Women and Leadership Project

CH4_ConsequencesofGenderSocialization.pptx

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Consequences of gender socialization

Week 2

Chapter 4: How Did We Get Here?

This is the second slideset for Week 2, on the consequences of gender socialization, which corresponds to Chapter 4 of the assigned class text.

Goals

In this slideset, we will first be going over the various ways in which we are socialized to conform to a certain gender from before we are even born! We will also be going over the negative consequences of gender socialization, and lastly, we will examine how women leaders are portrayed by the media.

Gender socialization

Negative effects of gender socialization

Media representations of women leaders

Girl Scouts Research (Girl Scouts Research Institute, 2008)

Purpose was to understand leadership attitudes and experiences of girls

Results showed substantial gender differences in leadership aspirations:

Girls preferred an approach to leadership that emphasizes personal principles, ethical behavior, and commitment to social change

Consistent with research on college students

Women defined leadership as a collaborative and relational process

Men defined leadership as more traditional, hierarchical, and command-oriented

Girls lacked confidence in their own skills and competencies

92% believed leadership could be learned, but only 21% believed they had the qualities for leadership

Intersectionality

African American and Hispanic boys and girls reported more self-confidence and motivation than Caucasians and Asian Americans

Let’s start off by looking at some research conducted on Girl Scouts. The purpose was to understand leadership attitudes and experiences of young girls. Results showed substantial gender differences in leadership aspirations. Specifically, girls preferred an approach to leadership that emphasized personal principles, ethical behavior, and a commitment to social change. These results are consistent with research done on college students, which found that women defined leadership as collaborative and relational processes, while men defined leadership as more traditional, hierarchical, and command-oriented. The Girl Scouts research also found that girls lacked confidence in their own skills and competencies. 92% of the girls believed leadership could be learned, but only 21% believed they had the qualities for leadership. Lastly, African American and Hispanic boys and girls reported more self-confidence and motivation than Caucasians and Asian Americans. These particular findings are a good example of the intersectionality of race, gender, and leadership. This research also highlighted the lack of environments and opportunities for girls to practice leadership at a young age. This suggests that there is still a lot of work to be done in promoting postindustrial definitions of leadership that appeal to girls and create spaces and places where girls can practice leadership early on.

Gender Socialization

So let’s talk a little bit about gender socialization.

Take a look at this commercial:

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nZ6D/kay-jewelers-ultimate-mom-featuring-cameron-jordan

I want to show you guys this commercial. Let’s see if it works out. I realize in the last slideset that the Horrible Bosses clip had no audio, and I only noticed after I finished recording the whole lecture! Apologies for that. If these videos glitch and you can’t hear or see anything, feel free to download the powerpoint only file of the presentation and watch the video clips on your own.

Essentially, in this commercial, this football player describes his wife as “the ultimate mom”, where she cooks and cleans and takes care of the kids so that he doesn’t have to and can focus on his career. In exchange for everything she does, Cameron Jordan gives his wife a necklace… Yikes, right? This is an example of how the media can perpetuate gender stereotypes: the man should work, the woman should stay home and take care of the kids. After growing up watching commercials like this, we develop expectations for appropriate behaviors based on biological sex. And, this is just one of the many ways that gender socialization and stereotypes permeate our society and culture.

Gender Socialization

Gender roles: culturally-based stereotypes that influence and create expectations for appropriate behavior based on biological sex

Socializing forces influencing gender and leadership:

Toys and games

Family

School

Peers

Sports and organizations

Religion

Technology and media

Society and culture

Back to gender socialization. Gender roles are culturally-based stereotypes that influence and create expectations for appropriate behavior based on biological sex. They are influenced by the media, family, the environment, and society, among various other things. These same socializing forces influence leadership as well. A child’s understanding of gender roles impacts how they socialize with their peers and form relationships, and can also greatly influence their own self-concept.

We are going to tackle each of these socializing forces in greater detail now.

