Gender bias in caregiving professions: The role of perceived warmth

Abstract

One hypothesized reason for why a disproportionately low number of men enter caregiving fields is how such men are perceived. In two studies, drawing upon the Stereotype Content Model and the lack‐of‐fit model, we tested whether men would encounter more social (e.g., likeability bias) and economic (e.g., hiring or job opportunity bias) penalties than women in caregiving professions due to perceptions that men are less warm than women. In all three studies, we created job or employment materials in which the gender of the candidate or employee was manipulated. In Study 1, a female preschool teacher received higher warmth ratings than a male preschool teacher, which in turn predicted preference for the female teacher over the male teacher. In Study 2, a female social worker was rated more highly in warmth and job hireability than a male social worker; warmth also mediated the relationships between gender and both likeability and job hireability. In Study 3, a male preschool teacher was rated lower in warmth, likeability, job hireability, and job suitability than both a female preschool teacher and a preschool teacher with an unspecified gender. There were no differences between perceived competence of men and women in caregiving positions when competence was assessed. Implications for the factors that predict adverse reactions to and penalties against men in caregiving occupations, as well as interventions to combat the potential negative effects of such penalties on men's interest in caregiving careers, are discussed.

Gender at Work Across Nations: Men and Women Working in Male‐Dominated and Female‐Dominated Occupations are Differentially Associated with Agency and Communion

“…In addition to the incongruity of occupational and gender roles (Clow et al., 2015; Clow & Ricciardelli, 2011) as well as lack of fit of men aspiring to enter female‐dominated occupations (Bosak, Kulich et al., 2018), the current data also point to potential backlash effects for men who have successfully entered female‐dominated occupations. Target men in female‐dominated occupations were seen as high in communion at the expense of their agency, consistent with recent research on backlash effects for men in caregiving and educational occupations (e.g., Halper et al., 2019; Moss‐Racusin & Johnson, 2016).…”

Predictors of Threat from COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Spanish Population

“…It was observed that women were particularly more prone to perceive the COVID-19 disease as a threat. This might be attributed to a woman’s traditional role in society as planner and caregiver of the family unit [ 41 , 42 , 43 ], related to a feeling of moral and affective obligation [ 40 ]. Although men have become more involved with childcare since the economic crisis of 2008, or when they are unemployed, it seems that this trend is not maintained when they are employed, devoting less time to caring for children than mothers [ 40 ].…”

“…In addition, it was found that women without an education and with minor children in their care had a stronger feeling of threat from COVID-19. This could explain the association in the sample studied, as they did not have enough knowledge to enable them to filter information received from the communication media or social networks, thus generating anxiety and stress, a normal response of fear and protection for loved ones [ 19 , 49 ] in the traditional caregiver role of women [ 40 , 42 , 43 ].…”

“…In the situation of imminent alarm in which society around the world now finds itself with COVID-19 and its effect on health [ 16 , 17 , 24 ], the perception adults have of the disease as government measures change their habits, becomes very important. Perhaps one of the most significant changes is in the care of children or other dependents [ 40 ], as women, who traditionally care for the most vulnerable members of the family [ 41 , 42 , 43 ], could find their situation worsened under conditions such as those generated by the current pandemic.…”

Effect of Anxiety on Empathy: An Observational Study Among Nurses

“…As a exception to the previous data, we observed the existence of a relationship between sex, women, and warmth, which could be associated with the auto-perception based on gender bias about the role of caregivers, nurses in particular. Nurses are a feminized collective; in Spain, women represent 84.2% of total nurse workforce [45], are associated with high warmth, a characteristic associated to women, and nurses are a collective constituted mostly by women [46]. This may be caused by several reasons, including selection bias due to nursing being a feminized profession.…”