In the current study of 353 science and engineering faculty members, we examined whether three types of gender-based mistreatment might "chill" individuals' perceptions of the professional climate, which might in turn undermine satisfaction with their jobs. We also tested gender differences in these relationships. Results indicated that…

There is ample reason to be discouraged about the prevalence of sexual prejudice. As Herek (2000) notes, the majority of adult respondents in the United States report that homosexual behavior is wrong or "unnatural." The author readily acknowledges, then, that it is overly optimistic to believe that sexual prejudice is a thing of the past or that…

It is close to 20 years since the authors began the collaboration that led to ambivalent sexism theory and its associated measure, both reviewed in their 1997 "Psychology of Women Quarterly" article, "Hostile and Benevolent Sexism: Measuring Ambivalent Sexist Attitudes Toward Women." This article reports the development and validation of the…

Feminist psychology began as an avowedly political project with an explicit social change agenda. However, over the last two decades, a number of critics have argued that feminist psychology has become mired in an epistemological impasse where positivist commitments effectively mute its political project, rendering the field acceptable to…

Previous research suggests that benevolent sexism is an ideology that perpetuates gender inequality. But despite its negative consequences, benevolent sexism is a prevalent ideology that some even find attractive. To better understand why women and men alike might be motivated to adopt benevolent sexism, the current study tested system…

The article by Else-Quest and Grabe (2012) is an interesting one that discusses gender equity and indicators of gender equity; the authors push for the use of gender equity measures to help understand women's well-being through these measures' influence on power and empowerment. Else-Quest and Grabe do a good job of explaining that the "political…

The stereotype that women are dependent on men is a commonly verbalized, potentially damaging aspect of benevolent sexism. We investigated how women may use behavioral disconfirmation of the personal applicability of the stereotype to negotiate such sexism. In an experiment (N = 86), we manipulated female college students' awareness that women may…

Three experiments were conducted in the United States and Germany to test whether women and men endorse sexist beliefs because they are unaware of the prevalence of different types of sexism in their personal lives. Study 1 (N = 120) and Study 2 (N = 83) used daily diaries as a method to encourage individuals "to see the unseen." Results…

Behavioral prescription specifies how people ought to act. Five studies investigated prescription for men of protective paternalism, a particular form of benevolent sexism, depending on contextual and individual factors. In Studies 1 and 2, female participants prescribed for men more protective paternalistic behavior toward women in a romantic…

Our study explored the relationship between feminist identity and women's report of an ideal male partner's conformity to masculine gender role norms. Heterosexual, mostly White, college women (N = 183) completed measures assessing feminist beliefs and the masculinity characteristics of an ideal male partner. Results indicated that feminist…

In two studies, we investigated implicit gender stereotypes of successful managers. Using an adaptation of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) named the Successful Manager IAT (SM-IAT) in Study 1, we found that male participants were more likely to implicitly associate men with successful manager traits and women with unsuccessful manager traits…

Across two studies, we tested whether perceived social costs and benefits of confrontation would similarly predict confronting discrimination both when it was experienced and when it was observed as directed at others. Female undergraduate participants were asked to recall past experiences and observations of sexism, as well as their confronting…

We present the first empirical investigation of why men are assumed to earn higher salaries than women (the "salary estimation effect"). Although this phenomenon is typically attributed to conscious consideration of the national wage gap (i.e., real inequities in salary), we hypothesize instead that it reflects differential, automatic economic…

Women experience social and economic penalties (i.e., backlash) for self-promotion, a behavior that violates female gender stereotypes yet is necessary for professional success. However, it is unknown whether and how the threat of backlash interferes with women's ability to self-promote. The present research examined the effects of fear of…

Numerous studies have found that, compared to women, men express higher levels of social dominance orientation (SDO), an individual difference variable reflecting support for unequal, hierarchical relationships between groups. Recent research suggests that the often-observed gender difference in SDO results from processes related to gender group…