Descriptive Gender Stereotypes Research Articles

Gender and sex in starting up: a social stereotype approach

ABSTRACT This article analyses the influence of gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship by jointly studying the effect of gender-role orientation (GRO) and sex (women vs. men) on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and actions of individuals. Entrepreneurship is associated with the typical male stereotype in most societies, leading to a lower rate of women entrepreneurs. Our model builds on social role theory (SRT) to identify how descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotypes exert this influence. It integrates SRT and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to analyse the differential effect of sex and GRO on entrepreneurial motivations, intentions, and new venture creation behaviours. We test our model on a sample of highly educated adults in Spain using a longitudinal research design. Our results indicate that descriptive gender stereotypes influence individuals’ entrepreneurial motivations and intentions depending on their GRO. Androgynous people (women and men alike) exhibit the most favourable perceptions regarding entrepreneurship, and, through them, a higher EI (compared to masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated GRO individuals). In turn, prescriptive gender stereotypes affect individuals’ actual venture creation depending on their biological sex. Men are significantly more likely to act on their EIs and launch their venture than are women.

Delving Into Feminine Stereotypes: Female CEOs and the Corporate Social (Ir)Responsibility–Firm Performance Relationship

In this study, we advance a more nuanced view of gender-based stereotypes about female chief executive officers (CEOs) to shed light on the divergent findings about outcomes associated with their firms’ actions. We draw on gender stereotyping literature and its delineation between prescriptive and descriptive gender stereotypes— how women ought to be/act versus how they actually are/act—to theorize that not all female CEOs embody the same prescriptive feminine ideals and, thus, variance in how they are perceived may affect outcomes manifesting from certain firm actions. Specifically, we theorize that there also exists a “double-edged” sword among female CEOs such that the more a female CEO is seen as descriptively aligning with prescriptive ideals of feminine actions and perceptions, the stronger the associated outcomes for their firms will be, whether positive or negative. We test how perceptions of communality and attractiveness—the two most desirable prescriptive perceptions for how women ought to be—affect the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSiR) to firm performance relationship, which align, or fail to align, respectively, with desirable prescriptive feminine actions of helping or hurting others and society. We find that the more a female CEO descriptively aligns with such communality and attractiveness prescriptions, the stronger the CSR and CSiR to firm performance relationship will be. The results of our study suggest that the gendered beliefs to which female CEOs are subjected are more nuanced and complex than the current literature explains, contributing to theory and practice alike.

Ugandan Adolescents’ Descriptive Gender Stereotypes About Domestic and Recreational Activities, and Attitudes About Women

In Eastern Uganda, 201 adolescents aged 11- to 17-years old (48% girls; Mage = 14.62) answered close- and open-ended questions about gender stereotypes of domestic and recreational activities and gender-role attitudes about women’s behavior, rights, and roles. Adolescents answered questions such as “who is more likely to . . .?” assessing descriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype knowledge) and questions such as “is it ok for women to . . .?” assessing prescriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype endorsement) about gender roles. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, correlations, and thematic coding. Findings indicate that Ugandan adolescents were fairly egalitarian in some domains (e.g., leisure and recreation) but were non-egalitarian in other domains (e.g., marital and domestic roles). Adolescents held a mix of gender-stereotyped and non-stereotyped views about domestic and recreational activities as well as attitudes about women. Findings present reasons for hope and for continued work toward gender equality in Uganda. Results may inform interventions that foster gender egalitarian attitudes in youth.

Comparing Prescriptive and Descriptive Gender Stereotypes About Children, Adults, and the Elderly.

Gender stereotypes have descriptive components, or beliefs about how males and females typically act, as well as prescriptive components, or beliefs about how males and females should act. For example, women are supposed to be nurturing and avoid dominance, and men are supposed to be agentic and avoid weakness. However, it is not clear whether people hold prescriptive gender stereotypes about children of different age groups. In addition, research has not addressed prescriptive gender stereotypes for the elderly. The current research measured prescriptive gender stereotypes for children, adults, and elderly men and women in 3 studies to (a) compare how prescriptive gender stereotypes change across age groups and (b) address whether stereotypes of males are more restrictive than stereotypes of females. Students (Studies 1 and 2) and community members (Study 3), which were all U.S. and majority White samples, rated how desirable it was for different target groups to possess a list of characteristics from 1 (very undesirable) to 9 (very desirable). The target age groups included toddlers, elementary-aged, adolescent, young adult, adult, and elderly males and females. The list of 21 characteristics was created to encompass traits and behaviors relevant across a wide age range. In a meta-analysis across studies, prescriptive stereotypes were defined as characteristics displaying a sex difference of d > 0.40 and an average rating as desirable for positive prescriptive stereotypes (PPS) or undesirable for negative proscriptive stereotypes (NPS) for male or females of each age group. Results replicated previous research on prescriptive stereotypes for adults: Women should be communal and avoid being dominant. Men should be agentic, independent, masculine in appearance, and interested in science and technology, but avoid being weak, emotional, shy, and feminine in appearance. Stereotypes of boys and girls from elementary-aged to young adults still included these components, but stereotypes of toddlers involved mainly physical appearance and play behaviors. Prescriptive stereotypes of elderly men and women were weaker. Overall, boys and men had more restrictive prescriptive stereotypes than girls and women in terms of strength and number. These findings demonstrate the applicability of prescriptive stereotypes to different age groups.

Testing for Backlash in Hiring

Gender stereotypes describe women as communal and men as agentic. Laboratory-based research ( Rudman & Glick, 1999 , 2001 ) suggests that trying to disconfirm such descriptive gender stereotypes (e.g., women self-promoting their agency), entails the risk of hiring discrimination due to violation of prescriptive gender stereotypes: a backlash. To examine whether backlash occurs when applying for real jobs, we conducted a field experiment. Gender, agency, and communion were manipulated in the personal profile of 5,562 applications sent to 3,342 job openings on the Swedish labor market. The dependent variable was whether the application resulted in an invitation to a job interview or not. The results do not offer any support for the backlash hypothesis at this stage in the recruitment process.

An exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership styles: Is transformational leadership a route to women's promotion?

Two experimental studies examined whether gender stereotypes about the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles constitute an advantage or an impediment for women's access to leadership positions in organizations. The first study investigated the accuracy of descriptive gender stereotypes about leadership styles, showing that participants accurately believe that women display more transformational and contingent reward behaviors, and fewer management-by-exception and laissez-faire behaviors than men. The second study investigated prescriptive stereotypes about the importance of leadership styles for the promotion of women and men to different levels in organizations. Inspirational motivation was perceived as more important for men than women and especially important for promotion to CEO. In contrast, individualized consideration was perceived as more important for women than men and especially important for promotion to senior management. Consistent with these stereotypical beliefs about leadership, women interested in promotion may be well advised to blend individualized consideration and inspirational motivation behaviors.