Supplementary Reading: Warmth and Competence: A Feminist Look at Power and Negotiation
Describe the study that showed stereotype threat
Female MBA students told negotiation task was diagnostic of ability and future performance Led women to be less assertive, and expect, as well as secure, fewer resources for themselves when negotiating No gender differences when participants were not implicitly reminded of gender. Conversely, for men, activation of gender often improves performance
How are women evaluated on their parenting?
"The bad mother." Good mothers= endlessly willing to sacrifice their ownneeds for their children's, bad mothers are women who are not. A majority of Americans continue to think that a child is better off with a stay-at-home mother Mothers who demonstrate their competence in the workforce risk being seen as lacking in warmth and commitment to their children and being labeled bad mothers Women who work for personal fulfillment are judged more harshly than those who work out of financial necessity, presumably because they are seen as more selfish People tend to blame mothers, to a greater extent than fathers, for their children's undesirable outcomes and judge parenting failures more harshly for mothers In sum, for failing to live up to ideal motherhood (their end of the gendered bargain), bad mothers face hostility and scorn (Chrisler, 2013).
Describe the two studies that show how when working women become parents, they are hurt in perceived competence and are seen as less committed to work?
A female applicant with children was able to avoid the motherhood penalty by stressing her work commitment Specifically, participants were as likely to recommend her for hiring, valued assignments, and extra training as they were for work-devoted male applicants. Unclear whether use of this strategy would put women at risk for backlash. A similar strategy used in a different study did lead to backlash against mothers. When employers had clear evidence of a mother's past work commitment and success, they viewed her as competent and committed as a comparable man, but consistent with backlash, they saw her as more cold, hostile, and unlikable.
Who is the "good" mother role for?
A particular type of mother---one who is White, heterosexual, married, middle-class For many mothers, staying at home, taking a lower paying job, or cutting back on work hours to spend more time with children is simply not economically feasible. Excluded from the 'cult of domesticity,' Black and single women historically had to work outside the home, unlike their White, married counterparts. Due, at least in part, to racial disparities in job opportunities and pay,today's Black women are less able to reduce employment when they have young children
According to the SCM, what are the stereotypes that emerge from the structural features of intergroup relations?
A social group's relative status in society predicts competence stereotypes, and a group's level of interdependence (perceived cooperation or competition with the societal ingroup) predicts warmth stereotypes. By granting valued characteristics to high-status groups and withholding valued characteristics from low-status groups, stereotypes explain, justify, and perpetuate social inequalities. Only societal in-groups, are accorded both warmth and competence, out-groups are denied warmth, competence, or both. Low-status, competitive groups, such as the homeless and drug addicts, are stereotyped negatively on both dimensions (low warmth, low competence) Paternalistic stereotypes (high warmth, low competence) target low-status, cooperative groups, such as the disabled and the elderly; in contrast, envious stereotypes (high competence, low warmth) target high-status, competitive groups, such as Asians and the wealthy
How are complementary stereotypes of men and women effective to gain women's compliance with the status quo?
Allow women to feel that their stereotypical strengths and domains are socially valued, promote the sense that gender-status divisions are fair, and ultimately increase women'ssupport for the gender status quo . Shows how gender stereotypes can disempower women to resist the status quo.
Why is proving competence at negotiation difficult?
Assertively acting out of self-interest runs counter to female role expectations
How is the division of labour in a house determined?
By income. According to bargaining models of household decision-making, men's higher earning power accords them more household bargaining power, which means they are able to bargain out of doing housework Beliefs about gender, both directly and indirectly (through effects on women's workplace outcomes), influence household negotiations
Describe the motherhood bias in the workplace?
Compared to childless women, mothers are seen as warm, but less committed to work and less competent, and as a result face discrimination in callbacks for job applications, hiring decisions, wage offers, and promotions Male professional with children as warmer but not less competent than a childless male professional Having children reduces women's (but not men's) earnings, and women experience reduced earnings for eachadditional child they have, even after controlling for experience and other relevant factors discrimination toward mothers is thought to be less likely in low- status, feminine-typed fields (e.g., childcare worker) because their increased warmth makes them seem particularly well-suited for these positions
Who performs better in negotiations?
