Breaking the glass ceiling through unbiased
job advertisements
An experimental study investigating the effects of gendered wording and perceived numerical minority on women’s identification with the leadership domain
Master’s Thesis
Graduate School of Communication
Master’s Programme Corporate Communication Science
Supervised by Iina Hellsten
30 June 2017 Abstract
Dutch women’s participation in leadership remains to be low despite several attempts of the government to stimulate female leadership. The first stage of the recruitment process could possibly play a role in this female paucity. The linguistic and visual features of job advertisements for leadership positions could potentially not be as appealing to women as they are to men due to masculine biased wording. Additionally, when women perceive that there exists a numerical minority of women within a work group or an organization they could feel as if their female identity is not valued and especially not as a potential leader. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate how gendered wording and perceived numerical minority of women within job advertisements can influence women’s level of stereotype threat and how this in turn can influence female identification with the leadership domain while considering their self-efficacy for leadership. 266 women participated in an online experiment with a 2 (masculine/feminine wording) by 2 (female majority/minority) between subjects design. The participants were exposed to one of four manipulated job advertisements and were asked about their level of stereotype threat, identification with the leadership domain and their level of self-efficacy for leadership. Despite expectations based on earlier research, the results indicated no significantly heightened stereotype threat for women exposed to masculine wording but did demonstrate a higher level of stereotype threat for women exposed to the female majority job advertisement. Also, stereotype threat did not influence their level of identification with the leadership domain nor did this result change when self-efficacy for leadership was added as a moderator. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling Through Unbiased Job Advertisements
The statutory target of the Dutch government to stimulate women’s participation in leadership positions has not been reached for the third year in a row (Dekker, 2015). This is quite surprising considering the revolution that has taken place related to the attitudes towards female rights and women’s professional ambitions since the seventies. The stereotypical perceptions of women as communal and men as agentic still seem to play a primary role in the assessment of women’s leadership capabilities (Rudman & Phelan, 2010), despite all efforts of the government to advance the female representation in the upper echelons of the corporate environment (Rijksoverheid, 2015). Scholars have been concerned as to what causes this glass ceiling to still stay intact in today’s progressive society. One of many explanations can be found in the first stage of the recruitment process. Linguistic features within job advertisements can have the power to construct an image of the ‘ideal’ leader that upholds stereotypical perceptions of women concerning their lack of fit with the leadership domain (Askehave, 2010; Askehave & Zethsen, 2014; Horvath & Sczesny, 2016). Research has confirmed the domination of masculine wording within job advertisements for positions traditionally perceived as being more suited for men (Gaucher, Friesen & Kay, 2011), as is the case for leadership positions (Askehave & Zethsen, 2014). The use of gendered wording within these job advertisements can therefore function as a cue for the development of
stereotype threat within women (Askehave, 2010; Hoyt & Murphy, 2016). Additionally, when women perceive that there exists a numerical minority of women within a work group or an organization this can contribute to the occurrence of stereotype threat, whereby women feel as if their female identity is not valued (Hoyt & Murphy, 2016; Kanter, 1977; Sekaquaptewa &
Thompson, 2003). This activation of stereotype threat can cause women to automatically misidentify with the leadership domain and can therefore directly contribute to the
conservation of gender inequality in leadership (Hoyt & Blascovich, 2007). However, besides several attempts of scholars to broaden the understanding of how recruitment communication can stagnate or encourage female participation in the leadership domain, experimental
research confirming these causal relationships is scarce (Askehave, 2010; Hoyt, 2005). More clarification around the central role of communication within the recruitment process is needed to understand how and to what extent gendered wording and perceived numerical minority within job advertisements can reinforce gender inequality through the activation of stereotype threat and how this in turn can influence women’s identification with and
participation in the leadership domain. The research questions of this Master’s thesis therefore are:
To what extent do gendered wording and perceived numerical minority in job advertisements for leadership positions activate women’s stereotype threat and affect their identification with the leadership domain? And does their level of self-efficacy for leadership play a moderating role in this?
The results of this study carry scientific relevance. For example, as Askehave and Zethsen (2014, p. 543) state in their directions for future research: “It remains to be seen how potential female applicants would in fact react to the job advertisements, more specifically whether the very one-sided perspective on leadership in the job advertisements may have a negative effect on their view of themselves as competent leaders and their motivation to apply for a top management position.” The aim of this current experimental study is to fill this gap and provide answers as to how potential female applicants would indeed be affected by the communication within leadership job advertisements. Additionally, the studied literature did not have its focus on women with a Dutch nationality and respectively the Dutch language.
Even though a recent study comparing Dutch and American women did demonstrate a significant difference in their stereotypical beliefs about effective leadership styles which the scholars linked to differences in the values, norms and cultures of the two countries
(Vinkenburg, Van Engen, Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2011). Through the focus on Dutch women within the current study, an attempt was made to investigate if the results of previous research could be generalized to Dutch women or if potential differences can be ascribed to the difference of the Dutch culture and beliefs.
Furthermore, corporate managers and recruiters could also benefit from the insights of this study in a more practical manner. The knowledge gained through the results of this study could aid them in making choices about the structure and content of job advertisements to appeal to a diverse pool of applicants instead of unconsciously targeting a specific group due to linguistic and/or visual features.
Theoretical framework
Communicative aspects within job advertisements can greatly influence to what extent the recruitment material attracts the desired applicants for an organization or a particular position (Askehave, 2010). As Backhaus (2004, p. 116) states: “the task of business com-munication is to find the appropriate words to pique the curiosity of the desired potential workers and encourage them to continue through the application process”. It is therefore crucial to have the relevant knowledge as to how a diverse pool of applicants can be attracted through a single job advertisement. According to the social dominance theory (SDT),
institutional-level mechanisms, like textual and pictorial choices within job advertisements, can have the power to maintain existing group-based inequalities (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). SDT explains that the decisions and behaviors of individuals and the operations of institutions and organizations are partly shaped by shared social ideologies and legitimizing myths
(Pratto, Sidanius & Levin, 2006). These existing myths and ideologies favor dominant groups over subordinate groups. Hierarchy-enhancing organizations and institutions sustain
inequality either consciously or unconsciously through their practices and policies (Pratto, Sidanius & Levin, 2006). This entails that a job advertisement carries the potential to transfer an organization’s ideology through the choice of wording, content and lay-out. The following chapters explain how these choices can either attract or repel women from leadership
positions.