Toys and Games

Most children develop the ability to label gender groups and to use gender labels in their speech between 18 and 24 months of age (Martin & Ruble, 2010)

By 2, most children have developed basic stereotypes related to physical appearance, roles, toys, and activities

By preschool, gender stereotypes may be so strong that children who play with cross-gender toys may be ridiculed or punished by others

Gender differences are related to increased play with strongly stereotyped toys

By 4, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity

Until age 10, children may experiment with different gender identities in fluid ways

Most children develop the ability to label gender groups and to use gender labels in their speech between 18 and 24 months of age. By 2 years old, most children have developed basic stereotypes related to physical appearance, roles, toys, and activities. By preschool age, gender stereotypes may be so strong that children who play with cross-gender toys may be ridiculed or punished by others. Gender differences are actually related to increased play with strongly stereotyped toys. Strongly stereotyped toys could be dolls for girls, and cars or trucks for boys. By age 4, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity, and until the age of 10, children may experiment with different gender identities in fluid ways.

Think about your own childhood experiences with toys. Were you ever ridiculed or did you ridicule others for playing with cross-gender toys? My step-brother, for instance, used to play Barbies with me until my step-dad started to tease him for it– then he stopped because he didn’t want to be ridiculed. Can you recall any similar situations during your own childhood?

Is career Barbie better than regular Barbie for girls? Sadly, the research says no.

An experimental study in the scientific journal Sex Roles from 2014 found that:

Girls who played with a Barbie doll (irrespective of whether it was dressed as a model or doctor) indicated they had fewer future career options than boys

Girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head reported a smaller difference between future possible careers for themselves as compared to boys

Even playing with a career Barbie seems to negatively affect girls’ aspirations, consistent with objectification and gender socialization theories

Although the marketing slogan for Barbie suggests that she can be anything, girls who play with this doll see fewer career options available to themselves compared to boys. In light of various occupations still being highly gender-segregated, and the worldwide prevalence of inequality in employment and earnings between genders, researchers conducted an experimental study using girls’ dolls play to study the impact of gender role socialization, which is a process through which children learn to abide by culturally prescribed norms and which perpetuates gender stereotypical behavior. Girls between the ages of 4 and 7 were randomly assigned to play for five minutes with either a sexualized Doctor Barbie or Fashion Barbie doll, or with a more neutral Mrs. Potato Head. In this study, you can see that there were three levels of their independent variable, which was type of toy. Then, the girls were shown photographs of ten occupations and ask how many they themselves or boys could do in the future.

Researchers found that girls who played with a Barbie doll, regardless of whether she was dressed as a model or doctor, indicated they had fewer career options than boys. Girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head, on the other hand, reported a smaller difference between future possible careers for themselves as compared to boys. That is, even playing with a career Barbie seems to negatively influence girls’ aspirations, consistent with objectification and gender socialization theories. The researchers concluded that there is something about the type of doll, not the characteristics of the participants, that causes the difference in career aspirations.

Synopsis: http://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-2-1456641-0

Full empirical article: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11199-014-0347-y

Citation: Sherman, A.M. & Zurbriggen, E.L. (2014). "Boys Can Be Anything": Effect of Barbie Play on Girls' Career Cognitions, Sex Roles.

Family

Parents and family set gender-role expectations about:

Personality traits

Career aspirations

Family roles

Parents and family members also serve as role models for gendered attitudes and behaviors

Children raised by same-sex parent households tend to be less likely to endorse gender stereotypes (Leaper, 2014)

Children were more likely to express stereotyped views about adult roles and occupations when same-sex parents divided labor into primary caregiver/primary breadwinner

Parents and family set gender-role expectations about personality traits, career aspirations, and family roles. Parents and family members also serve as role models for gendered attitudes and behaviors. Here’s a personal example: At a much earlier age than my brothers, my mother taught me how to cook, clean, and do laundry because she emphasized that these would be my responsibilities when I was older and had a home of my own. My mom hasn’t really placed quite an emphasis on these responsibilities for my brothers, however, as in a Hispanic household, that’s just not expected of men to do.

Research has also shown that non-Western families tend to have much more stringent gendered expectations for both boys and girls. These early messages about gendered expectations related to work shape how people later approach leadership.

Research has shown that children raised by same-sex parent households actually tend to be less likely to endorse gender stereotypes. Children were more likely to express stereotyped views about adult roles and occupations when same-sex parents divided labor into primary caregiver/primary breadwinner.