Consistent with a male advantage in negotiation, studies generally find that men perform better in negotiations, although gender differences are somewhat inconsistent and subject to context Meta-analyses suggest that gender differences in negotiation are larger within contexts that increase the salience of gender, such as when groups are composed of both males and females, or when contexts are associated with one gender Situations that implicitly activate gender stereotypes tend to produce poorer negotiation outcomes for women.
Describe the System Justification Theory?
Contends that basic human needs for security and structure can motivate individuals to bolster and legitimate social hierarchies, even when they belong to low-status groups. Predicts that, in order to decrease the discordance associated with disadvantaged position, members of subordinate groups will sometimes exhibit equal and even more support for the unequal system than members of dominant groups. ie: economically disadvantaged individuals endorsing idea that people get the outcomes they deserve to a greater degree than economically advantaged individuals do, or women sometimes endorse benevolent sexism as much as men do
What do gender stereotypes do?
Describe how men and women differ Produce certain status-linked expectations or norms for behavior (how men and women should and should not behave) - Ie, Women are prescribed low-status, feminine-typed characteristics such as warmth, sensitivity to others, humility, and cooperation Gender stereotypes also proscribe or prohibit women's display of high-status, male-typed traits like dominance, control, intimidation, and arrogance
According to cultural conceptions of motherhood, what does a good mother do?
Engages in intensive mothering, making herself constantly available to the child and considers children's needs above all else, sacrifices that are seen as necessary to a child's successful development Stands in direct contrast to cultural conceptions of the ideal worker, which expect employees to demonstrate job commitment by dedicating long hours to work and prioritizing work over other activities This perceived role incompatibility produces discrimination toward mothers in the workplace
What is the Backlash and Stereotype Maintenance Model?
Explains why, women exhibiting agency, a high-status quality, are met with backlash. Says it is because agentic women violate gender-status rules. Perceivers are motivated to punish agentic women, who pose a threat to the gender status quo, and do so by withholding social acceptance Also explains how women's negative anticipation of backlash can lead to gender-stereotype congruent behavior EXAMPLE: one study found that individuals who were (falsely) told that they performed well in a gender-atypical domain concealed their success and increased their conformity to gender norms. The fear of social rejection associated with violating gender stereotypes can lead women to behave in line with gender stereotypes. By inflicting penalties on status violators, backlash helps to ensure that people behave in accordance with gender-status rules, thus maintaining gender stereotypes, as well as gender inequality.
How can working mother's combat the "motherhood penalty"?
First hurdle = proving competence May be particularly hard - normative expectations for workers directly oppose normative expectations for mothers More research is needed to develop specific strategies for working mothers to establish their competence without triggering backlash.
What are two factors that moderate backlash against working mothers?
Gender-type of occupation and perceived motives for working Ie., Mothers in feminine-typed fields are less likely to receive social penalties for working, because their perceived characteristics as mothers fit with the characteristics expected of workers in feminine-typed occupations Mothers who are thought to be working out of financial necessity receive more positive evaluations, presumably because they are not seen as violating motherhood norms to the same extent.
How do the gender-biased expectations for competence influence behaviours, self-and-other evals?
Gender-typed contexts increase the likelihood that gender-status beliefs will influence self-perceptions and behavior in stereotype-congruent ways. As successful negotiation is seen as requiring male stereotypic traits, such as dominance and assertiveness, negotiation is culturally considered a male-typed context Simply as a result of being in a negotiation context, women may be less assertive. They may evaluate their performance more negatively and even give an (objectively) poorer performance. Thus, because of their greater presumed competence, men have an advantage on male-typed tasks such as negotiation. status-linked gender stereotypes influence men's and women's behavior and success in negotiations. In patrilineal societies, at least. For men, gender-status beliefs have positive effects; for women, they produce self-doubt and anxiety, and may ultimately lead to claiming few resources for the self.
What has been linked to male sexual aggression and coercion?
Hostile sexism, endorsement of rape myths, and traditional sexual scripts
What is the main argument of this text?