The effect of gendered wording on stereotype threat
Discourse within job advertisements can construct and reinforce the image of an ‘ideal leader’ through explicit and implicit textual choices that might not be as appealing to both sexes due to masculine bias (Bem & Bem, 1973; Gaucher, Friesen & Kay, 2011; Horvath & Sczesny, 2016). This phenomenon is called gendered wording and entails “the use of
masculine- and feminine themed wording associated with gender stereotypes” (Gaucher, Friesen & Kay, 2011, p. 1). Masculine themed wording corresponds with agentic wording (e.g. individualistic, competitive) and traditionally perceived masculine traits (e.g. ambitious, assertive) and feminine themed words more with communal wording (e.g. committed,
supportive) and traditionally perceived feminine traits (e.g. compassionate, understanding). These ascribed traits are primarily constructed and defined socially, historically and
politically rather than being biologically decided. These gender specific attributions can unintentionally reflect stereotypical gender roles within language use (Gaucher, Friesen & Kay, 2011). According to the role congruity theory by Eagly and Karau (2002) individuals perceive the agentic masculine traits as more suitable for leadership positions than the
communal feminine ones. Traditional portrayals of ideal leaders correlate strongly with these presumed masculine agentic traits and therefore confirm and reinforce the ‘think manager -
think male’ perspective (Schein & Davidson, 1993). These repeated and reinforced
perceptions of men as being more suited for fulfilling leadership positions can in turn affect women’s self-perception as competent leader and portray their female identity as being undesired in the leadership domain (Askehave, 2010; Hoyt & Murphy, 2016; Rudman & Phelan, 2010). Considering the fact that job advertisements are one of the first encounters women can have with an organization while in the job hunting process, the use of gendered wording within these job advertisements can greatly contribute to the formation of
impressions about the extent to which their female identity is valued within the organization and in their position as a leader. Gendered wording within job advertisements can then act as a cue that activates stereotype threat: “the concrete, real-time threat of being judged and treated poorly in settings where a negative stereotype about one's group applies” (Hoyt & Murphy, 2016, p. 388). The results of a study by Askehave and Zethsen (2014) concerning the male bias within job advertisements for leadership positions showed that their respondents assigned the male identity to the vast majority of these job advertisements. The female
respondents perceived that the job advertisement communicated a leadership identity that was incongruent with how they saw themselves as leader and ascribed this to the male-biased traits within the job advertisements. Furthermore, a study by Horvath and Sczesny (2016) demonstrated that when job advertisements contained linguistic forms that referred both to men and to woman instead of only to men, the perception of women’s lack of fit with high-status leadership positions was reduced. These results further demonstrate the important role of textual choices within job advertisements and their influence on women’s perceptions of their fit with the constructed image of an ideal leader within these job advertisements. Within this study, it is therefore expected that: The use of masculine themed wording within job advertisements will increase the level of stereotype threat experienced by women.
Hypothesis 1: The use of masculine themed wording in job advertisements increases the level of stereotype threat experienced by women.
The effect of perceived numerical minority on stereotype threat
Next to the effect of implicit gendered wording on the level of stereotype threat experienced by women, there exist several other antecedents that can contribute to the development of stereotype threat. In a literature review by Hoyt and Murphy (2016) some of these contributors are highlighted. They call these antecedents ‘stereotype threat cues’ which entail factors that highlight the incongruity of women and leadership. These cues range from more explicit to more subtle or implicit. One important cue within this framework is the perceived numerical minority of women within a group or organization. When women are subtly reminded of the underrepresentation of women within a group or organization they can experience stereotype threat. This is called ‘tokenism’ and means a state in which a social group or identity is represented less than fifteen percent within the total group composition (Kanter, 1977). When women experience tokenism this means that the salience of one’s identity is increased and potential stereotype threat is activated (Kanter, 1977; Sekaquaptewa & Thompson, 2003; Von Hippel, Walsh & Zouroudis, 2010). An experimental study by Hoyt, Johnson, Murphy and Skinnel (2010) demonstrated that group sex-composition did influence the level of experienced stereotype threat by women, but for it to have detrimental effects on their responses to this threat, another cue needed to be added to make women feel vulnerable and as if their identity is not valued within a situation. However, Inzlicht and Ben-Zeev (2000) found that tokenism alone was already enough for women to experience stereotype threat and for it to have consequences on their performance. They explain that sex
composition works as a causal situational factor determining whether stereotype threat will be activated. When the number of male group members increased, the performance deficits of women would also increase. Similar results were found in the study by Murphy, Steele and
Gross (2007) whereby respondents either watched a video where the gender of a group was balanced or a video where the sex-composition was imbalanced. The results demonstrated that women felt more vulnerable when the gender was imbalanced and the female gender was underrepresented despite the absence of evidence of prejudice or discrimination. This effect was only experienced by women, men did not have significant increases in their feelings of vulnerability when their gender was in the minority.
Job advertisements have the power to communicate the sex-composition of a workgroup or an organization through subtle mechanisms like a photo or photos of all the employees or through the point(s) of contact to whom the application needs to be send or questions that need to be answered. A study by Rynes, Bretz and Gerhart (1991) demonstrates that women actively search for evidence that women are successfully employed within an organization when they evaluate their prospective employer. Avery and McKay (2006) propose that explicitly portraying gender diversity is key in attracting a diverse pool of applicants. Perkins, Thomas and Taylor (2000) investigated the potential impact of pictorial diversity on minority job seekers and they found that if there is congruence between the applicant and the individuals portrayed in the job advertisement, their perceptions of fit with and their level of attraction to the organization increased.
Thus, it is therefore expected that next to gendered wording, perceived numerical minority of women within an organization through job advertisements also has the capability to trigger stereotype threat.
Hypothesis 2: Perceived numerical minority of women in an organization through job advertisements increases the level of stereotype threat experienced by women.
