Exploring the Effects of Promoting Feminine Leaders on Women’s Interest in STEM

• Published in: Social psychological & personality science Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 40 - 50
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yiyue, Rios, Kimberly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Belonging; Cues; Femininity; Masculinity; Science and technology; Stereotypes; interventions; gender; identity-safety cues; STEM
• ISSN: 1948-5506; 1948-5514
• DOI: 10.1177/19485506211069808

In two pre-registered studies (N = 1,202), female college students expressed greater feelings of belonging and trust in a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) company whose leaders exhibited stereotypically feminine (vs. masculine) characteristics. The positive impact of feminine leaders was found for both female and male leaders and was mediated by participants’ felt similarity to the leaders. This mediation model held even after controlling for other perceptions of leaders, such as perceived communality. The findings in this article extend past research on men as identity-safety cues for women in STEM and suggest that promoting leaders’ femininity could be an effective strategy to increase women’s identification with STEM.