The Impact of Social Dominance on Gender Biasing and Evaluations for Men and Women in Leadership Roles

Previous research about gender biasing in the workplace provides a framework for examining how women may be negatively evaluated in leadership roles. It is thought that gender biasing may be the result of violations of gender roles. Previous research also suggests that biasing is also due to violations in the social hierarchy. This study examines how social dominance influences competency and likability ratings for men and women in leadership roles who violate gender stereotypes when working in either hierarchy-enhancing or hierarchy-attenuating jobs. The results indicate that leaders who exhibited stereotypical male characteristics were rated as more competent and leaders that exhibited stereotypical female characteristics were rated more likable