An Exploration of Unconscious Biases against Female Leaders The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) reported that 57% of women aged 16 and over participates in the labor force in a full-time capacity compared to 69.2% of men within the same age range. Despite similar numbers of working women and men, women typically earn a lower salary than men. Citing statistics from 2014, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (n.d.) reported that for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns only 79 cents. This wage gap can be partly explained by the fact that men are more likely than women to hold positions of higher status, including leadership positions.
Leadership positions often allow men greater access to higher salaries as well as more power and prestige in the workplace (Glick, 1991). Stereotypical notions of gender, which place women in the role of the subservient helper, have proven to be problematic for women’s advancement in the workplace with regard to leadership positions. Swim, Aikin, Hall, and …show more content…
The purpose of their study was to examine if implicit gender biases had a bearing on legal decision making. They found that novice arbitrators exhibited gender bias against women while trained and experienced arbitrators were not prone to these cognitive errors. This suggests that with training, there may be some relief to gender biases against female leaders. While social context, training, and expertise may help mitigate biases, individual factors may predominate. In addition, a valid intervention has yet to be developed to help aid against implicit biases against women. Together this suggests that for women to be considered effective leaders and to be respected as such, intervention should start in very early
Leadership positions often allow men greater access to higher salaries as well as more power and prestige in the workplace (Glick, 1991). Stereotypical notions of gender, which place women in the role of the subservient helper, have proven to be problematic for women’s advancement in the workplace with regard to leadership positions. Swim, Aikin, Hall, and …show more content…
The purpose of their study was to examine if implicit gender biases had a bearing on legal decision making. They found that novice arbitrators exhibited gender bias against women while trained and experienced arbitrators were not prone to these cognitive errors. This suggests that with training, there may be some relief to gender biases against female leaders. While social context, training, and expertise may help mitigate biases, individual factors may predominate. In addition, a valid intervention has yet to be developed to help aid against implicit biases against women. Together this suggests that for women to be considered effective leaders and to be respected as such, intervention should start in very early