One step behind: Current stereotypes of women,achievement, and work

This paper describes a series of studies that used projective story cues to elicit the stereotypes held by sixth-form students regarding the likely consequences of males' and females' successes in a variety of academic and occupational settings. Four studies are described. In the first a boyfriend and girlfriend are receiving their advanced level results, in the second a couple are meeting for the first time at a party, in the third a married couple are deciding to start a family, and in the fourth, one member of a couple has been offered promotion that involves a move of 200 miles. Within each of these settings the ratio of the male to female success (academic and/or occupational) was systematically varied. The results, which show that this ratio of male to female success has a more significant influence upon the amount of negative imagery expressed toward the females' than the males' success are discussed, as is the predominance in the students' stories of a female character who was willing to give up her career in order to protect her marriage and family, and her husband's career. These are interpreted as illustrating the strong double standard that still exists for males' and females' successes and careers.This research was conducted in partial fulfillment of the degree of D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.