Testing for backlash in hiring : A field experiment on agency, communion,and gender

It has been suggested that women (men) who appear agentic (communal) when applying for jobs suffer a backlash in the form of reduced chances of being hired. However, the evidence of backlash is mainly restricted to simulated hiring decisions with undergraduates as participants. To examine whether backlash occurs when men and women apply for real jobs in the labor market, we conducted a field experiment. Gender, agentic and communal traits were manipulated in the applications. Whether or not the applications resulted in a job interview invitation constituted the dependent variable. We find no evidence of backlash, suggesting that women are not punished for presenting themselves as agentic in their job applications, nor are men punished for appearing communal