The effect of stereotype threat on identification with leadership domain
Cohen and Garcia (2008) discuss that one’s motivation to achieve is partly contingent on their feelings of belongingness within a particular domain or endeavor. They explain that experienced uncertainty concerning this sense of belongingness could be based on the existence of a negatively stereotyped social identity. In other words, when an individual perceives that their social identity is not valued within a domain, their sense of identification with this domain could suffer (Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009). This is particularly important within domains with an already strong presence of stereotypical perceptions like science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (Shapiro & Williams, 2012). These academic and practical fields are characterized by the perception of being predominantly male and with an historically low participation of women, as is the current case for the leadership domain in the Netherlands (Maas & Visser, 2016). An earlier attempt by Hoyt & Blascovich (2007) to study the reactance responses of women to stereotype threat related to leadership found that the identification with the leadership domain was affected by their experienced stereotype threat. Identification with the leadership domain was defined here as “the extent to which an individual identifies with being, and seeing themselves as a competent leader” (Hoyt & Blascovich, 2007, p. 602). Furthermore, a study conducted by Woodcock, Hernandez, Estrada and Schultz (2012) demonstrated that when minorities, in their study African Americans and Hispanic/Latino(a)s, felt disidentified with the scientific domain, their
intention to pursue a career in science decreased. They define domain disidentification as “the more permanent separation of the self and the domain in question in response to chronic stereotype threat.” (Woodcock et al., 2012, p. 2). Translating those results to the focus of this thesis could suggest the same results for women’s leadership aspirations. Hoyt and Murphy
(2016) explain that when stereotype threat is experienced, disidentification with the leadership domain can happen because of self-protective reasons and prevention of potential further damage to their self-worth. Another manner to cope with this threat is by tying to separate their female identity from their work identity or selectively disidentify with some aspects of the stigmatized female identity that seem detrimental for the performance within the
leadership domain.
Building on the results mentioned above and the understanding that identification with the leadership domain is crucial for achievement within this domain (Hoyt, 2005), the
following is expected: When women experience stereotype threat, their level of identification with the leadership domain will suffer.
Hypothesis 3: A high level of experienced stereotype threat leads to a low level of identification with the leadership domain.
The moderating role of self-efficacy for leadership
Hoyt and Murphy (2016) pointed out that women’s responses towards experienced stereotype threat is contingent upon several factors. The extent to which women meet this threat with vulnerability or reactance responses is strongly related to their level of self-efficacy. The concept of self-efficacy was first introduced by Bandura (1977 p. 3) as “belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments”. The definition was slightly adjusted to fit in the leadership domain which was then called ‘self-efficacy for leadership’. A definition for this construct was found in the article from Hoyt, Murphy, Halverson, and Watson (2003, p. 261): “Self-efficacy in a leadership situation, or leadership efficacy, refers to one’s belief in his or her general ability to lead.” The reactance theory by Brehm (1989) explains that when a person’s freedom is
threatened this leads to feelings of arousal and results into reactance responses to restore this freedom. Yet, to be able to restore this, one must believe he or she is capable to counter the threat. This is where self-efficacy of leadership comes into play. When women perceive they lack the ability to lead successfully, vulnerability responses that confirm the stereotypical perceptions will likely follow. However, when women perceive that their general ability to lead is high, they will most likely respond to stereotype threat in a manner which counters the existing stereotypical perceptions. The results of the study by Hoyt (2005) confirmed this, women with high levels of self-efficacy for leadership felt greater identification with the leadership domain after exposure to stereotype threat cues than women with low levels of self-efficacy for leadership. Hoyt and Blascovich (2007) elaborated this further and found that women with a high level of self-efficacy for leadership exhibited more positive reactance responses like increased perceived performance, greater identification with the leadership domain and a higher well-being than women with a low level of self-efficacy for leadership.
Taking these results into account demonstrates the importance of including the role of self-efficacy for leadership into this study. Therefore, it is expected that the effects of
stereotype threat on women’s identification with the leadership domain is contingent on their level of self-efficacy for leadership.
Hypothesis 4: The effect of stereotype threat on the identification with the leadership domain will be stronger when women have a low level of self-efficacy for leadership in comparison to women with a high level of self-efficacy for leadership.
Figure 1. Conceptual Model.
Method
To investigate if gendered wording and perceived numerical minority did indeed affect stereotype threat and decrease the identification with the leadership domain, an experimental research method with an online questionnaire was used. This research method can determine causal relationships (Charness, Gneezy & Kuhn, 2012; Reips, 2000), which was needed to answer the research questions of this Master’s thesis adequately. Within an experimental study design the independent variables are manipulated and the surrounding factors are being kept as consistent as possible to have the ability to ascribe potential effects on the dependent variables to the manipulation of the independent variables (Boeije, ’t Hart, & Hox, 2009). Furthermore, a between subjects design avoids carryover effects which can come into play in a within subjects design (Charness, Gneezy & Kuhn, 2012). The choice for the online setting of the experiment was also deliberately made. Participants of this study could fill in the online
questionnaire in their own time and surroundings, therefore the potential laboratory effects were minimized and the external validity of this study was protected (Reips, 2000).
Experimental design
The proposed hypotheses were tested using an experimental 2 (masculine
wording/feminine wording) x 2 (numerical minority/numerical majority) factorial between-subjects design. The two independent variables, gendered wording and numerical minority, were hereby manipulated which lead to four different conditions (see table 1). The dependent variables in this study were measured using existing adjusted scales after exposure to the manipulated job advertisements (see measurements).
Table 1
Division Experimental Conditions
Masculine Wording Feminine Wording
Female Minority n = 42 n = 45
Female Majority n = 40 n = 50
Procedure
Prior to the distribution of the online questionnaire, a pilot study was executed to detect potential mistakes in the formulation of the questions, stimulus material and the survey flow. A total of six participants (N = 6) took part in this pilot study. The questionnaire did not present any problems concerning the survey flow but there were some typos detected which were corrected accordingly.