School

Teachers can, often unintentionally, lessen the self-esteem and vocational aspirations of women by:

Calling on men more frequently than women

Creating doubt about women’s accomplishments by attributing achievements to luck and men’s achievements to talent and ability

Responding more extensively to men’s comments with praise, criticism, or coaching

Assuming women who ask questions do not understand the material, but men who ask questions are smart, curious, and involved

Praising men for their work and abilities and women for their appearance

In terms of school, teachers can often unintentionally lessen the self-esteem and vocational aspirations of women by doing several things: calling on men more frequently than women, creating doubt about women’s accomplishments by attributing achievements to luck and men’s achievements to talent and ability, responding more extensively to men’s comments with praise, criticism, or coaching, assuming women who ask questions do not understand the material, but men who ask questions are smart, curious, and involved, and praising men for their work and abilities and women for their appearance.

Sports and Organizations

Title IX: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” – U.S. Code Section 20

Women who participate in sports (NCWGE, 2017):

Have higher grades than nonparticipants

Have lower school dropout rates

Have lower pregnancy rates

Are less likely to use drugs

Are more likely to graduate college

Are more likely to learn leadership skills

Generational research on millennials and GenZers finds decreasing rates of participation in team sports or organized activities

According to Title 9, no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Although Title IX is best known for its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no explicit mention of sports.

Nonetheless, women who participate in sports have higher grades, lower school dropout rates, lower pregnancy rates, are less likely to use drugs, are more likely to graduate college, and are more likely to learn leadership skills. Unfortunately, generational research on millennials and GenZers has found decreasing rates of participation in team sports and organized activities.

Religion

Most religious texts talk about gender in binary ways

Those who identify as nonbinary are all but excluded

Research has shown women value religion and express their faith more consistently than men (Pew Center on Religion and Public Life, 2016)

Yet, the tenets of many religions often limit leadership opportunities for women and relegate women to particular roles

Women cannot be ordained in many religions

Some women have managed to break through the “stained-glass ceiling”

Religion is another socializing influence on gender and leadership, as most religious texts talk about gender in binary ways. Those who identify as nonbinary are all but excluded from these texts. Research has shown that women value religion and express their faith more consistently than men. Yet, the tenets of many religions often limit leadership opportunities for women and relegate women to particular roles. For instance, women cannot be ordained in many religions, although some women have managed to break through what is often called the “stained-glass ceiling”. We’ll get into what the metaphor of a glass ceiling is in later weeks.

Negative Effects of gender socialization

So, what are the negative effects of gender socialization? Let’s take a look.

Negative Effects of Gender Socialization

Effortless perfection

Imposter syndrome

Internalized oppression

Microaggressions

Social pressure

Stress and anxiety

Effortless perfection: follows the “never let them see you sweat” mantra; it refers to the pressure people, especially women, feel to be smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful, and popular, all without exerting or displaying visible effort. Of course, this is an unachievable myth, but women are nonetheless expected to act as if everything comes easily to them.

Imposter syndrome: refers to a specific form of self-doubt. It works in concert with effortless perfection to create anxiety and stress in women. Research has shown that women and people with marginalized identities are especially hit hard. Some research has shown that Asian Americans are more likely than African Americans or Hispanic Americans to experience impostor feelings. This is consistent with findings from the 1970s that showed people who experience pressure to succeed when growing up are far more likely to suffer from imposter syndrome. Researchers have also found that imposter feelings more strongly predict mental health problems than stress related to one’s minoritized or marginalized status (Cokley, McClain, Enciso, & Martinez, 2013).

Internalized Oppression: is defined as internalizing, or believing, on the part of the target group, the lies and misinformation that the agent group disseminates (Adams et al., 2013). Always an involuntary reaction to the experience of oppression. For instance, if society gives messages that Black women are unjustly angry, there is a possibility that a woman of color, when facing real affronts, will not speak out to not fit the stereotype.

Microaggressions: the everyday, verbal, nonverbal, environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.

Social pressure: the desire to fit in with a group of people is powerful and can motivate girls and young women to act in destructive ways.

Stress and anxiety: females are more likely (38%) than males (26%) to experience extreme anxiety; this includes panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, PTSD, OCD, and separation anxiety disorder (NIMH, 2019, para. 2)

Media representations of women leaders

Let’s switch gears a little bit and examine how the media portrays women leaders.

Mass Media

Refers collectively to all media technologies which are used for mass communications, and to the organizations which control these technologies:

Billboards/bus ads

Brands

TV commercials

TV shows/movies

Networks (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, HBO, MTV)

Radio

Newspaper

Commentators, hosts, media executives

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies that are used for mass communications, and to the organizations which control these technologies. These include billboards and bus ads, brands, TV commercials, shows, movies, networks like HBO and CNN, the radio, newspaper, and commentators, hosts, and media executives.

