Gender Stereotypes

Women are perceived to be more communal

Women would perform wifely and maternal
duties, whereas men would compete in the
workplace
Existence of erroneous stereotypes suggesting
men are more competent than women
Negative stereotypes can cause a self-fulfilling
prophecy

Representation of Gender Differences

across Levels in India

Source:AartiShyamsunder,AlixandraPollack,DnikaTravis,"IndiaInc:FromIntentiontoImpact"(2015).

The Female Communality Prescription

The potency of the female communality
stereotype
may be derived from social-structural causes
Women, who are societally subordinate to
men, are stereotyped as being nicer
incentives for men to ensure that women
remain deferent, compliant, and willing to
enact subordinate roles
men continue to depend on women to fulfill
domestic and romantic roles that require
communal traits,

Cognitive Barriers to Womens

Performance

Erroneous stereotypes suggesting men are

more competent than women
Women are stereotyped as poor negotiators
by men and women alike.
Sexist beliefs that women are in need of
mens protection.
Negative stereotypes can cause a self-fulfilling
prophecy
The gender pay gap in India for the year 2013
was 24.81%. The gender pay gap in India has
been declining over the years. Women earned
44.80% less than men before 2007. (Source:
Wage data Indicator Report, Sept 2013)

Backlash effects for disconfirming gender

stereotypes

Mens social roles overlap with the roles required

in organizational leadership, but womens roles
do not
They are also viewed as socially deficient and
unlikable by both male and female perceiver
While self-promotion is necessary for high
competence ratings, it decreases womens
likeability ratings and consequently, their
likelihood of being hired.
Although assertiveness is necessary for success
in the business world, it is viewed negatively in
women even when it involves self-defense

Backlash effects for disconfirming gender

stereotypes
Violating feminine niceness prescriptions can result
in
poor performance evaluations and adversely affect
promotion considerations
Women tend to obtain positions that involve dealing
with other staff (e.g., human resource management)
rather than with production
Women are expected to be nice, and when their
leadership behavior deviates from this expectation,
their evaluations suffer.
Women leaders are also evaluated more negatively
than male leaders when they use intimidation
strategies as a method of accomplishing goals