The data collection period started on the 1st of May 2017 and ended on the 15th of May
2017. The online questionnaire was written in Dutch due to the focus on Dutch women. The online questionnaire was set up as follows: First, a short introduction was presented and the
main information about the following experiment was disclosed. Participants were informed about the ethical procedure of the experiment and were asked to give their consent prior to their continuation of the questionnaire. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of four conditions. This was assured through the randomization tool of Qualtrics.com that divides the sample over the conditions proportionally. After the exposure to one of four job advertisements, participants were asked to indicate to what extent they agree or disagree with several statements that measure the dependent variables in this study. To check if the
participants recognized the manipulations within the job advertisements correctly, two manipulation check questions were set up. The first question concerned the manipulation of the gendered wording and if the participants recognized certain sets of words. The second question concerned the numerical minority. Respondents had to choose between the two different photos used for the manipulation and choose the one they were exposed to. Finally, the demographics of the participants were asked, these included their sex (control), age, educational level, current employment status and if they fulfill a leadership function.
Sample
The participants of this study were recruited through convenient snowball sampling. This sampling method is characterized as a quick and efficient way of recruiting a large sample of respondents in a relatively short period of time due to the proximity and availability of the potential respondents (Baltar & Brunet, 2012). The link to the online questionnaire was shared via social media (Facebook, Twitter), via e-mail and distributed on paper with a printed QR-code and short-link. In the recruitment message, the participants were asked if they wanted to share the link with their network to collect as many participants as possible within the limited timeframe of the data collection period.
The sex of the participants needed to be female. This was explicitly stated in the introductory text of the online questionnaire as well as in the recruitment message where the link to the online questionnaire was situated in. If, despite the prevention efforts, male individuals did participate in the study, they were excluded prior to the data analysis. Additionally, participants needed to be 18 years or older. This age requirement was set up because participants needed to be able to participate without their parents’ consent. Also, the content of the questionnaire is applicable to individuals who can enter the work field or are already employed.
A total number of 262 participants (N = 262) took part in the online questionnaire. One of these participants was male (n = 1) and therefore excluded from the sample. Also, 84 participants (n = 84) did not complete the survey entirely and were also excluded from the sample. This lead to a remaining number of 177 participants (n = 177) who were included in the data analysis. The average age of the participants was 28.99 (M = 28.99, SD = 10.78) with a minimum age of 18 years old and a maximum age of 58 years old. The educational level of the participants ranged from secondary school to PhD with 65% being academically educated. 75.1% of the sample was employed (n = 133) and 17.3% of those working, performed a leadership function (n = 23).
Stimulus material
A fictive job advertisement was produced in four different ways to function as the stimulus material in the experiment. The job advertisement concerned a fulltime management positon within a fictive travel organization, ‘TravelToday’. The choice for the recreation sector was deliberate. The Dutch central bureau of statistics published the sex-ratio of working people among several sectors. The sports, culture and recreation sector consisted of an equal representation of both sexes (CBS, 2017). By choosing a sector with an equal
representation of both men and women, an attempt was made to minimize the potential effect of existing perceptions about the masculinity or femininity of several sectors on the dependent variables within this study. The format and structure of the job advertisement were based on multiple job advertisements for leadership positions to protect the realistic feel.
Gendered wording was manipulated using the appendix of the study from Gaucher, Friesen and Kay (2011), who constructed several job advertisements with either masculine (e.g. assertive, competitive) or feminine (e.g. empathetic, communal) wording. The wording was translated to Dutch and adjusted to the content of the job advertisement to suit this study.
Numerical minority was manipulated in two ways. Two different photos were used at the end of the job advertisements. The photo for numerical minority of women conditions showed a majority of men and for the numerical majority of women conditions, a majority of women was represented on the photo. Additionally, the names used within the job
advertisements for response purposes were obviously male (e.g. Dirk, Paul) within the numerical minority condition and obviously female (e.g. Marjolein, Kim) in the numerical majority condition.
The independent variables ‘gendered wording’ and ‘numerical minority’ were manipulated in such a way that the surrounding elements of the job advertisement were kept as consistent as possible. This was done to prevent that potential effects could not be ascribed to inconsistencies between the conditions. A complete display of the stimulus material can be found in appendix A.
Measurements
Two dependent variables (stereotype threat, identification with the leadership domain) and one moderator (self-efficacy for leadership) were measured using existing, slightly adjusted scales. All three scales were translated to Dutch and translated back by a fellow
colleague to assure that the items were translated in a correct manner. All three scales were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1: ‘Helemaal mee oneens’ to 5: ‘Helemaal mee eens’.
Stereotype threat. The stereotype threat scale within this study was based on an already existing and reliable scale from the study of Steele and Aronson (1995). The original scale consisted of five items and the questions concerned stereotype threat related to race. The content of the items was adjusted to gender. Examples of the items were: ‘In
leiderschapssituaties worden mensen van mijn geslacht vaak geconfronteerd met
vooroordelen.’ and ‘Mijn geslacht heeft geen invloed op andermans percepties met betrekking tot mijn leiderschapskwaliteiten.’. The latter item was the only one out of five that was
negatively formulated and therefore rescaled. To ensure that the five items together measure the construct ‘stereotype threat’ a PCA factor analysis with Varimax rotation was performed. The results of the factor analysis indicated that the five items were divided into two
components with an Eigenvalue higher than 1. The first component consisted of three items with a factor loading higher than 0.64 each and an explained variance of 42.0%. The second component consisted of the remaining two items with a factor loading higher than 0.87 each and an explained variance of 24.1%. The first component measured the more general
stereotype threat and the second component was more focused around the situational stereotype threat related to the specific job advertisement. This is a possible explanation for the occurrence of two components instead of one. Both scales are reasonably reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of α = .63 for the ‘general stereotype threat’ (M = 3.13, SD = .75) and a Cronbach’s alpha of α = .71 for the ‘job advertisement stereotype threat’ (M = 1.96, SD = .72). Even though the factor analysis discovered two components, the five items together formed a valid and reliable scale measuring ‘stereotype threat’ in previous research (Steele & Aronson, 1995) and proved reliable within the current research. For this reason, a scale
consisting of all five items was also computed with a Cronbach’s alpha of α = .65 (M = 2.66, SD = .59).