How ambivalent stereotypes set up double binds for women across three key sites of gender inequality: the workplace, work- family interface, and heterosexual relationships. Takes the perspectiveof the target, focusing on how ambivalent stereotypes influence women's self-perceptions and behavior. After providing background on ambivalent gender stereotypes, we discuss, in turn, how sets of gendered expectations pose barriers to women in each domain. We also offer recommendations for navigating these barriers.
What are some symptoms of women's adherence to submissive sexual roles?
Limit their sexual autonomy Limit sexual satisfaction Put women at sexual risk linked to impaired sexual functioning Lower sexual satisfaction for women, due to their lower sexual autonomy (sense of choice and self-determination in sexual relationships
Describe an example of how men and women hold different expectations regarding future work and household duties.
In anticipation of their future family roles, college-aged women who desire to be married and have children anticipate performing more of the household duties, working fewer hours, and earning less in comparison to future male marital partners (Askari, Liss, Erchull, Staebell, &Axelson, 2010; Erchull, Liss, Axelson, Staebell, & Askari, 2010). Women's expectations of theirfuture household responsibilities can influence their career choices, leading them to limit their professional development or attainment
How have field experiments suggested that competitiveness depends on gender power structure?
In matrilineal societies, women and girls are no less, and even slightly more, competitive than men
How does context alter the boundaries and expression of gendered rules (dilemma for women still being liked vs being respected)
In the workplace, women struggle to claim resources without being seen as demanding; at the work-family interface, women contend with conflict between motherhood and ideal worker norms, and finally, in the bedroom, traditional sexual roles limit women's ability to be sexually assertive without seeming dominant.
Describe how associations between gender, sex, and power occur at an implicit level?
Many women automatically associate sex with submission Men automatically associate power and aggression with sex, others suggest though that most men suppress these associations Aseries of studies showed that when women and men were primed with sex, relative to when they were exposed to a neutral prime, they showed increased identification with their gender group and described themselves in more gender-stereotypical ways. In situations that called for assertiveness, they found that exposure to sexual words led women to behave more submissively and compliantly, and men to behave more dominantly and assertively. Sex activates gendered self-perceptions and behavior for both men and women.
Do the non-traditional gender roles expected of Black women in the workforce extend to intimate relationships?
Needs more research, but Interviews with African American women reported sexual and relationship experiences consistent with traditional sexual scripts of male agency and female passivity. In a sample of ethnically-diverse women, most women endorsed traditional sexual scripts. More info needed about how gendered scripts interact with factors such as racial/ethnic discrimination to influence Women of Color's sexual functioning and sexual decision-making, especially since Black and Latina women are disproportionately at risk of HIV and sexually transmitted disease infection
How do women of different ethnic and racial backgrounds face specific challenges in navigating these hurdles of negotiation?
Negative gender and racial stereotypes of low competence so surmounting the first hurdle will be more difficult for Black and Latina women Black women may be forced to repeatedly prove their abilities, but in doing so, they must also be careful not to make mistakes in order to avoid harsh penalties for competence-relevant errors. If they can clear the initial hurdle of proving their competence, Black women may be able to achieve more latitude in terms of assertive negotiation; although like other women, they must be careful to not be seen as power-seeking Stereotypes of Asians as competent might sometimes buffer Asian women from negative competence expectations, but because they are considered to be especially feminine and passive, have less latitude than other women to engage in assertive negotiation - ie., For example, in an interview study with female professors in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Asian-Americans reported greater backlash for assertiveness and self-promotion than did other women Consequently, negotiation strategies that combine competence with warmth may be particularly beneficial for Asian-American women.
What is hostile sexism?
Occurs when women violate status rules by displaying high-status traits associated with men or by otherwise challenging the gender hierarchy involves beliefs that men's higher status is deserved due to women's lower competence, and that women aim to usurp men's rightful place in the gender hierarchy. The components of ambivalent sexism, hostile and benevolent sexism, jointly enforce gendered rules for behavior, thereby preserving male dominance.
What is the stereotype content model?
