The (Not So) Changing Man: Dynamic Gender Stereotypes in Sweden

Abstract

According to Social Role Theory, gender stereotypes are dynamic constructs influenced by actual and perceived changes in what roles women and men occupy (Wood and Eagly, 2011). Sweden is ranked as one of the most egalitarian countries in the world, with a strong national equality discourse and a relatively high number of men engaging in traditionally communal roles such as parenting and domestic tasks. This would imply a perceived change toward higher communion among men. Therefore, we investigated the dynamics of gender stereotype content in Sweden with a primary interest in the male stereotype and perceptions of gender equality. In Study 1, participants (N = 323) estimated descriptive stereotype content of women and men in Sweden in the past, present, or future. They also estimated gender distribution in occupations and domestic roles for each time-point. Results showed that the female stereotype increased in agentic traits from the past to the present, whereas the male stereotype showed no change in either agentic or communal traits. Furthermore, participants estimated no change in gender stereotypes for the future, and they overestimated how often women and men occupy gender non-traditional roles at present. In Study 2, we controlled for participants’ actual knowledge about role change by either describing women’s increased responsibilities on the job market, or men’s increased responsibility at home (or provided no description). Participants (N = 648) were randomized to the three different conditions. Overall, women were perceived to increase in agentic traits, and this change was mediated by perceptions of social role occupation. Men where not perceived to increase in communion but decreased in agency when change focused on women’s increased participation in the labor market. These results indicate that role change among women also influence perceptions of the male stereotype. Altogether, the results indicate that social roles might have stronger influence on perceptions of agency than perceptions of communion, and that communion could be harder to incorporate in the male stereotype.

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

“…In line with social role theory's predictions, studies conducted in Western, more economically developed nations (i.e., Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United States) as well as non‐Western, less developed nations (i.e., Brazil, Chile, and Ghana; Bosak, Eagly et al., 2018; Gustafsson Sendén et al., 2019) showed that perceived changes in women's occupational roles were associated with greater ascriptions of agentic traits to women (a similar argument is discussed by Kim et al., 2020). As men have not moved into communal social roles to the same extent that women have moved into agentic social roles (e.g., England, 2010), stereotypes of men have not changed to the same extent as stereotypes of women have; that is, in most nations men have not been associated with more communal traits over time (Diekman et al., 2005; Eagly et al., 2019; Gustafsson Sendén et al., 2019; Koenig & Eagly, 2014; Twenge, 1997, but see Haines et al., 2016 showing stereotype maintenance in the United States, and Bosak, Eagly et al., 2018 showing that men are increasingly associated with communion in Ghana). Thus, there is some evidence suggesting that in support of social role theory the extent of societal and economic changes facilitating men and women's equal participation across different social roles may be associated with the strength of individuals’ gender stereotypes.…”

“…Social role theory posits that situational factors such as the economy, social structure, culture, and ecology play a role in shaping occupational gender segregation and the variability in occupational gender stereotypes between societies (e.g., Eagly & Wood, 2012). However, social role theory has predominantly been investigated in Western societies, such as the United States and Europe (e.g., Bosak et al., 2012; Cejka & Eagly, 1999; Gustafsson Sendén et al., 2019; Koenig & Eagly, 2014, but see Bosak, Eagly et al., 2018). Research systematically investigating social role theory's predictions about occupational gender segregation and gender stereotypes in different national contexts is limited.…”

Gender Stereotypes in Student Evaluations of Teaching

“…This was surprising since competence has been strongly associated with masculinity (Fiske et al, 2007). However, recent research show that competence is one aspect of gender stereotypes that has changed the most over the years, and that women now sometimes are perceived as more competent than men (Gustafsson Sendén et al, 2019;Eagly et al, 2020). Hence, the results are not contradicting of recent research.…”

“…Hence, agentic traits are traditionally associated with masculinity, while communal traits are traditionally associated with femininity. Importantly, gender stereotypes function both prescriptively (what women and men should engage in, and how they should be), and proscriptively (what they should not engage in and be) (Gustafsson Sendén et al, 2019;Hentschel et al, 2019).…”

Are Mothers and Daughters Most Important? How Gender, Childhood Family Dissolution and Parents’ Current Living Arrangements Affect the Personal Care of Parents

“…Sweden is also known for its strong norms of gender equality, including gender-egalitarian ideas of care responsibilities. Research has indicated that there has not been substantial changes in policies about eldercare (for overview, see Peterson 2017;Meagher and Szebehely 2019) or norms of gender equality during the last decade (Nyman et al 2018;Gustafsson Sendén et al 2019).…”