Overcoming Gender Bias in Reward Allocation: The Role of Expectations of Future Performance

Abstract

The present study examined the relationships among gender, causal attributions for success, and the distribution of organizational rewards. In this study, which attempted to control for methodological deficiencies of previous research, male and female undergraduates reviewed the performance of four stimulus managers: three men and one woman. Participants were asked to make causal attributions for the stimulus manager's success, and to rate how effectively they believed the manager would perform in the future. They were then asked to nominate a manager for an organizational reward. Bias against the female manager was exhibited by females only. Results indicated that lower expectations of future performance for the female manager significantly predicted the bias against her in reward allocation.