How Culturally Prevalent Patterns of Nonverbal Behavior Can Influence Discrimination Against Women Leaders

Abstract

We propose that people learn biases against women leaders through patterns of nonverbal behavior depicted in media. Specifically, we hypothesized that (a) people encounter culturally prevalent patterns of nonverbal behavior that favor men leaders over women leaders and (b) seeing patterns of nonverbal behavior favoring men leaders causes people to prefer working under men than women. An analysis of nonverbal behavior directed by and at leaders in 18 popular TV shows revealed that interactions between women leaders and their subordinates were more negative than those between men leaders and their subordinates. In two experimental studies, participants (N = 193: 53% women, 47% men, 78% White, M_age = 19.5 and N = 237: 75% women, 25% men, 77% White, M_age = 18.45) exposed to this nonverbal bias favoring men (vs. a nonverbal bias favoring women) were more likely to choose to work for a White man than a White woman leader. This work has implications for understanding one mechanism through which gender stereotypes of leadership are transmitted and upheld in social groups. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843251318964.