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Women at work: pathways from gender stereotypes to gender bias and discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Heilman, Madeline E.
  • Caleo, Suzette
  • Manzi, Francesca

Abstract

Despite important advances, gender-based discrimination continues to hinder women's career progress. This review examines the role that gender stereotypes play in promoting gender bias and discrimination. After reviewing what is known about the content of gender stereotypes and examining both their descriptive and prescriptive aspects, we discuss two pathways through which stereotypes result in discrepant work outcomes for women and men. First, we consider how the characterization of women as communal but not agentic conflicts with the perceived demands of many male gender-typed jobs and fields, thus promoting perceptions of women's lack of competence in those areas. Second, we consider how norms about how women should and should not behave cause women to incur penalties when they exhibit counter-stereotypical attributes and behaviors at work. Our review further focuses on the conditions that foster or undercut gender bias and discrimination and uses this knowledge as a foundation for proposing strategies to promote more egalitarian organizational processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Heilman, Madeline E. & Caleo, Suzette & Manzi, Francesca, 2024. "Women at work: pathways from gender stereotypes to gender bias and discrimination," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121032, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121032
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/121032/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender bias; gender norms; gender stereotypes; lack of fit model; workplace discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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