Challenging gender stereotypes in people selecting leaders may stimulate greater fairness.<\/p>\n
Research by University of Kent psychologist Dr\u00a0Georgina Randsley de Moura\u00a0<\/a>and psychologists from the universities of Coventry and Sheffield considered how exposure to counter-stereotypic gender role models \u2013 for instance, a female engineer \u2013 could influence the preferences of individuals choosing between different leadership candidates.<\/p>\n Participants in the research were asked to form an impression of either a female mechanic (counter-stereotypic role model) or a male mechanic (stereotypic role model) and to list ten attributes that this person may have. After completing this role-model task, the participants were introduced to a leadership \u2018candidate\u2019. This candidate was either representative of the person\u2019s group or deviated from the group\u2019s norms.<\/p>\n The study found that encouraging counter-stereotypic thinking by exposing the participants to the counter-stereotypic role models positively affected the evaluation and choice of the less representative leadership candidate.<\/p>\n The paper, titled\u00a0Contesting gender stereotypes stimulates generalized fairness in the selection of leaders<\/em>, was written by Dr\u00a0Carola Leicht,\u00a0<\/a>of\u00a0Coventry University; Dr Georgina Randsley de Moura, of the\u00a0School of Psychology<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Kent; and\u00a0Professor Richard J Crisp<\/a>, of the University of Sheffield. It is published in the journal The Leadership Quarterly.\u00a0See here:<\/a><\/p>\n For more information please contact\u00a0Dr Georgina Randsley de Moura.<\/a><\/p>\n