© Copyright 2013. Joan C. Williams, Center for WorkLife Law.

What Works For Women At Work

Professor Joan C. WilliamsHastings Foundation Chair, DirectorCenter for WorkLife LawUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law

Source: Williams, J.C. & Dempsey, R.W. (in press). What works for women at work: Get savvy, get control, get ahead. New York, NY: New York University Press; Catalyst. (2012, July). Catalyst quick take: Sex discrimination and sexual harassment. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved February 14, 2013, fromhttp://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/sex-discrimination-and-sexual-harassment-0.

GENDER BIAS IS COMMONPLACE

68% of women believe gender bias exists

73%

TIGHTROPETIGHTROPE

60%

PROVE-IT AGAIN!PROVE-IT AGAIN!

59%

MATERNALWALLMATERNALWALL

55%

TUG OF WARTUG OF WAR

IMPLICIT BIAS

Do you feel more comfortable with people like yourself?

IMPLICIT BIAS

If you think someone’s smart, do you tend to overlook their little stumbles?

IMPLICIT BIAS

When a woman has a baby, do you worry she won’t be as committed to her career?

SCHEMAS

Expectations associated with members of a group that guide perceptions and behaviors. Schemas

• influence judgments of group members

• influence group members’ expectations about how they will be judged

Image source: (Image purchased from http://www.istockphoto.com)

Source: Goldin, C., & Rouse, C. (2000). Orchestrating impartiality: The impact of "blind" auditions on female musicians. American Economic Review, 90(4), 715-741.

SCHEMAS AFFECT EVALUATION

25% - 46%

in women hired when auditions held behind a screen.

INCREASE

SCHEMAS AFFECT EVALUATION

• White names yielded as many more callbacks as 8 additional years of experience

• The higher the resume quality, the higher the gap between callbacks for black and white names

Greg

Jamal

Source: Bertrand & Mullainathan (2004). Poverty Action Lab, 3, 1-27.

4 PATTERNS OF GENDER BIAS

• Prove It Again!

• The Tightrope

• The Maternal Wall

• Tug of War

PROVE-IT AGAIN! IS COMMON

73%

TIGHTROPETIGHTROPE

60%

PROVE-IT AGAIN!PROVE-IT AGAIN!

59%

MATERNALWALLMATERNALWALL

55%

TUG OF WARTUG OF WAR

© Copyright 2013. Joan C. Williams

Women need to give more evidence of competence than men to be judged equally competent

Triggered by race as well as gender

PROVE-IT AGAIN!

Knobloch-Westerwick, Glynn, & Huge, 2013; Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, & Handelsman, 2012; Roth, Purvis, & Bobko, 2012; Davison & Burke, 2000; Biernat & Kobrynowicz, 1997.

Source: Williams, J.C. (2007). [Focus group interviews for NSF ACE grant, San Francisco, CA]. Unpublished data.Supporting evidence: Barsh & Yee, 2011.

PROVE-IT AGAIN!

‘lazy’ or not ‘tenurable material,’

‘engaged in research that will take longer to

reach the publication world.’”““ HE IS

SHE IS

MEN’S POTENTIAL WOMEN’S ACHIEVEMENTS

Kulich, Trojanowski, Ryan, Alexander Haslam, & Renneboog, 2011; Garcia-Retamero & López-Zafra, 2006; Swim & Sanna, 1996; Igbaria & Baroudi, 1995; Greenhaus & Parasuraman, 1993; Taylor, Fiske, Etcoff, & Ruderman, 1978.

PROVE-IT AGAIN!

skilled. lucky.

MEN’S SUCCESSES WOMEN’S SUCCESSES

HE’S SHE’S

ATTRIBUTION BIAS

Women’s mistakes are noticed more, and remembered longer

PROVE-IT AGAIN!

Bowles & Gelfand, 2010; Bauer & Baltes, 2002; Rothbart, Evans, & Fulero, 1979.

WOMEN’S MISTAKES MEN’S MISTAKES

RECALL BIAS

Source: Huang, P.M., (n.d.) Gender bias in academia: Findings from focus groups, San Francisco, CA: The Center for WorkLife Law. Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://worklifelaw.org/pubs/gender-bias-academia.pdf.Supporting evidence: Biernat, Fuegen, & Kobrynowicz, 2010; Bowles & Gelfand, 2010; Bauer & Baltes, 2002.

We dismissed a lot of women on the grounds they hadn’t finished their dissertations—and then accepted a man who hadn’t finished his. ““

PROVE-IT AGAIN!

LENIENCY BIAS

OBJECTIVE REQUIREMENTS

CASUISTRY

• Princeton experiment

• What matters, education or experience?

Source: Norton et al. (2004). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87 (6), 821.

Source:Source: (Linville & Jones, 1980)

Polarized Evaluation

POLARIZED EVALUATIONS

Fleming, Petty, & White, 2005; Glick, Diebold, Bailey-Werner, & Zhu, 1997; Scherer, Owen, & Brodzinski, 1991; Heilman, Martell, & Simon, 1988; Jussim, Coleman, & Lerch, 1987; Weber & Crocker, 1983; Linville & Jones, 1980 © Copyright 2013. Joan C. Williams

STUDIES OF ACADEMIA

• Dept. chairs given identical CVs of ♀ & ♂– Significantly more likely to hire man as associate, women as assistant,

professor

• Recommendation letters– For men: “brilliant and original”

– For women: “reliable, responsible, meticulous”

Sources: Dovidio & Gaertner (2000). Psychological Science, 11, 315-319; Wilson, 2004.

