Exploring the scientist stereotypes among a U.S. sample through an intersectional lens: How Black and White men and women (mis)align with scientist traits

Abstract

Although stereotypical scientist traits are more associated with men than women, it is unclear how the addition of race could alter these effects. Specifically, Black women possess dual marginalized identities but also are perceived as more masculine than White women. Across four experiments (N = 1,115) with White and Black participants, we consistently found that participants believed society views White men as the most likely to possess scientist traits, followed by White women and then Black men and women. In Studies 2a (White participants) and 2b (Black participants), we found that although the trait content of the scientist stereotype was largely unique, the selected traits showed the most overlap with White men and the least overlap with Black men and women. These findings highlight the importance of considering gendered and racialized stereotypes in STEM, which may perpetuate disparities in these fields.