytic test of the gender token effect by examining the extent to which the proportion of females in organizations relates to male–female differences in job performance. Meta-analytic results based on data from 158 independent studies ( N = 101,071) reveal that (a) females tend to demonstrate higher job performance than males ( d = −.10), and (b) this difference does not appear to vary based on the proportion of females in organizations. We found similar results for subjective task performance (e.g., supervisory ratings), organizational citizenship behaviors, and objective task performance (e.g., sales). Overall, this study’s results demonstrate almost no support for the gender token effect on job performance, which challenges the prevailing assumptions of critical mass theory and the tokenism hypothesis.