Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
Inequalities between men and women persist in the job market, from the moment of hiring. But a study claims that female employees are no longer discriminated against as much as before, when they embark on careers deemed to be very masculine.
The authors of this studypublished in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, arrived at this observation after following the evolution of hiring discrimination based on gender between 1976 and 2020. They analyzed 361,645 applications by taking into account different factors, to see if gender stereotypes continue to hinder the career development of women and men.
The situation is improving for women
It turns out that women have less difficulty entering male-dominated sectors of activity. Nowadays, they have almost as much chance as their male counterparts of being accepted for so-called “men’s” jobs. However, before 1991, this was not the case. At the time, recruiters had a very gendered vision of the world of work, which prevented women from entering all professions.
But researchers say those days are now well and truly over. “Discrimination against women applying for jobs historically held by men has decreased significantly and has not been observed for around ten years.“, they write in their study.
Men, other victims of discrimination in hiring
However, the research team found that hiring discrimination based on gender persists when it is against… men. Indeed, these gentlemen are still struggling to invest in professions that are highly feminized, such as those of assistantship or human resources. Their applications are generally rarely or not considered by recruiters, even if their skills or previous professional experience match the job description.
This type of discrimination is based on the idea that men do not have the emotional qualities required to evolve in “feminine” professional fields, or that they are not sufficiently competent to exercise a “masculine” profession.
Evidence suggests that gender stereotypes continue to influence hiring decisions, although progress has been made towards gender equality in the job market. “Overall, the results support the attenuation of bias thesis for male jobs and balanced jobs (i.e., non-female jobs), and the persistence of bias thesis for female jobs“, conclude the researchers.
Slide: 8 tips for educating your child without sexist stereotypes