An Explanation for the Gender Gap in Perceptions of Discrimination among African Americans

Abstract

Studies indicate that African American men report more personal experiences with discrimination than do African American women. According to the subordinate male target hypothesis, this gender difference reflects an underlying reality in which African American men are the primary targets of anti-Black discrimination. From the perspective of intersectionality theory, African American women and men experience racial discrimination differently; and therefore greater reports of discrimination among African American men might be a result of measurement bias that favors the experiences of African American men vis-à-vis African American women. To assess these perspectives, the authors analyze data from the 1995 Detroit Area Study and the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life. The authors use multiple-group confirmatory factor analytic models with latent means and categorical outcomes to observe the degree to which gender bias in measurement accounts for disparities in perceived discrimination among African American women and men. The results show that gender bias in the measures most often used to assess unfair treatment in social surveys is responsible for the gender gap in certain kinds of perceived discrimination among African Americans. Measures of everyday discrimination are mostly gender balanced, but measurement bias is responsible for a large portion of the gap in perceptions of major life discrimination and the entire gap when major life discrimination is attributed to race. The results highlight the importance of intersectionality theory for assessing discrimination, and the authors argue that revisions in the measurement of perceived discrimination are required to better reflect the experiences of African American women.

Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

“…[29][30][31][32] The current study was conducted to test race by gender differences in implicit bias against Blacks. Similar to the literature on the intersection of race and gender on explicit bias, 40,44 and in line with the subordinate male target hypothesis, 40 the highest level of implicit bias was expected in White men.…”

“…66,67 In addition to orientation for dominance, males with higher hegemonic masculinities may have lower empathy, as masculine ideologies also reflect restrictive emotionality. 40 With the same argument, masculine beliefs may be a reason White males have the highest implicit bias against Blacks. 35 Race, gender, age and socioeconomic status (SES) 15,68-71 also influence exposure and vulnerability to discrimination.…”

“…There are attempts to understand how hegemonic masculine beliefs impact experience and vulnerability to discrimination. 40 Racial identity may also have a role in shaping individual's exposure and interpretations of racial discrimination. 5,19,35,64,65 Racial attribution also alters the vulnerability to discrimination.…”

“…24 All this evidence suggests that exposure and vulnerability to perceived discrimination are not solely a function of race or gender but their intersection. 25,36,37,39 This phenomenon may be due to the subordinate male target hypothesis, 40 masculinity ideologies, 41 or traditional gender norms. 41 Most of the research on race by gender differences in bias is focused on explicit, rather than implicit bias.…”

Differential reporting of discriminatory experiences in Brazil and the United States

“…A majority of African American college students at predominantly white universities experienced high levels of racial hassles, but male African American students reported higher levels than their female counterparts 18 . African American men have reported more discrimination than African American women in other studies, though it is possible that standard measures of lifetime discrimination capture experiences more frequently experienced by men 19 . In the present study, we assess perceived lifetime discrimination among Brazilian and U.S. adults, considering differences across race, gender, and race-by-gender groups.…”