Masculine vs feminine personality traits and women’s employment outcomes in Britain

Abstract

In the current study, we utilized a correspondent test to capture the way in which firms respond to women who exhibit masculine and feminine personality traits. In doing so, we minimized the potential for reverse causality bias and unobserved heterogeneities to occur.Women who exhibit masculine personality traits have a 4.3 percentage points greater likelihood of gaining access to occupations than those displaying feminine personality traits.In both male-and female-dominated occupations, women with masculine personality traits have an occupational access advantage, as compared to those exhibiting feminine personality traits. Moreover, women with masculine personality traits take up positions which offer 10 percentage points higher wages, in comparison with those displaying feminine personality traits. Furthermore, wage premiums are higher for those exhibiting masculine personality traits in male-dominated occupations, than for female-dominated positions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first field experiment to examine the effect of masculine and feminine personality traits on entry-level pay scales. As feminine personality traits are stereotypically attributed to women, and these characteristics appear to yield fewer rewards within the market, they may offer one of many plausible explanations as to why women experience higher unemployment rates, whilst also receiving lower earnings, as compared to men.

Gender Stereotypes and Gender-Typed Work

“…Similarly, an empirical study of hiring in large US law firms indicated that women were less likely to be hired when the selection criteria comprised of more stereotypically male attributes than feminine characteristics (Gorman 2005). Drydakis et al (2018) found, through a field study, that women whose job applications portrayed them as possessing masculine personality traits were more likely to be invited for an interview, and more likely to be invited for an interview for a higher paying job, than women portraying feminine personality traits. The wage differential was even more pronounced in male-dominated occupations.…”

Gender and Inequality in the Workplace: Lessons from Institutional and Marxist-Feminist Perspectives

“…A field experiment conducted by Drydakis et al (2018) on labor outcomes in Great Britain shows that when CVs of females contain references to male personality traits (e.g., as reflected in their hobbies), they are more likely to get access to occupations than those displaying female personality traits. They are also more likely to secure better-paid positions (Drydakis et al 2018).…”

“…A field experiment conducted by Drydakis et al (2018) on labor outcomes in Great Britain shows that when CVs of females contain references to male personality traits (e.g., as reflected in their hobbies), they are more likely to get access to occupations than those displaying female personality traits. They are also more likely to secure better-paid positions (Drydakis et al 2018). The conflict that can arise between formal and informal institutions is clearly demonstrated here: despite the existence of formal institutions that are meant to ensure gender equality in terms of access to labor, informal institutions such as the perception of the value of labor seem to still play an important role, even in developed country contexts, such as Great Britain.…”

School‐Age Bullying, Workplace Bullying and Job Satisfaction: Experiences of LGB People in Britain

“…Moreover, no one in our sample identified themselves as asexual, pansexual or of another sexual orientation minority. It should also be considered that this study did not focus on gender identity (Drydakis, ; Drydakis et al, ). Studying the interaction between sexual orientation and gender identity might offer novel results; however, this study can provide no findings relevant to bullying due to a trans identity.…”