The gender gap in occupational role attainment: A social dominance approach.

Abstract

The authors present archival evidence that men disproportionately hold occupational roles that enhance group-based inequality and that women disproportionately hold roles that attenuate group-based inequality. The authors found evidence for 3 processes that may contribute to this pattern: self-selection that is based on gender-linked differences in support for group inequality (social dominance orientation), hiring biases that are based on matching job applicants' group equality values with the hierarchy function of the job, and gender-stereotyped hiring biases. These processes were found across a number of occupations and participant variables. The social systems nature of these processes and the implications of the results for theoretical understandings of gender roles, social inequality, and theories of stereotyping are discussed.

Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.

“…The jobs were taken from past social dominance research (Pratto & Espinoza, 2001;Pratto, Stallworth, Sidanius, & Siers, 1997) in which they were categorized as hierarchy-enhancing or hierarchy-attenuating, and whether they were high in status or low in status. For example, one hierarchy-enhancing, high-status job was head of human resources with an emphasis on merit policies; the corresponding hierarchy-attenuating, high-status job was also head of human resources but with an emphasis on employment equity policies instead.…”

“…Hierarchy-enhancing jobs create or maintain group-based differences while hierarchy-attenuating jobs diminish groupbased differences (Pratto & Espinoza, 2001;Pratto, Stallworth, Sidanius, & Siers, 1997). For example, the criminal justice system is disproportionately controlled by dominant groups and therefore prosecutors and police officers have hierarchy-enhancing roles as agents of the state (Sidanius, Pratto, Martin, & Stallworth, 1991).…”

Person-Organization Congruence and the Maintenance of Group-Based Social Hierarchy: A Social Dominance Perspective

“…Jones, 1997)asserts that institutions play a principal role in shaping group-based hierarchies (e.g. Mitchell & Sidanius, 1995;Pratto et al, 1997;Sidanius, Liu, Pratto, & Shaw, 1994;Sidanius et al, 1996;van Laar et al, 1999). 1 Social dominance theorists also draw a distinction between two types of institutions: HE institutions and HA institutions.…”

“…Pratto & Espinoza, 2001;Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994;Pratto, Stallworth, Sidanius, & Siers, 1997;Sidanius & Pratto, 1999;Sidanius, Pratto, Sinclair, & van Laar, 1996;Sidanius, van Laar, Levin, & Sinclair, 2003;van Laar, Sidanius, Rabinowitz, & Sinclair, 1999) have suggested that a similar P-E 'fit' exists for sociopolitical attitudes. In the same way that people who place a premium on moneymaking tend to work in environments that do the same, it is expected that people who endorse the subordination of others tend to inhabit environments that produce the subordination of others.…”

Multiple Facets of Compassion: The Impact of Social Dominance Orientation and Economic Systems Justification

“…Conversely, those who rate low on the SDO scale tend to fill roles that serve the oppressed, known as ''hierarchy-attenuating'' roles (Pratto et al 1997). In a study pertinent to the current research, Sidanius et al (1991) tested the implications of SDT in career choice by examining consensual racial attitudes (operationalized as racial attitudes that different ethnic groups shared) and career choice in 5,655 undergraduate and graduate students.…”