What can the media do?

Media executives, news editors, and prominent reports function as gatekeepers; they decide which events to report and how to handle the elements in those stories

Media influences what we see as possible, probable, and important

If we do not see a story on Twitter or in the news on TV, it effectively has not happened

Media can also persuade and educate

The media has great power. Media executives, news editors, and prominent reports function as gatekeepers. They get to decide which events to report and how to handle the elements in those stories. The media influences what we see as possible, probably, and important. If we don’t see a story on Twitter or in the news on TV, it effectively has not happened. The media also has the ability to persuade as well as to educate.

Media Bias in Political Campaigns

The typical American voter (Campbell et al., 1960; Converse, 1964):

Knows little about politics

Is not interested in politics

Does not participate in politics

Does not organize his/her political views in a coherent manner

Does not think in structured ideological terms

The typical American voter follows pretty much the same cues as they did 50 years ago (Lewis-Beck, 2008)

Let’s talk a little bit about media bias in political campaigns. To start off, the typical American voter knows little about politics, is not interested in politics, does not participate in politics, does not organize his/her political views in a coherent manner, and does not think in structured ideological terms. Interestingly, the typical American voter follows pretty much the same cues as they did 50 years ago, according to research.

Media Bias in Political Campaigns

Falk (2010) examined press coverage of 9 women presidential candidates:

Victoria Woodhull (1872)

Belva Lockwood (1884)

Margarate Chase Smith (1964)

Shirley Chisholm (1972)

Pat Schroder (1987)

Lenora Fulani (1988)

Elizabeth Dole (2000)

Carol Moseley Braun (2004)

Hillary Clinton (2008)

One study conducted in 2010 examined the press coverage of 9 women presidential candidates over the course of several decades.

Results: Emotional Coverage (Falk, 2010)

On average, women candidates received 4 emotional descriptions per 10,000 words while men received 1.8

On average, 10% of women’s emotional descriptions related to sadness compared to 2% for men

27% of emotional descriptions for men described anger compared to just 14% for women

Based on the results, women candidates, on average, received 4 emotional descriptions per 10,00 words while men received 1.8 emotional descriptions per 10,000 words. On average, 10% of women’s emotional descriptions related to sadness compared to only 2% for men. Lastly, 27% of emotional descriptions for men described anger compared to just 14% for women.

Results: Authority Conferred (Falk, 2010)

Women’s honorary titles (senator, representative, etc.) were dropped 32% of the time (called Mrs. or Ms. Instead) compared to 11% for men

Women asked more often than men if their real intention was VP

In terms of authority, results showed that women’s honorary titles such as senator or representative were dropped 32% of the time, and instead were referred to as Mrs. Or Ms., compared to 11% for men. Women were also asked more often than men if their real intention was vice president.

If you have been following the presidential campaigns of the women running for president in 2020, how many times did you hear any media source discuss how they might be “willing to settle” for VP, or were best seen as serving as VP?

Results: Character (Falk, 2010)

Women candidates tended to be described in stereotypically-female terms: “charming,” “gracious,” “virtuous,” “pure”

Chisholm was described as “outspoken,” “militant feminist,” “fiery,” and “having lung power”

The most common description of Dole was “wife”

Here are some more results from the same study, this time focusing on the media’s portrayal of character for both men and women presidential candidates. Women candidates tended to be described in stereotypically-female terms, such as charming, gracious, virtuous, and pure. One woman candidate was described as outspoken, a militant feminist, fiery, and having lung power. The most common description of Dole, another woman presidential candidate, was wife. However, you don’t frequently see the media using similar descriptions, like husband or father, for men.

Take a look at this graph. After an analysis of 130 articles from mainstream news outlets, results showed that female candidates running for the democratic nomination in 2020 were consistently being described in the media more negatively than their male counterparts. These findings suggest that media outlets pay more attention to the subtle ways in which they might be shortchanging women.

Here you can see that the four female candidates (Harris, Warren, Klobuchar, and Gilibrand) are at the bottom of the graph, indicating that they have the lowest percentages of positive words used to describe them by media outlets. The men receive higher percentages of positive words used to describe them.

