Masculinity, Femininity, and the Workplace: A Study of Stereotypes.
Abstract
This study was undertaken to investigate sex stereotypes among working populations. Two forms of stereotypes were differentiated and separately investigated, including sex role stereotypes, or widely held beliefs about the appropriateness of different traits to women and men, and sex characteristic stereotypes, or widely held beliefs about the descriptiveness of different traits of the sexes. Subjects included 172 male and 172 female Navy enlisted personnel who were asked to describe the ideal and real Navy enlisted man, woman, and person on the 142 traits listed in the Broverman and Bem Sex Role Questionnaires. Two way analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyze the data. With respect to sex role stereotyping, it was found that males display a slight tendency to stereotype the ideal woman as appropriately less masculine than the ideal man. Females, on the other hand, appear to be more equalitarian in their perceptions, although they consider a small degree of role reversal desirable in the ideal woman. For both sexes, the overall frequency of sex role stereotyping appears to be greatly diminished by workforce participation. Recommendations are made for future research to determine if the professed equalitarianism of working women and men is evident in their behavior in actual work situations. Additional research also is required to determine if androgyny is a pragmatic goal for individual workers--that is, the extent to which this hypothetical ideal is associated with real occupational success, adjustment, and achievement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA059731
Entities
People
- J. David Johnson
- Kirsten Hinsdale