Women self-select away from the highest-reward positions, sustaining gender hegemony

Evidence

Although women make up 46 percent of the workforce, they are underrepresented in positions of power and prestige (Eagly & Diekman, ch. 2 this volume). Gender prejudice helps to perpetuate this fact, as backlash research makes clear. However, women’s own choices (i.e., self-selection bias) may also be an important factor. Compared with men, women tend to shy away from positions that carry the highest rewards, both social and economic (Pratto, Stallworth, Sidanius, & Siers, 1997). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 767

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: is the self-selection claim robust, or does it partly reflect the same socialization that backlash research describes? Both could be mutually reinforcing.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 767
• XREF: connects to: Women’s exclusion from authority stems from learned passivity, not innate inferiority — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 673; Women’s economic dependence makes them define themselves through men’s desires. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 298; Economic and social structures still subordinate women despite overturning the femininity myth — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 675 (+9 more)