Abstract
Although classic congruity models of gender discrimination (e.g., role congruity theory, lack of fit) predict negative outcomes for both women and men in gender-incongruent domains, the literature has focused almost exclusively on discrimination against women. A number of recent studies have begun to address the question of whether and under what circumstances men can also be the targets of gender discrimination. However, the results of these studies have so far been mixed. Therefore, the question of whether men, like women, also suffer discrimination when in gender incongruent roles and domains remains unclear. The goal of the present paper is to integrate and critically examine the burgeoning literature on gender discrimination against men in order to assess whether the symmetrical predictions of congruity models are supported. Through this close analysis and integration of the literature, I aim to identify remaining gaps in the research on gender discrimination. In particular, I propose that researchers of gender discrimination would benefit from expanding their scope beyond that of paid work.
Highlights
At first glance, research in the social sciences appears to have provided a thorough account of the dynamics underlying gender-based discrimination
Even though women comprise nearly half of the workforce in most developed nations (Pew Research Center, 2017c; United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017), there are still important domain-specific gender imbalances, such that women remain dramatically underrepresented in occupations that have been traditionally dominated by men
The primary focus of this review is on congruity models of discrimination such as “role congruity theory” (Eagly and Karau, 2002), “lack of fit” (Heilman, 1983, 2012), and “think manager, think male” (Schein, 1973, 2001), which are among the most well-examined and empirically supported theories of gender bias in the psychology literature
Summary
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Classic congruity models of gender discrimination (e.g., role congruity theory, lack of fit) predict negative outcomes for both women and men in gender-incongruent domains, the literature has focused almost exclusively on discrimination against women. The question of whether men, like women, suffer discrimination when in gender incongruent roles and domains remains unclear. The goal of the present paper is to integrate and critically examine the burgeoning literature on gender discrimination against men in order to assess whether the symmetrical predictions of congruity models are supported. Through this close analysis and integration of the literature, I aim to identify remaining gaps in the research on gender discrimination.
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