Consequences of a Zero-Sum Perspective of Gender Status: Predicting Later Discrimination against Men and Women in Collab
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Consequences of a Zero-Sum Perspective of Gender Status: Predicting Later Discrimination against Men and Women in Collaborative and Leadership Roles Joelle C. Ruthig 1 & Andre Kehn 1 & Wendy N. Fisher 1 & Emily M. Carstens Namie 1 Accepted: 7 October 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The zero-sum perspective (ZSP) implies gains made by one group (e.g., women) translate into equivalent loss for another group (e.g., men). The present studies extend prior research by examining whether individuals with a ZSP of gender status exhibit later discrimination. In Study 1, 624 U.S. undergraduates completed online measures of political orientation, social dominance orientation (SDO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), sexism, and ZSP of gender status. One month later, they read three online scenarios depicting a male target and three depicting a female target in a leadership or collaborative role, then rated their endorsement of the target. Regression results indicated that beyond the effects of participants’ gender, political orientation, RWA, SDO, and sexism, the greater participants’ ZSP of gender status, the less they endorsed female leaders and collaborators. ZSP did not predict endorsement of male targets. In Study 2, 249 adults across the United States completed the same initial measures as in Study 1 then one month later, read two online scenarios depicting a male target and two depicting a female target, then rated target endorsement. Greater ZSP of gender status again predicted less endorsement of female targets. A significant ZSP x Target Gender interaction showed endorsement of female targets declined with increasing ZSP whereas endorsement of male targets remained unchanged across levels of ZSP. These findings show discrimination against female leaders and collaborators by individuals who possess a ZSP of gender status and provide insight into how win-lose perceptions of gender status may impede gender equality. Keywords Zero-sum perspective . Gender equality . Gender gap . Sexism . Gender roles
Despite the far-reaching benefits and some gains made in social, employment, and familial status, various obstacles remain in the way of achieving gender equality. Such obstacles include unawareness that gender inequality remains a significant issue (Stephens and Levine 2011) and misperceptions that gains toward gender equality in one area generalize to gains in other areas, thereby diminishing concern about inequality in those other areas (Georgeac and Rattan 2019). In addition to these inaccurate perceptions, another barrier to achieving gender equality is viewing any gains toward Supplementary Information The online version of this article (https:// doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01199-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Joelle C. Ruthig [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, Stop 8380, 501 North Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
equality as more of a threat to men’s
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