Organizes stereotypes of social groups into four quadrants along the two dimensions of warmth (trustworthy, warm, good natured, sincere) and competence (e.g., agentic, competent, confident, intelligent). model implies that stereotypes are often ambivalent, or consisting of both positive and negative attitude components
How does gender difference in negotiation have more to do with power and status then gender?
Priming situational power, by having participants recall a time when they felt powerful, reduces gender differences in negotiatio Women felt less apprehensive about negotiating, make better first offers, and claim more resources Raising women's status, by emphasizing their task-related skills and credentials, increases women's sense of entitlement, which is linked to better negotiation outcomes
How can the difficulty of proving competence be alleviated?
Reframing negotiating in ways that are more congruent with the female role, women can enhance their negotiation performance (ie, as asking), or they may act as if they are negotiating on behalf of others rather than for the self. When stereotypes are explicitly activated, women tend to react against the stereotype and perform as well as men. This suggests that women might be able to counteract negative stereotypes by bringing them to mind, though the effectiveness of this strategy depends on women's level of bargaining power Negotiation is not always about competing; many bargaining situations have the potential for integrative solutions, in which people recognize mutual interests and expand the pie. In these situations, women may be better able than men to recognize opportunities for mutual benefit and to achieve win-win solutions
Why do sexy women elicit hostility?
Sexy women are seen as higher in competence than in warmth and elicit hostility, at least to the extent that they are perceived as using sex appeal to gain power, because they threaten male dominance. Paralleling backlash toward agentic women at work, in a series of experiments, participants disliked self- sexualizing female targets more. This backlash effect was explained by increased perceptions of power-seeking motives, which in turn, led to increased perceptions of dominance. Hostility works to encourage women's compliance withrestrictive sexuality norms
How can women resist ideal motherhood? What happens if the ideal motherhood is internalized?
Resisting ideal motherhood, whether by accepting alternative conceptions of mothering, or by redefining good motherhood, can lead to reduced work-family conflict and guilt for women Internalizing unrealistic motherhood expectations has negative implications forwomen's mental health and coping. Women who feel they do not meet idealistic parenting standards experience reduced self-efficacy and increased anxiety, guilt, and shame The psychological consequences may be even greater for marginalized mothers, as the ideals are all the more unattainable Working mothers are more likely than working fathers to feel guilty about their work negatively impacting their children.
What happens to an agentic woman in the workplace?
Seen as similarly competent as comparable men Seen as more dominant (e.g., aggressive, demanding, controlling) = less likable Costs women socially financially (perceived likability is linked to salary, hiring, and promotion recommendations) Success in male-typed fields and activities requires that women display agency to be seen as competent, but when they do, they face social reprisal.
What are examples of how Maternal marginalization has led to the development of alternative mothering beliefs in some communities?
Some middle-class Black women endorse integrated mothering ideologies, which emphasize working as an integral part of mothering, economic self-reliance, and interdependent childcare Similarly, some Lesbian co-parents, excluded from traditional conceptions of motherhood, develop parental roles that combine understandings of mothering and fathering (Padavic & Butterfield, 2011).
What does the content stereotype model say women are classified as? What happens as a result of these stereotypes?
Stereotyped as either warm and incompetent, or as cold and competent. As a result, women face an impression management dilemma: when they display competence, they risk being disliked, but when they display warmth, they risk being disrespected.
How come stereotypes of women tend to fall in the ambivalent quadrants of the SCM?
Stereotypes of women are rarely uniformly negative (low competence/low warmth) or uniformly positive (high competence/high warmth), but mixed (high competence/low warmth or low competence/high warmth). Female subgroups tend to be either respected or liked, but not both. EXAMPLES OF THE AMBIVALENCY: Traditional women = more warm than competent Threatening women = more competent than warm. *Recent research suggests that stereotypes of traditional women overlap most closely with beliefs about dominant-group women (i.e., White, heterosexual, middle-class women)* Black women = more masculine and dominant Lesbian women = more masculine and competent Asian women = more feminine and submissive The persistence of ambivalent characterizations of non-dominant group women suggests that they also encounter the'tightrope problem,' in which they must strike the right balance between warmth and competence in order to avoid negative stereotypes.
How can women counteract the stereotype-inducing effects of sex, particularly if automatic?
