Gender Depictions of the Professionally Employed: A Content Analysis of Trade Publications, 1960–1990

Abstract

Visual gender depictions in six trade publications are examined in decennial years from 1960 through 1990 to assess whether greater female participation in professional occupations and editorial staffs has helped reduce gender stereotyping of professional women. Greater relative numbers of women in the occupation over time and an increasing share of female editors result in more favorable portrayals of women as professional, confident, independent, and attractive. Although the positive portrayal of women by male-dominated professional journals increased over the last four decades, more male-oriented professional publications still display women less favorably than occurs in female-dominant trade journals. Separate analyses by visual type reveal that women are depicted in a less positive manner across advertisements than other visuals, probably because women have less control of ad content. Findings indicate the importance of agents who control visual depictions for the maintenance or reduction of gender stereotyping in the professions. Likely ramifications of such stereotypes for women professionals and for professional behavior in general are discussed.