Self-efficacy for leadership (SEL). The self-efficacy for leadership scale within this research was obtained from the study of Murphy (1992, as cited in Hoyt et al., 2003). The original scale consisted of eight items. Some examples of the items were: ‘Ik weet wat nodig is om een team zijn taak te laten volbrengen.’, ‘Ik weet veel meer dan anderen over wat nodig is om een goede leider te zijn’. Three items were rescaled due to negative formulation of the statements. The PCA factor analysis with Varimax rotation extracted two components with an Eigenvalue above 1. However, after careful examination of the content of the items, a division into two separate scales was not needed due to similarity in content. Furthermore, the
Cronbach’s alphas of both scales, α = .73 and α = .75, did not transcend the Cronbach’s alpha of the 8 items together, α = .79. Additionally, the original scale from Murphy (1992) proved reliable in previous research. For these reasons the choice was made to compute the self-efficacy for leadership scale with the inclusion of all 8 items (M = 3.68, SD = .47).
Identification with the leadership domain. The scale for identification with the leadership domain was obtained from the research of Hoyt and Blascovich (2007). The original scale consisted of five items. Some examples of the items were: ‘Ik ben een
leiderschap-georiënteerd persoon.’, ‘Het is belangrijk voor mij om geselecteerd te worden als leider van een groep.’. None of the items needed to be rescaled prior to the PCA factor analysis with Varimax rotation. The results of the factor analysis indicated that only one component with an Eigenvalue higher than 1, factor loadings above .52 and an explained variance of 54.8%. could be extracted from the five items used. The scale was also reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of α = .79. These analyses lead to a valid and reliable identification with the leadership domain scale (M = 3.29, SD = .60).
Results Randomization check
Prior to the data analysis, a randomization check has been performed to determine if the random assignment of participants to conditions was successful and if certain
demographics (age, educational level) were equally divided among the conditions.
First, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted with ‘gendered wording’ and ‘numerical minority’ as independent variables and age as dependent variable. There was no significant main effect of ‘gendered wording’ F(3, 173) = 1.19, p = .278, η2 = 0.01, nor was
there a significant main effect of ‘numerical minority’ F(3, 173) = 0.13, p = .720, η2 = 0.01,
nor an interaction between both F(3, 173) = 0.42, p = .520, η2 = 0.02. This entails that no
significant differences existed between conditions on age.
Second, to check the distribution of educational level between conditions, a Chi-square test was conducted. There also seemed to be no significant differences between conditions χ2 (15, N = 177) = 5.63, p = .985. This meant that the level of education of the
participants was equally distributed between conditions.
Based on these results the conclusion could be drawn that the random assignment of participants to conditions was successful and that there was no need to include any control variables in the analysis of the hypotheses testing.
Manipulation check
For the sake of the results it is important to determine that participants noticed the manipulation as it was intended. Therefore, a manipulation check was performed.
First, a Chi-square test with ‘gendered wording’ and ‘gendered wording manipulation check’ was conducted. The results of the Chi-square test demonstrated a significant difference between conditions on the manipulation check question,χ2 (2, N = 177) = 122.46, p < .01
(see Table 2). The relationship was also very strong, Cramer’s V = 0.832.
Table 2
Manipulation Check Gendered Wording
Masculine Wording Feminine Wording
Answer Categories n n
Masculine Word Groups 75 10
Feminine Word Groups 1 75
I Don’t Know 6 10
Total 82 95
Second, a Chi-square test with ‘numerical minority’ and ‘numerical minority manipulation check’ was conducted. The results of the Chi-square test also demonstrated a significant difference between the conditions and the second manipulation check question, Χ2
(2, N = 177) = 152.58, p < .01 (see Table 3). This relationship was even stronger than the first, Cramer’s V = 0.928.
Table 3
Manipulation Check Numerical Minority
Numerical Female Majority Numerical Female Minority
Female Majority Photo 83 1
Female Minority Photo 3 81
I Don’t Know 4 5
Total 90 87
These results indicate that the manipulations of the job advertisements were correctly acknowledged by the participants. The significant differences between the conditions on the manipulation check questions demonstrated this.
Hypotheses testing
To test the first two hypotheses, a two-way multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA) was conducted whereby ‘gendered wording’ and ‘perceived numerical minority’ functioned as the two independent variables. The dependent variables were the complete ‘stereotype threat’ scale, the situational ‘job advertisement stereotype threat’ scale and the more ‘general stereotype threat’ scale. Instead of analyzing the effects separately using six one-way ANOVA’s, a two-way multivariate analysis of variance can integrate these and discover potential interaction effects between the two independent variables on the dependent variables. However, to check if the results of the MANOVA were correct, the six one-way ANOVA’s were still run as a check but did not provide any complementary results worth mentioning. Also, to check if participants who already hold a leadership position did not drastically influence the results, the MANOVA analysis was conducted twice whereby the ‘leaders’ (n = 23) were filtered out in the second run.
Hypothesis 1: The effect of gendered wording on stereotype threat. Hypothesis 1 proposes that masculine wording within job advertisements increases the level of stereotype threat experienced by women in comparison to feminine wording.
The results of the two-way MANOVA did not demonstrate a significant difference in the level of stereotype threat between the conditions, F(1, 173) = .73, p = .395. Only a small increase of stereotype threat (Mdifference = .07) was detected in the masculine wording condition
(M = 2.70, SD = .67) in comparison to the feminine wording condition (M = 2.63, SD = .52). Also, when the participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out, the effect did not drastically change and was still not significant, F(1, 150) = .62, p = .432.
The results also indicated no significant difference between the two conditions on the
situational stereotype threat, F(1, 173) = .65, p = .422, nor when the participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out, F(1, 150) = .13, p = .715. And again, no
significant difference was found between the two conditions on the more general stereotype threat, F(1, 173) = .44, p = .510 nor when participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out, F(1, 150) = .76, p = .385. The results of the two-way multivariate analysis of variance did not provide any proof for the effect of gendered wording on stereotype threat and hypothesis 1 was therefore rejected.
