The Effects of Rater Sex and Ratee Sex on Managerial Performance Evaluation

Abstract

Thirty-three men and twenty-four women evaluated and rated the performance of two managers (a man and a woman) after the managers had made decisions based on information provided by the management accounting system. The experimental materials comprised two cases—one showing successful performance and the other, unsuccessful performance. It is hypothesised that both men and women raters will demonstrate a bias against the successful woman manager, that is, evaluate her more harshly compared with the successful male manager. No difference in performance evaluation is predicted between the unsuccessful female manager and the unsuccessful male manager. The results support the hypotheses. A second dependent variable measured the perceived benefit that was received from expenditure incurred in carrying out the managers' decisions. It is hypothesised that both men and women raters will demonstrate a bias against the successful woman manager, that is, perceive lower benefit from a woman-initiated decision relative to a man-initiated decision. No evidence of biases against the successful woman manager is observed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings.