Presumed incompetent: perceived lack of fit and gender bias in recruitment and selection

Madeline E. Heilman · Francesca Manzi · Susanne Helena Braun

49 citations0/0 files storedEdward Elgar Publishing eBooks

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Gender Diversity and Inequality Career Development and Diversity Social and Intergroup Psychology

Abstract

Despite women's advancement in the workplace, their representation in male-dominated fields and occupations remains distressingly low.Women now comprise about half of the workforce, but very few end up at the top levels of business organizations.In 2013, women held only 16.9 per cent of corporate board seats in the USA, and only 4.6 per cent of executive directors were women (Catalyst, 2014).Percentages are similar in the UK: 15 per cent of board directors were women, and they comprised less than 7 per cent of the executive positions in British companies (Catalyst, 2012).What accounts for the scarcity of women in traditionally male roles?It is not a consequence of differential experience, education or skills.The overall percentage of undergraduate and graduate degrees (both Master's and doctoral) obtained by women in the USA and the UK now exceeds that of men (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010; Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2012).Moreover, in terms of cognitive skills and abilities, women and men tend to be more similar than different (Biernat and Deaux, 2012).Rather, we posit that women's participation in the workplace is hindered by gender bias in evaluation, and that this bias has its origin in gender stereotypes.This chapter will focus on how gender bias affects the recruitment and selection of women in traditionally male occupations.We will describe the process by which gender stereotypes produce gender bias in hiring decisions, and illustrate how, despite evidence to the contrary, women can be judged as undeserving of jobs typically held by men.The 'lack of fit' model (Heilman, 1983(Heilman, , 2001) ) will be used as a framework for understanding the causes and consequences of gender bias in the recruitment and selection of women in organizations.It also will serve as a model for suggested remedial action.

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References

2002Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.2001Description and Prescription: How Gender Stereotypes Prevent Women's Ascent Up the Organizational Ladder 2012Gender stereotypes and workplace bias 1994Heuristic processing can bias systematic processing: Effects of source credibility, argument ambiguity, and task importance on attitude judgment.2000Stereotypes as Dynamic Constructs: Women and Men of the Past, Present, and Future 2001A Global Look at Psychological Barriers to Women's Progress in Management 1983Sex bias in work settings: The Lack of Fit model.1987Social Cognition And Social Perception

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