Gender stereotypes both reflect and reproduce the division of labor

Evidence

Skrypnek and Snyder (1982) establish a further link between stereotyping and systemjustification by showing that subjects’ gender stereotypes bring about divisions of labor that are consistent with the stereotypes. Specifically, stereotypic expectations led females who were believed by others to be male to choose to perform stereotypically “masculine tasks” such as fixing a light switch or attaching bait to a fishing hook, while females who were believed to be female opted for “feminine tasks” such as decorating a birthday cake and ironing a shirt … Taking the studies by Eagly and Steffen (1984, 1986), Hoffman and Hurst (1990), and Skrypnek and Snyder (1982) together, it seems that gender stereotypes both reflect and reproduce the division of social roles. The system-justification view holds that stereotypes follow from social and political systems in that certain systems lead people to stereotype themselves and others in such a way that their status, role, and the system in general are explained and justified. In this way, stereotypic beliefs both reflect and justify existing social arrangements. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2922

Categorization

• XREF: The belief-expectation loop here mirrors Pygmalion effects covered in earlier education chapters and Merton-style self-fulfilling prophecy work. — connects to: Logical categories mirror social hierarchy and division of labor, not solidarity — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 43; Social ‘representing’ falls to women because men are bound by productive labor. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1550; Finance work remains embodied and excludes workers marked by gender, race, or disability — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 187 (+1 more)
• SHARE: The bait-attaching/light-switch versus cake-decorating/ironing task split under manipulated gender belief is a striking teaching example worth sending to anyone who teaches social psychology.