Suggest thinking of counterstereotypic exemplars (i.e., sexually agentic women). Men and women did not self-stereotype following a sex prime when first asked to think about counterstereotypic examples (e.g., househusband). Counterstereotypic induction has been shown to weaken stereotypic associations. This intervention has the potential to change women's perceptions of gendered sex standards as well as their sexual behavior Women's perceptions of partners' sexual preferences also a way to intervene. Women may overestimate how invested men are in traditional sexual scripts. Heterosexual women are likely to engage in more sexually agentic behavior if they see this as something valued by male partners. Violent responses to female agency by abusive male partners suggest that the aforementioned strategies are risky for women in power imbalanced relationships Very few studies to date have explored backlash effects against women in response to their sexual behavior. Accordingly, little is known about the particular circumstances that lead to backlash for women or the specific strategies they could use to avoid it. Sexy women may be seen as trying to use sex to manipulate men (= backlash), or as making themselves sexually available and attractive for men
How is the research around stigma and sexual agency consistent with the BSMM?
Suggests that women modify their sexual behavior to fit gender stereotypes or conceal gender-deviant sexual behavior in order to avoid the associated reputational costs. Aware of the stigma attached to sexual agency, when women believed that their responses might be made public, they downplayed the extent of their sexual experience and their number of past sexual partners. In contrast, men exaggerated. When participants were connected to a (fake) lie detector machine, men's and women's reports converged. Women were less likely to accept an offer for casual sex from a stranger than men because they anticipated negative evaluation
How can women successfully compete for resources in the workplace while also mitigating backlash?
Tempering competence with warmth may be the best strategy -- in contrast to self-advocating female negotiators, women who assertively negotiate for others are less likely to face backlash; acting out of concern for others is consistent with female role expectations. In addition, when negotiating on behalf of others, women's fear of backlash is attenuated, and as a result, they are more competitive, Women who provide relational explanations for their negotiation behavior achieve better negotiation outcomes without incurring the social costs associated with a more competitive strategy Feminine charm (friendliness combined with flirtation) reduces the social costs of negotiation, though others argue that this self-sexualizing strategy ultimately reinforces gender inequality
How do ambivalent stereotypes play a vital role in maintaining inequalities?
They depict groups as holding distinct but complementary attributes, which contributes to perceptions that the status quo is fair
Why is women's acceptance of benevolent sexist stereotypes not as harmless as they appear?
They work to maintain gender role separation by eliciting gender stereotype-congruent behavior. Benevolent sexism leads women to deemphasize educational and professional attainment in favor of relational goals and to actually perform less competently in the workplace Relatedly, the motherhood mandate (maternity as the cornerstone of female identity and fulfillment) encourages women to focus on motherhood to the exclusion of other roles Complementary gender stereotypes, as well as beliefs about men's and women's separate spheres, contribute to women's perceptions that the unequal household division of labor is fair, leading them to accept an unequal divisions of labor.
Describe the connection between the home and workplace negotiation?
Those saddled with most of the household work have less bargaining power to negotiate favorable arrangements when they are in the workplace As women continue to hold primary responsibility for home duties and childcare, women often come to the bargaining table with disadvantages that men do not.
What are the traditional sexual scripts?
Women are expected to be sexually submissive; men are expected to be sexually dominant. Men are placed in the role of the pursuer and active director, with the power to define and direct; women are situated as submissive, sexual objects for male pleasure Men tend to initiate sex more than women, although women are increasingly assertive. Women report more passive behaviors in sexual interactions than men
How are gender roles changing?
Women are making their ways up the career ladder Men are sharing more of the household duties Norms limiting women's sexuality are weakened Modern women see themselves as having more masculine qualities, such as assertiveness, but not fewer feminine qualities Changes in women's self-perceptions of assertiveness correspond to changes in their roles (e.g., entry into the labor force)
What does the fear of self-promotion do when women are negotiating, are in leadership roles, or are in masculine fields?