Let’s decide up front what the objective requirements are.

Let’s go back to the top of the pile.

PROVE-IT AGAIN!PROVE-IT AGAIN!INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES

““

TIGHTROPE IS COMMONPLACE

73%

TIGHTROPETIGHTROPE

60%

PROVE-IT AGAIN!PROVE-IT AGAIN!

59%

MATERNALWALLMATERNALWALL

55%

TUG OF WARTUG OF WAR

Source: Nadis, S. (1999). Women scientists unite to battle cowboy culture. Nature, 398 (6726), 361. Supporting evidence: Biernat, Tocci, & Williams, 2012; Okimoto & Brescoll, 2010; Phelan, Moss‐Racusin, & Rudman, 2008; Rudman & Phelan, 2008; Bowles, Babcock, & Lai, 2007; Rudman & Glick, 2001; Burgess & Borgida, 1999; Costrich, Feinstein, Kidder, Marecek, & Pascale, 1975.

““

THE TIGHTROPE

To get ahead here, you have to be so aggressive. But if women are too aggressive they’re ostracized…and if they’re not aggressive enough they have to do twice the work.”

TOO MASCULINE | TOO FEMININE

Supporting evidence: Asbrock, 2010; Cuddy, Fiske, Kwan & al., 2009; Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2008; Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007; Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2007; Eckes, 2002.

• Are women expected to do the office housework?• Committee and other service work, plan parties, take notes, clean up the lab, doing administrative work

• Or to play narrowly cabined feminine roles? • Dutiful daughter

• Ever-understanding mother (students and colleagues)

LIKED BUT NOT RESPECTED | TOO FEMININE PROBLEMS

Haselhuhn & Kray, 2012; Bowles, Babcock, & McGinn, 2005; Heilman & Chen, 2005; Glick & Fiske, 2001; Taylor, 1981; Kanter, 1975.

THE TIGHTROPE

DirectOutspokenAssertiveCompetitive

THE TIGHTROPERESPECTED BUT NOT LIKED | TOO MASCULINE

Phelan, Moss‐Racusin, & Rudman, 2008; Rudman & Phelan, 2008; Rudman & Fairchild, 2004; Rudman & Glick, 2001; Costrich, Feinstein, Kidder, Marecek, & Pascale, 1975.

• Are women faulted for

•Being outspoken

•Seen more often as arrogant

•Dismissed as too ambitious

•Ice queen

• “Nice Work on the Academy”

LIKED BUT NOT RESPECTED | TOO MASCULINE

Bettis, Pamela J. and Natalie G. Adams. “Nice at Work in the Academy.” (unpublished manuscript).

THE TIGHTROPE

Source: Brescoll, V.L. & Uhlmann, E.L. (2008). Can an angry woman get ahead?: Status conferral, gender, and expression of emotion in the workplace. Psychological Science, 19(3), 268-275. Supporting evidence: Gupta, 2013; Kring, 2000.

Showing anger tends to increase the perceived status of a man, but decrease that of a woman

RESPECTED BUT NOT LIKED | TOO MASCULINE

THE TIGHTROPE

ANGER

Rudman & Phelan, 2008; Prentice & Carranza, 2002; Rudman, 1998.

RESPECTED BUT NOT LIKED | TOO MASCULINE

THE TIGHTROPE

SELF-PROMOTION

‘S

Source: Correll, S.J., Benard, S. & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112 (5), 1297–1338.Supporting evidence: Heilman & Okimoto, 2008; Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2004; Fuegen, Biernat, Haines, & Deaux, 2004.

MATERNAL WALL

• 79% less likely to be hired

• only half as likely to be promoted

• offered $11,000 less in salary

• Held to higher performance and punctuality standards

MOTHERHOOD TRIGGERS THE STRONGEST FORM OF GENDER BIAS

Frasch, K., Mason, M.A., Stacy, A., Goulden, M., & Hoffman, C. (2007). Creating a family friendly department: Chairs and deans toolkit. Berkley, CA: University of California Faculty Family Friendly Edge. Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://ucfamilyedge.berkeley.edu/ChairsandDeansToolkitFinal7-07.pdf;Correll, S.J., Benard, S. & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112 (5), 1297–1338.

As a mother of two infants, she had responsibilities that were incompatible with those of a full-time academician.”

““MATERNAL WALL

Hoobler, Wayne, & Lemmon, 2009; Correll, Benard, & Paik, 2007; Heilman & Haynes, 2005.

ATTRIBUTION BIAS

GAP IN HIS RESUME GAP IN HER RESUME

MATERNAL WALL

Hebl, M. R., King, E. B., Glick, P., Singletary, S. L., & Kazama, S. (2007). Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1499.Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491-512; Schneider v. Northwestern University, 925 F. Supp. 1347 (N.D. Ill. 1996).

