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Abstract

This study shows that women are unlikely to be seen as leaders. Subjects (n=448) rated each member of a five-person group (shown in a photograph) on leadership attributes and also chose one of the five as ldquocontributing most to the group.rdquo Eight different stimulus slides were used. In two slides the ldquohead-of-the-tablerdquo cue to group leadership was pitted against sex-role stereotypes. A man seated at the head of the table in a mixed-sex group was clearly seen as leader of his group, but a woman occupying the same position was ignored. The head-of-the-table cue identified women as leaders only in all-female stimulus groups. The data were consistent with the hypotheses that sex stereotypes still control social judgments, and that discrimination operates nonconsciously and in spite of good intentions.
The authors are indebted to Marcia Halperin who read an early draft of this report and contributed substantially to the organization and exposition of the present version.

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