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In two studies, we investigated implicit gender stereotypes of successful managers. Using an adaptation of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) named the Successful Manager IAT (SM-IAT) in Study 1, we found that male participants were more likely to implicitly associate men with successful manager traits and women with unsuccessful manager traits compared to reversed pairings. Women, individuals high in internal motivation to respond without sexism, and those low in external motivation to respond without sexism showed positive implicit associations between women and successful manager traits. In contrast, all participants showed positive views of women on workplace-contextualized explicit measures of gender stereotypes. The findings of Study 2 also revealed that implicit gender stereotypes predicted hypothetical workplace outcomes, such that a greater implicit association of men with successful manager traits, and women with unsuccessful manager traits, was linked to increased workplace rewards assigned to male managers by both male and female participants. The findings of our studies have important implications for both gender stereotyping researchers and workplace practitioners. Theoretically, our studies suggest that explicit and implicit stereotypes of female managers diverge, with implicit stereotypes being more likely to highlight traditional, often negative, views of female managers. Our findings point toward a better understanding of female managers' challenges in the workplace. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

A number of high-profile gender equality initiatives (GEIs) are intended to address women's underrepresentation in science. However, attitudes toward such initiatives can be negative. In two experiments with STEM academics, we examined how GEIs can be best framed to improve attitudes toward them. In study 1 (N = 113), we manipulated the framing of GEI leadership (led by a man or woman) and GEI focus (benefitting men and women or benefitting women only). The men were more supportive of GEIs benefitting both men and women because of fewer concerns of unfair treatment and more internal motivations to engage with GEIs. The women's level of support was unaffected by framing. In study 2 (N = 151), we framed GEIs as either supported by university management or not and either internally or externally driven. Support was greater for internally driven GEIs. The impact of management support depended on the academics' experience with GEIs. This research makes evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of GEIs to improve their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normative fit (the consistency between stimulus persons' features and perceivers stored stereotypes or group-based expectations) is known to facilitate social categorization. The present study expands upon earlier findings by showing that this effect extends to situations in which normative fit is based on generalized evaluation (i.e. evaluative fit). We presented 80 White participants with stimuli in which an equal number Black and White targets were disproportionately linked to stereotype irrelevant good and bad behaviors. In one condition, Black targets performed a disproportionate number of negative behaviors while White targets performed a disproportionate number of positive behaviors. In another condition, these proportions were reversed. Using the category confusion paradigm (Taylor, Fiske, Etcoff, and Ruderman, 1978), we found greater evidence of categorization use in the former condition than the latter condition. The use of this technique as an implicit measure is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]