Source: https://www.storybench.org/women-on-the-2020-campaign-trail-are-being-treated-more-negatively-by-the-media/

How does the news media portray women in the workforce? (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

Present women as “opting out”

There is scant support for that claim:

Some research finds that women have lower voluntary turnover than men

Women do not appear to be leaving work for home, but leaving one job for a different career opportunity

Women are not opting out so much as they are pushed out by a lack of opportunity within their organization

Women-owned businesses are growing faster than any other type

Now, let’s talk about how the news media portrays women in the workforce specifically, and debunk each portrayal, as they are often misconceptions. Women are often presented as opting out of the workforce. However, there is scant support for this claim. Some research has found that women have lower voluntary turnover than men. Women also do not appear to be leaving work for home, but leaving one job for a different career opportunity. Women are not necessarily opting out so much as they are pushed out by a lac of opportunity within their organization. Lastly, women-owned businesses are growing faster than any other type of business.

Lack of Support for Working Families Impedes Work/Family Reconciliation (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

Ask a woman if she would “opt out” from work if:

She had paid maternity leave

Husband was expected to take parental leave

Family had paid sick days

She could access quality affordable childcare/pre-K

Partners could cut work hours for proportional pay and advancement

Partners could request a flexible schedule

Taxes didn’t penalize dual-income families

Ask any woman in your life if she would opt out of work if she had things like paid maternity leave, or her husband was expected to take parental leave, if her family had paid sick days, if she could access quality affordable childcare or pre-K, if partners could cut work hours for proportional pay and advancement, if partners could request a flexible schedule, and if taxes didn’t penalize dual-income families.

How does the news media portray women in the workforce? (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

2. Present women as less committed

Partial support for this claim, but needs closer examination:

Women do work fewer hours than men on average, but there may be reasons for this other than personal commitment. Can you think of some?

Women and men accept relocation at the same rates, but women are not offered those important opportunities as much

Women demonstrate just as much “organizational commitment” in surveys as men

Early in their careers, women aspire to management as much as men, but this changes over time

Women may become disillusioned over time

The second way that the news media portrays women in the workforce is as less committed. There is partial support for this claim, but it needs closer examination. Women do in fact work fewer hours than men on average, but there could be several reasons for this other than a lack of personal commitment. Can you think of some? Moreover, women and men accept relocation at the same rates, but women are not offered those important opportunities as much as men are. Some surveys have shown that women demonstrate just as much organizational commitment as men do, which also debunks the idea that women are less committed. Early in their careers, women aspire to management as much as men, but this changes over time as women may become disillusioned over time as well.

How does the news media portray women in the workforce? (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

3. Present women as passive

Partial support for this claim, but needs closer examination:

Women don’t negotiate as much, but we know from research that is because they experience real penalties when they assert themselves (backlash)

Exposure to gender stereotypes may lead women to take on follower roles more often

The media also presents women as passive. There is also partial support for this claim, but again, needs closer examination. Women don’t negotiate as much, but we know from research that is because they experience real penalties when they assert themselves. In other words, women face backlash for negotiating. Additionally, exposure to gender stereotypes may lead women to take on follower roles more often.

How does the news media portray women in the workforce? (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

4. Claim women don’t want power

Scant support for that claim:

Women are comfortable with power

Women may see and use power differently

Organizational structures limit women’s power resources

The media also portrays women as not wanting power, but that’s not necessarily true, right? One recent example that women are comfortable with and, in fact, seek out power is the number of women who announced their run for presidency in 2020– Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard… The list goes on. As such, there is scant support for the claim that women don’t want power. Women are, in fact, comfortable with power and may see and use power differently than men. Organizational structures are what limit women’s power resources.

In the 116th Congress, a record-breaking 127 women with diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds were sworn into office. Still, women only inhabit roughly 24% of all the seats.

Nonetheless, there is very little support for the claim that women just don’t want power. In fact, women are comfortable with power and may see and use power differently. Additionally, there are organizational structures that limit women’s power resources, which may give off the impression that women aren’t interested in power, but that’s far from the truth.

How does the news media portray women in the workforce? (Dunn-Jensen & Stroh, 2007)

5. Claim women find more rewards at home

Again, not really:

Women experience more guilt and cross-pressures than men when they have jobs and families

Because of gender-role expectations

Managerial women use self-blame as a coping mechanism more often than non-managerial women

Women managers who worked long hours in some studies were happier with their families than those who worked short hours

Because they had support from husbands and paid help

It all depends on the strategies and resources available to manage work and family!

