Despite efforts towards increasing representation of women into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, women are still underrepresented in the workforce in these areas. One possible explanation may be the ways in which organizations approach group differences between genders, i.e. gender diversity ideologies. The current thesis aimed to examine the differential effects of gender awareness (highlighting differences strengths between men and women) and gender blindness (downplaying differences between men and women). Specifically, I anticipated that women applying to STEM positions will respond better to companies employing gender blindness in their recruitment efforts (i.e. expect less meta-stereotyping), as opposed to gender awareness. In addition, I also examined other factors (e.g. representation of women at the organization, communal goal affordance, and communal goal endorsement) that were previously unexamined to uncover the mechanism underlying trickling out of the leaky pipeline in a recruitment context. Results suggest that indeed, women expected less meta-stereotyping for organizations that presented itself as having a gender blind approach or greater representation. This, in turn, predicted greater fit and organizational attraction. Though hypotheses were largely supported, the pertinence of diversity ideology in the applicant context, as well as other future directions, are discussed.
Read