Hypothesis 2: The effect of perceived numerical minority on stereotype threat. Hypothesis 2 proposes that women who perceive the representation of female employees within an organization to be scarce, will experience a higher level of stereotype threat than women who perceive the representation of female employees within an organization to be high. The results of the two-way MANOVA indicated that there existed no significant difference in experienced stereotype threat between the conditions, F(1, 173) = .36, p = .547 nor when participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out, F(1, 150) = 1.03, p = .313. The difference between the mean scores of the two condition was also very minimal whereby the female majority condition (M = 2.69, SD = .55) scores even higher (Mdifference = .05) than the female minority condition (M = 2.64, SD = .64) on experienced
conditions on the situational stereotype threat related to the job advertisement, F(1, 173) = 4.50, p < .05, η2 = .03, whereby the participants in the female majority condition (M = 1.84, SD = .64) experienced a lower level of situational based stereotype threat (Mdifference = .17)
than participants in the female minority condition (M = 2.01, SD = .78). Also, when the participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out the effect remained significant, F(1, 150) = 4.10, p < .05, η2 = .03. Results also demonstrated a significant difference in the level of the more general stereotype threat between the two conditions, F(1, 173) = 4.51, p < .05, η2 = .03 whereby surprisingly the female majority condition (M = 3.25, SD = .71) experienced a slightly higher level of general stereotype threat (Mdifference = -.24)
than the female minority condition (M = 3.01, SD = .77). When the participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out, the difference became even greater, F(1, 150) = 7.06, p < 0.05, η2 = .03, whereby again the female majority condition (M = 3.29, SD = .698) experienced a higher level of general stereotype threat (Mdifference = -.31) than the female
minority condition (M = 2.98, SD = .77). Based on the results of the two-way MANOVA, hypothesis 2 is partly confirmed.
Interaction effect of gendered wording with perceived numerical minority on stereotype threat. Next to the analyzed main effects of gendered wording and perceived numerical minority on stereotype threat, potential interaction effects of both variables could also be discovered through a two-way MANOVA. Results did not indicate a significant interaction effect of gendered wording and perceived numerical minority on the complete stereotype threat scale, F(1, 173) = .03, p = .875, nor on the job advertisement stereotype threat, F(1, 173) = .29, p = .590, nor on the more general stereotype threat scale, F(1, 173) = .01, p = .923. The interaction effects did not drastically change when the participants who already hold a leadership position were filtered out. This entails that the level of stereotype threat for women who were exposed to masculine wording (M = 2.71, SD = .66). did not
increase or decrease significantly (Mdifference = -.05) in combination with perceived numerical
minority (M = 2.66, SD = .74).
Hypothesis 3: The effect of stereotype threat on the identification with the leadership domain. Hypothesis 3 proposes that women with a high level of experienced stereotype threat will have a lower level of identification with the leadership domain than women with a low level of experienced stereotype threat. To test this, a regression analysis was conducted. Results indicated no significant difference in identification with the leadership domain, F(1, 175) = 1.58, p = .211, meaning that stereotype threat is no significant predictor for the identification with the leadership domain. Only 1.0% of the total explained variance in identification with the leadership domain could be explained by stereotype threat (R2 = .01). When stereotype threat increases, the identification with the leadership domain does not decrease significantly, b = -0.08, t = -1.26, p = .211, 95% CI [-.25, .06]. This was the same for situational stereotype threat, F(1, 175) = 3.42, p = .066, b = -0.12, t = -1.85, p = .066, 95% CI [-.24, .01] and for the more general stereotype threat, F(1, 175) = 0.22, p = .638, b = -0.03, t = -.47, p = .638, 95% CI [-.15, .09].
As the conceptual model demonstrates, a mediation of ‘gendered wording’ and ‘perceived numerical minority’ through ‘stereotype threat’ on the ‘identification with the leadership domain was expected. However, to be able to perform a mediation analysis, three conditions must be met. Both the effect of the independent variable on the mediation variable and the effect of the mediation variable on the dependent variable need to be significant to conduct a mediation analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986; Hayes, 2013). As the previous results indicated; this is not the case. Therefore, the expectation that the relationship between ‘gendered wording’, ‘perceived numerical minority’ and ‘identification with the leadership domain’ was mediated through stereotype threat, could not be confirmed. Also, the direct
effect of stereotype threat on the identification with the leadership domain was not significant. Hypothesis 3 is hence rejected.
Hypothesis 4: The moderating effect of self-efficacy for leadership. Hypothesis 4 proposes that for women with a high level of self-efficacy for leadership, the relationship between stereotype threat and the identification with the leadership domain will be weaker than for women with a low level of self-efficacy for leadership. To test this, three separate moderation analyses were performed using the PROCESS 2.17 macro tool for SPSS (Hayes, 2013), with the independent variable stereotype threat (complete, situational and more general), the moderator self-efficacy for leadership and the identification with the leadership domain as the outcome variable. Also, the model generates 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (BCI) for the direct and indirect effects and 5000 bootstrap samples will be used to estimate the bias corrected confidence intervals. All three models proved to be significant, Fcomplete(3, 173) = 34.26, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.36, Fsituational(3, 173) = 35.12, p < .05, R2 = 0.36,
Fgeneral(3, 173) = 30.79, p < .05, R2 = 0.35. The results indicated no significant interaction of
the complete stereotype scale with self-efficacy for leadership on identification with the leadership domain, b = -0.08, t = -0.48, p = .634, 95% BCI [-.423, .259] nor was there a significant interaction found of the situational stereotype threat scale in combination with self-efficacy for leadership, b = -0.04, t = -,33 p = .738, 95% BCI [-.272, .193] nor was there a significant interaction of the more general stereotype threat scale in combination with self-efficacy for leadership, b = -0.05, t = -0.37, p = .712, 95% BCI [-.326, .223]. The results indicated that the level of self-efficacy for leadership of the respondents did not affect the relationship between stereotype threat and the identification with the leadership domain and hypothesis 4 is hence rejected.
However, all three moderation analyses did demonstrate a significant direct effect of self-efficacy for leadership on the identification with the leadership domain: bcomplete = 0.77, t
= 9.34, p < .05, 95% BCI [.604, .927], bsituational = .76, t = 9.24, p < .05, 95% BCI [.598, .922]
and bgeneral = 0.77, t = 9.37, p < .05, 95% BCI [.608, .932]. This means that women with a
high level of stereotype threat will identify with the leadership domain more than women with a relatively low level of self-efficacy.