There are also claims that women find more rewards at home. And again, not really. Women experience more guilt and cross-pressures than men when they have jobs and families because of gender-role expectations. Women in managerial positions use self-blame as a coping mechanism more often than women who are not in managerial positions. Women managers who worked long hours in some studies were happier with their families than those who worker short hours. This is in part due to the fact that these women have support from husbands and partners, as well as paid help. It really all depends on the strategies and resources available to manage work and family.

The Effect of Media Images on Women’s Leadership Self-Perceptions and Aspirations

Media images deliver both gender role and leadership role beliefs and expectations

These expectations and beliefs can have profound effects on how women perceive themselves

Across two experimental studies, Simon & Hoyt (2012) explored how media images depicting counter-stereotypical roles for women, compared to those depicting stereotypical roles for women, affected women’s gender role beliefs (Study 1) and responses to a leadership situation (Study 2)

Media images can also play a role in influencing leadership self-perceptions and women’s aspirations. Media images deliver both gender role and leadership role beliefs and expectations, which can have profound effects on how women perceive themselves. Across two experimental studies, two researchers explored how media images depicting counter-stereotypical roles for women, compared to those depicting stereotypical roles for women, affected women’s gender role beliefs, which was the goal of study 1, and responses to a leadership situation, which was the goal of study 2. Let’s examine the results of these studies a little more closely.

Study 1

Findings: participants in the counter-stereotypical condition endorsed a more egalitarian attitude toward women’s roles than those in the stereotypical condition

These results suggest that advertisements that disconfirm gender stereotypes can alter these seemingly rigid gender role beliefs

Resulting in more counter-stereotypical beliefs about the female gender role

In study 1, recall that the purpose was to explore how media images depicting counter-stereotypical roles for women, compared to those depicting stereotypical roles for women, affected women’s gender role beliefs. Participants in the counter-stereotypical condition endorsed a more egalitarian attitude toward women’s roles than those in the stereotypical condition. These results suggest that advertisements that disconfirm gender stereotypes can alter these seemingly rigid gender role beliefs. This results in more counter-stereotypical beliefs about the female gender role.

Study 2

Findings: Participants in the counter-stereotypical condition reported lower levels of negative self-perception and higher levels of leadership aspirations after the leadership task than those in the stereotypical condition

Negative self-perceptions mediated (statistically explained/accounted for) the relationship between media images and leadership aspirations

Recall that the purpose of study 2 was to explore how media images depicting counter-stereotypical roles for women, compared to those depicting stereotypical roles for women, affected responses to a leadership situation. Participants in the counter-stereotypical condition reported lower levels of negative self-perception and higher levels of leadership aspirations after the leadership task than those in the stereotypical condition. Those results are visually represented in the image of the bar graphs on the right. Before I explain what the image on the left is showing, let me first explain what mediation is. To say that a variable mediated the relationship between two other variables means that this mediating variable statistically explained or accounted for the relationship between the two other variables. So, in this study, negative self-perceptions mediated the relationship between media images and leadership aspirations.

The Bechdel Test Movie List

Movies communicate messages about who is worthy and capable of leadership

Bechdel Test was developed in 1985 by Alison Bechdel

Test rates sexism in movies on 3 simple criteria:

Do they have at least 2 [named] women in the movie?

Do these women talk to each other?

Do they talk about something besides a man?

Some movies that have failed the test:

I wanted to briefly talk about this thing called the Bechdel Test. Movies communicate messages about who is worthy and capable of leadership. The Bechdel Test was developed in 1985 by Alison Bechdel and the test rates sexism in moves on 3 simple criteria: does the movie have at least 2 named women in the movie, do these women talk to each other, and do they talk about something besides a man. You’d be surprised just how many movies fail the test! Take a look at the movie posters on this slide– these are all films that have failed: Uncut Gems, Solo, Ad Astra, Marriage Story, Slumdog Millionaire, Yesterday, Les Miserables, and Isn’t it Romantic. But the list goes on! You can check out the site for yourself if you click on the link provided in the notes section of this slide.

Check the site out for yourself: http://bechdeltest.com/

End

This is the end of the slideset on gender socialization and completes the lectures for Week 2. Have a wonderful week!