A gender bias expert, Kim Elsesser, Ph.D., is the author of Sex and the Office and taught classes on gender at UCLA for eight years. She is a senior contributor for Forbes and has published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
As political strategists and journalists query undecided voters ahead of the upcoming presidential election, a recurring sentiment stands out: many remain unsure about Kamala Harris , citing a. Despite her media presence and debate appearances, these voters still haven’t heard enough to make an informed decision. According to research on female leaders hip, their hesitation could be more about her gender than her policies.
The performance ratings reflected the women’s work and did not require imagination, so bias did not impact these—indeed, women received higher performance ratings than men. But when evaluators were asked to imagine the women’s future potential, much like the undecided voters, they couldn’t see it. Despite performing better than men, women received lower ratings on their potential than men.
To assess whether women truly had less future potential than men, the same researchers looked at the women’s performance ratings in future periods. They found that women outperformed forecasts of their potential. Yet, even though they outperformed prior ratings of their potential, managers still rated the women as having lower future potential in subsequent ratings., researchers found similar results.
Certainly, part of the demand for more insight into Harris may stem from her relatively recent entry into the presidential race, leaving voters seeking clarity on her policies. However, given the research evidence, it’s also likely that the difficulty some voters have in envisioning her in the role of president is fueling the calls for further details about her plans.
Companies can take concrete steps to help combat this type of bias in the workplace—like defining"potential" with clear, objective criteria. But the challenge is more complex when it comes to the presidency. To move past the stereotypes that might cloud voters' judgment, Harris would need to offer enough detail about her vision and plans to help people clearly see her in the Oval Office, leaving no room for imagination—and thus, bias—to take hold.
Election Gender Bias Potential Female Leaders Research Information Prove-It-Again Bias Black Women Undecided
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