Discussion
The aim of the current study was to investigate how and to what extent gendered wording and perceived numerical minority within job advertisements can activate stereotype threat and how this in turn can influence women’s identification with the leadership domain while considering their level of self-efficacy for leadership. Despite the expectation that masculine wording would lead to a higher level of experienced stereotype threat than
feminine wording, the results of this study suggested differently. Women who were exposed to masculine wording did not experience a significantly higher level of stereotype threat than the feminine wording condition. Results do indicate a significant heightened level of
stereotype threat for women exposed to female numerical minority in comparison to women in the female majority condition which was in line with the expectations within this study. However, this was only true for the stereotype threat caused by the content of the job advertisement and not for the more general experienced stereotype threat. Also, stereotype threat did not lead to a significant decrease of identification with the leadership domain and this effect did not change when women’s self-efficacy for leadership was considered.
A possible explanation for the lack of a significant effect of gendered wording on stereotype threat could lie in the fact that the participant’s perception of the masculinity and femininity of the wording could have been different than how it was initially meant. The choice for the wording in the masculine job ad was based on a study of Gaucher, Friesen and Kay (2011) and was not separately judged by the participants as being more masculine or
feminine. So despite the successful manipulation check, participants were only asked if they recognized the set of words used in their job advertisement without assigning a male or female identity to it. Even though the list of wordings within the study of Gaucher, Friesen and Kay (2011) was based on extensive archival and experimental analyses, it could possibly not be generalized properly to the Dutch language and/or have the same effect on Dutch women as it has on the participants used in their study. Scholars could benefit from including the participant’s perceptions of the masculinity of femininity of words in their future studies, preferably in Dutch, prior to carrying out the experiment. By determining this, the certainty of ascribing potential effects to gendered wording will increase.
The contrasting effects of perceived numerical minority on the occurrence of stereotype threat also calls for some explanation. As was expected, the women within this sample did experience a significantly higher level of situational stereotype threat due to their exposure to the paucity of women within the job advertisement. This result corresponds with earlier research (Hoyt et al., 2010; Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000; Kanter, 1977). Yet, women within the female minority condition surprisingly experienced a significantly lower level of the more general stereotype threat than women within the female majority condition. An explanation for this can lie within the measurement of the construct ‘stereotype threat’. The three items related to the more general stereotype threat scale were not directly related to the job advertisement, content wise, and could have therefore not been directly influenced by the participants’ impressions of the content of the job ad. The participants’ baseline level of stereotype threat could have been different between the conditions whereby the female minority could have had a higher level of general stereotype threat to begin with. Due to the absence of a pre-test measuring the participants’ baseline level of stereotype threat, this cannot be fully verified. Future research would benefit from including a pre-test measuring the baseline level of all the constructs used in this study.
An explanation for the absence of a significant effect of stereotype threat on the identification with the leadership domain can be found in the study by Woodcock, Hernandez, Estrada and Schultz (2012). In their study, they make a distinction between domain
disengagement and disidentification whereby disengagement is an acute response to
stereotype threat and disidentification occurs across time. It could be that within the current study, participants did feel disengaged but did not feel disidentified with the leadership domain because of a lack of buildup due to the relatively short piece of stimulus material. Even though Woodcock et al. (2012) did find a significant effect of stereotype threat on disidentification, the study revolved around the stereotyping of race minorities who could have experienced discrimination to a greater extent or differently than the women within the current study whereby this buildup could have caused a difference in results. Future research attempts could include a longitudinal component to measure potential buildup of stereotype threat and potential development of the identification with the leadership domain.
The average score of the participants on the self-efficacy for leadership scale was relatively high (M = 3.68). Only a few women within the sample possessed a relatively low level of self-efficacy for leadership which indicates that the overall level of self-efficacy was already quite high. This could be an explanation for why self-efficacy for leadership did not affect the relationship between stereotype threat and the identification with the leadership domain.
Implications
This study carries several implications for scholars as well as managers and
practitioners. Even though some main effects hypothesized in this study were not supported, managers should keep in mind how important it is to portray diversity within their future job advertisements. As this study has demonstrated, women felt less threatened when they
perceived their female identity to be represented within an organization. Furthermore,
managers should not discard being sensitive with the choice of wording based on the absence of a significant effect of gendered wording on stereotype threat. Extensive future research is needed in order to rule out the effect of different wording on the feeling of stereotype threat. Scholars could extend the sample and potentially include male participants within the sample to detect if gendered wording has different effects on men.
With the help of the current study an attempt was made to investigate the role that job advertisement can play in the stagnation of female leaders in the Netherlands. Even though this is not the only factor sustaining the glass ceiling, the impact of communication on the stimulation or discouragement of women’s participation in leadership should not be underestimated.
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Appendices Appendix A. Stimulus material
Conditie 1:
TravelToday.
Word jij onze nieuwe manager?
Wie zijn wij?
TravelToday is een reisorganisatie gericht op avonturiers en reizigers die open staan voor nieuwe ervaringen en het onbekende. Met een team van 53 collega’s volbrengen wij de taak om het ultieme vakantiegevoel te realiseren. Wij gaan voor innovatie in de recreatiebranche en zijn vastberaden om ons te onderscheiden van de competitie en de eerste keuze te zijn voor vakantiegangers.
Wie zoeken wij?
TravelToday is op zoek naar een fulltime manager (0.8fte – 1.0fte) voor ons grootste thema City Tripping. Jij zal verantwoordelijk zijn voor het aansturen en uitdagen van een team van 26 werknemers. Aan jou de taak om ervoor te zorgen dat het team de beoogde doelen behaalt en het beste resultaat levert voor de cliënten. Er zal van jou verwacht worden dat jij initiatief neemt en in staat bent om problemen effectief op te lossen en te voorkomen. Je bent gedreven en resultaatgericht. Je gaat langer door dan waar de meesten ophouden.
Wat moet jij ons bieden:
- Minimaal hbo-niveau en enkele jaren ervaring met management - Assertiviteit en zelfverzekerdheid
- Zelfstandigheid en onafhankelijkheid - Sterke communicatieve vaardigheden - Een ambitieuze instelling
- Niet bang zijn om risico’s te nemen
Geïnteresseerd?
Solliciteer direct door een e-mail te sturen met cv en motivatie naar: Dirk@traveltoday.nl. Mochten er nog vragen zijn n.a.v. de vacature kun je contact opnemen met Paul Dijkstra door een e-mail te sturen naar: Paul@traveltoday.nl of te bellen
Conditie 2: TravelToday.
Word jij onderdeel van ons team?
Wie zijn wij?