I don’t know how you can leave your children. My wife could never do that.

HOSTILE PRESCRIPTIVE BIAS

““MATERNAL WALL

This is not a good time for her.

BENEVOLENT PRESCRIPTIVE BIAS

““MATERNAL WALL

Hebl, M. R., King, E. B., Glick, P., Singletary, S. L., & Kazama, S. (2007). Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1499.Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491-512; Schneider v. Northwestern University, 925 F. Supp. 1347 (N.D. Ill. 1996).

Indisputably competent and committed mothers Less likable Held to higher performance standards

HOSTILE PRESCRIPTIVE BIAS

MATERNAL WALL

Correll & Benard, 2010; Correll, Benard, & Paik, 2007; Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2004; Fuegen, Biernat, Haines, & Deaux, 2004.

Source: Drago, R. & Colbeck, C.L. (2003). The mapping project: exploring the terrain of U.S. colleges and universities for faculty and families. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.Supporting evidence: Rudman & Mescher, 2013; Wayne & Cordeiro, 2003; Allen & Russell, 1999.

Over 40 percent of academic fathers did not ask to stop the tenure clock for a new child even though it would have helped them to take it.

THE FLEXIBILITY STIGMA

FRIGID CLIMATE FOR FATHERS

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. (FMLA). Note that the FMLA does not apply to all employers and circumstances. Note further that the legal information contained herein is of a general nature and is subject to change; it is not meant to serve as legal advice in any particular situation. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

• Treating men different from women

• Denying parental leave to either men or women is illegal

• So is penalizing either women or men for taking it

SOME THINGS ARE ILLEGAL

MATERNAL WALL

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. (FMLA). Note that the FMLA does not apply to all employers and circumstances. Note further that the legal information contained herein is of a general nature and is subject to change; it is not meant to serve as legal advice in any particular situation. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

“I turned down MIT to come to Berkeley because they have these progressive family friendly policies”

Know what you offer re parental leave, stop-the-clock, part time tenure track?

FAMILY FRIENDLY EDGE

MATERNAL WALL

TUG OF WAR IS COMMONwhen gender bias against women turns into fights among women

73%

TIGHTROPETIGHTROPE

60%

PROVE-IT AGAIN!PROVE-IT AGAIN!

59%

MATERNALWALLMATERNALWALL

55%

TUG OF WARTUG OF WAR

© Copyright 2013. Joan C. Williams

Hall, E.V. (2012, June). [Interview for NSF Tools for Change Project]. Unpublished data.

The woman faculty members I’ve met that have been older than me are always very encouraging, very helpful and very kind to me.”““

TUG OF WAR

Source: Williams, J.C. & Dempsey, R.W. (in press). What works for women at work: Four patterns every working woman needs to know (forthcoming NYU, February 2014. Supporting evidence: Zatz, 2002; Ely, 1994a & 1994b; Keller & Moglen, 1987; Kanter, 1997a & 1997b.

Opportunities for women are very zero-sum. If one woman gets a prized position or assignment, that means another woman won’t. And so it breeds a sense of competition.”

TOKENISM

““TUG OF WAR

TUG OF WAR

I’m not a girl at Google, I’m a geek at Google.”

Women who had experienced discrimination early in their careers…

Derks, Ellemers, van Laar, & de Groot, 2011; Derks, Van Laar, Ellemers, & de Groot, 2011; Ellemers, Heuvel, Glider, Maass, & Bonvini, 2004.

Marissa Mayer““

TUG OF WAR

It’s a tough world out there

You’ll make us look bad

I had to pay my dues

““

Huang, P.M., (n.d.) Gender bias in academia: Findings from focus groups, San Francisco, CA: The Center for WorkLife Law. Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://worklifelaw.org/pubs/gender-bias-academia.pdf.

I’ve seen lots of women, senior women, behave that way. And even not just as far as the working long hours, but even adopting male mannerisms…. but sort of really aggressive and not putting up with any crap…and not supporting younger women….

TOMBOYS vs FEMMES

““TUG OF WAR

Huang, P.M., (n.d.) Gender bias in academia: Findings from focus groups, San Francisco, CA: The Center for WorkLife Law. Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://worklifelaw.org/pubs/gender-bias-academia.pdf.

…I’m on kind of a backlash mission ...I wear dresses, I bake cookies for my group meetings, I bring my child to class with me…. I’ve just…stuck it out there and said…I’m a woman, I’m someone’s mother…I’m not going to compete as a boy because I’m not a boy.

FEMMES vs TOMBOYS

““TUG OF WAR

I worked long hours and my kids are fine.”

Childfree: “They are just reinforcing stereotypes.”

Childless: “I had to make hard choices.”

MOMMY WARS

TUG OF WAR

““

SENIOR WOMENRemember younger women’s experience is different.

TUG OF WARTUG OF WARINDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES

JUNIOR WOMENRemember senior women may not have as much power as you think.

TUG OF WARTUG OF WARINDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES

STAY CONNECTED!Send us your comments and feedback at:

www.ToolsForChangeInSTEM.orgwww.newgirlsnet.com