Women are often aware of the costs of self-promotion, and fear being seen as too "pushy" and "demanding" This motivates women to avoid or conceal gender-atypical behavior, ultimately leading to gender stereotype confirmation, such as poor self-promotion performance BSMM supported, in that several studies find that women's fear of social reprisal negatively predicts their negotiation success EXAMPLE: in an (ostensibly) interactive negotiation task, women negotiated lower salaries for themselves, and this was explained by their anticipation of backlash (Amanatullah & Morris, 2010). Accordingly,women's gender conformity in negotiations may often result from concerns about the costs ofappearing too aggressive or self-promoting.
How is the gender hierarchy still entrenched?
Women are still underrepresented in high-status and leadership positions Women do most of the housework Women face restrictions on their reproductive choices There is gender segregation in the household, labor force, and education system persists and has even increased in the most gender egalitarian nations Women are still seen as ill-equipped for certain male-typed roles and as naturally suited for domestic and caregiving duties.
What are the hurdles to women at the negotiation table (summary)
Women face trade-offs between perceivedcompetence and likability The first hurdle to women's successful negotiation is to prove their competence The second hurdle for women is backlash (Rudman et al., 2012a).
What do WOC face with motherhood and the workplace? What are their advantages?
Women of Color face motherhood penalty and race-based stereotypes that cast further doubts on their competence. For instance, White employers use racialized single mother stereotypes to justify beliefs about Blackfemale workers' incompetence. However, gender-race prescriptions may buffer Black mothers from the backlash that other mothers experience. Black mothers appear to have more leeway than White mothers to work outside the home, but they encounter racialized controlling images of motherhood that impose other pressures. For example, Dow (2015) reports that some middle-class Black mothers are vigilant to the possibility of being stereotyped as 'Welfare Queens' and feel they must actively work against this racial stereotype.
What is benevolent sexism?
Women who fall in the high warmth, low competence sector receive a form of paternalistic prejudice known as benevolent sexism Assigns distinct but complementary attributes to men and women, idealizes women as wives and mothers, and ultimately depicts women as wonderful but weak Product of gender relations. Despite men's position as the dominant group, they depend on women for heterosexual relationships. Male-female interdependence creates the need for maintaining male dominance. Benevolent sexism accomplishes this by extending paternalistic protection to women who exhibit the low-status traits associated with traditional femininity. This arrangement simultaneously protects patriarchy and maintains men's sexual access to women.
How does the threat of male partner violence severely compromise women's ability to negotiate safe sex?
Women who have been abused or are in a physically abusive relationship report lower sexual decision-making power and self-efficacy in condom-use negotiations; they are also at a high risk for HIV infection Women with a history of being abused expect more negative reactions from a male partner in response to refusals of sex or insistence on condom use Women who expect these negative responses are less likely to engage in sexual communication with male partners Women's hesitance to initiate discussions about condom use or to insist on condom use may sometimes stem from fears of being accused of being unfaithful or fears of a partner's violent behaviour Gendered sexual scripts limit women's sexual agency, through both encouraging women to besubmissive and directing hostility and aggression toward women who are not.
Why, through the lens of gender stereotypes, do different roles for men and women seem appropriate?
because men and women reputedly possess distinct characteristics. Gender stereotypes fuel emotional (sexism) and behavioral (discrimination) responses toward women across domains, ultimately limiting women's access to status and powe
Difference between paternalistic and envious prejudice?
social groups seen as likable but low in status receive pity as well as neglect high-status groups considered threatening to the in-group elicit envy and harmful intent Paternalistic prejudice rewards groups that do not challenge the status quo, whereas envious prejudice targets the groups that dare to go there.
How do traditional sexual scripts also emphasize relational concerns for women more than men?
women are expected to focus on their male partner's needs and desires women comply with unwanted or unsafe sex people are less likely to use condoms within long- term relationships than with casual partners, because it is seen as a marker of a successful committed relationship. Due to the centralityof relationships to women's self-concepts and behavior, intimacy motives might often contribute to women's participation in unprotected sex with long-term male partners Women who engage in sex in order to please their partners experience reduced sexual autonomy and satisfaction HOWEVER Relationship orientation linked to increased satisfaction and autonomy for women, when women hold intimacy-enhancing motives for sex