For women, breaking into a male-dominated field is just part of the battle. Once they arrive, they may encounter scarcity in mentorship and "office housekeeper" or "mother figure" stereotypes, according to an Aug. 11 Market Watch report.
Researchers from the University of Kansas in Lawrence launched three experiments involving more than 1,000 participants in total. Participants worked in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields — where women only make up a fraction of occupations, according to an Aug. 9 peer-reviewed report published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The study's participants were asked to imagine receiving a job offer at a company. Then they were asked to view a random slideshow of their future co-workers. In some slides, the co-workers were either all-male or were gender-balanced. Some participants were also paired with an "ally" scenario, where a male co-worker expressed support for gender equality.
Four study insights:
- Research has demonstrated that men can show support to their female co-workers by using their voices. The presence of a supportive male ally decreases women's perceived workplace hostility and isolation. It also boosts how women anticipate respect, support and gender equity in their organization, the study found.
- "Allyship from men increases women's sense of belonging in male-dominated fields," said Charlotte Moser, a PhD student at the university and the study's lead author. "Saying something like, 'I really care about gender equality and make it a priority to ensure that everyone is treated equally,'" is effective, Ms. Moser said. Men can also show allyship by bringing attention to female co-workers' contributions by saying something like, "I think what X said was a great idea and we should look into that."
- The study found no differences in Black or white women's responses to allyship from either a Black or white man, Ms. Moser said. The presence of a male ally led women to anticipate more support and respect at the organization and decreased their anticipation of workplace hostility or isolation.
- Previous research has demonstrated allyship can be effective through confronting sexism, but the study demonstrates that men do not have to wait for something "overtly sexist to happen to be an effective ally," Ms. Moser said. It can also change gender equity norms at the company.