TravelToday is een reisorganisatie gericht op avonturiers en reizigers die open staan voor nieuwe ervaringen en het onbekende. In samenwerking met een team van 53 collega’s streven wij naar de realisatie van het ultieme vakantiegevoel voor onze cliënten. Wij staan voor innovatie in de recreatiebranche en richten ons op het opbouwen van relaties met onze cliënten om zo loyaliteit met TravelToday voorop te stellen.
Wie zoeken wij?
TravelToday is op zoek naar een fulltime manager (0.8fte – 1.0fte) voor ons grootste thema City Tripping. Jij zal ondersteunend zijn voor een team van 26 werknemers en zal deze motiveren om door middel van nauwe samenwerking beoogde resultaten te behalen. Luisteren naar de cliënten staat hier centraal en een mate van gevoeligheid en empathisch vermogen zullen nodig zijn om sterke relaties op te bouwen en te kunnen onderhouden met de cliënten. Er zal van jou verwacht worden dat jij initiatief neemt en in staat bent om problemen effectief op te lossen en te voorkomen. Je bent toegewijd en sympathiek. Je gaat langer door dan waar de meesten ophouden.
Wat kan jij ons bieden?
- Minimaal hbo-niveau en enkele jaren ervaring met management - Gemeenschappelijke instelling
- Betrouwbaarheid en begrip
- Uitstekende communicatieve vaardigheden - Inspiratie en motivatie
- Coöperatieve instelling
Geïnteresseerd?
Solliciteer direct door een e-mail te sturen met cv en motivatie naar: Dirk@traveltoday.nl Mochten er nog vragen zijn n.a.v. de vacature kun je contact opnemen met Paul Dijkstra door een e-mail te sturen naar: Paul@traveltoday.nl of te bellen
Conditie 3: TravelToday.
Word jij onze nieuwe manager?
Wie zijn wij?
TravelToday is een reisorganisatie gericht op avonturiers en reizigers die open staan voor nieuwe ervaringen en het onbekende. Met een team van 53 collega’s volbrengen wij de taak om het ultieme vakantiegevoel te realiseren. Wij gaan voor innovatie in de recreatiebranche en zijn vastberaden om ons te onderscheiden van de competitie en de eerste keuze te zijn voor vakantiegangers.
Wie zoeken wij?
TravelToday is op zoek naar een fulltime manager (0.8fte - 1.0fte) voor ons grootste thema City Tripping. Jij zal verantwoordelijk zijn voor het aansturen en uitdagen van een team van 26 werknemers. Aan jou de taak om ervoor te zorgen dat het team de beoogde doelen behaalt en het beste resultaat levert voor de cliënten. Er zal van jou verwacht worden dat jij initiatief neemt en in staat bent om problemen effectief op te lossen en te voorkomen. Je bent gedreven en resultaatgericht. Je gaat langer door dan waar de meesten ophouden.
Wat moet jij ons bieden:
- Minimaal hbo-niveau en enkele jaren ervaring met management - Assertiviteit en zelfverzekerdheid
- Zelfstandigheid en onafhankelijkheid - Sterke communicatieve vaardigheden - Een ambitieuze instelling
- Niet bang zijn om risico’s te nemen
Geïnteresseerd?
Solliciteer direct door een e-mail te sturen met cv en motivatie naar: Marjolein@traveltoday.nl. Mochten er nog vragen zijn n.a.v. de vacature kun je contact opnemen met Kim Schijndel door een e-mail te sturen naar: Kim@traveltoday.nl of te bellen naar 020-7721568.
Conditie 4: TravelToday.
Word jij onderdeel van ons team?
Wie zijn wij?
TravelToday is een reisorganisatie gericht op avonturiers en reizigers die open staan voor nieuwe ervaringen en het onbekende. In samenwerking met een team van 53 collega’s streven wij naar de realisatie van het ultieme vakantiegevoel voor onze cliënten. Wij staan voor innovatie in de recreatiebranche en richten ons op het opbouwen van relaties met onze cliënten om zo loyaliteit met TravelToday voorop te stellen.
Wie zoeken wij?
TravelToday is op zoek naar een fulltime manager (0.8fte - 1.0fte) voor ons grootste thema City Tripping. Jij zal ondersteunend zijn voor een team van 26 werknemers en zal deze motiveren om door middel van nauwe samenwerking beoogde resultaten te behalen. Luisteren naar de cliënten staat hier centraal en een mate van gevoeligheid en empathisch vermogen zullen nodig zijn om sterke relaties op te bouwen en te kunnen onderhouden met de cliënten. Er zal van jou verwacht worden dat jij initiatief neemt en in staat bent om problemen effectief op te lossen en te voorkomen. Je bent toegewijd en sympathiek. Je gaat langer door dan waar de meesten ophouden.
Wat kan jij ons bieden?
- Minimaal hbo-niveau en enkele jaren ervaring met management - Gemeenschappelijke instelling
- Betrouwbaarheid en begrip
- Uitstekende communicatieve vaardigheden - Inspiratie en motivatie
- Coöperatieve instelling
Geïnteresseerd?
Solliciteer direct door een e-mail te sturen met cv en motivatie naar: Marjolein@traveltoday.nl. Mochten er nog vragen zijn n.a.v. de vacature kun je contact
opnemen met Kim Schijndel door een e-mail te sturen naar: Kim@traveltoday.nl of te bellen naar 020-7721568.
Appendix B. Full survey Beste participant,
Bedankt voor uw interesse in mijn onderzoek. Ik zou u vriendelijk willen verzoeken om deze online vragenlijst in te vullen. De vragen zullen betrekking hebben op de onderwerpen leiderschap en gender. De vragenlijst maakt onderdeel uit van mijn masterthesis binnen de Graduate School of Communication van de Universiteit van Amsterdam. De duur van deze vragenlijst zal niet langer zijn dan 5 tot 10 minuten.
In dit onderzoek zult u allereerst een vacature te zien krijgen die u aandachtig geacht wordt door te nemen. Vervolgens zult u een aantal stellingen te zien krijgen waarbij u kunt aangeven in hoeverre u het eens of oneens bent met deze stellingen.
Het huidige onderzoek voldoet aan de richtlijnen van de Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). Dit houdt het volgende in:
