The Devaluation of Women's Competence

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Abstract
Research on the evaluation of competent women is reviewed in the context of the experiences of some eminent academic women with the objectives of bridging the distance between these two sources of data, and of identifying some of the conditions under which competent women are likely to be evaluated less favorably than comparable men. Findings generally support the hypothesis that the typical responses (of men, primarily) to a competent woman include prejudice, stereotyped beliefs, and overt or subtle discrimination, unless competing responses are evoked by other features of the situation or by the stimulus person's unique qualities. Thus, a competent woman is most likely to be devalued when judgments are elicited in realistic contexts in which there are potential consequences for the evaluator (e.g., a real employer) and when the woman is unfamiliar.