“I’m either a bitch or a bimbo.”
So said Carly Fiorina, the high-profile former CEO of Hewlett Packard, describing
a phenomenon social scientists call “ambivalent sexism.” When women face ambivalent
sexism, they sometimes have to choose between being liked but not respected, or
being respected but not liked. In these situations women face complex political
dynamics that don’t affect men.
When ambivalent sexism is at work, women who adhere to traditionally feminine roles
meet with benevolent approval—but are not seen as go-getters. Women who don’t adhere
to feminine scripts are respected but seen as having personality problems. When
this occurs, women are called to task for behavior that is seen as unobjectionable
in their male colleagues—sometimes called the “he’s assertive, she’s aggressive”
syndrome. Another example of the same pattern is when self-promotion is seen as
inappropriate in women (“she’s a shameless self-promoter”) but appropriate in men
(“he knows his own worth”). Double binds also arises in the context of anger: workplace
displays of anger raise the status of men but lower that of women.
Ambivalent sexism is especially complicated for women in professions that expect
traditionally masculine qualities in their employees but still expect women to play
traditionally feminine roles such as:
These scenarios illustrate the Double Bind bias (or lack of it). These scenarios are based on information from surveys and focus groups of faculty women.
After learning about all four gender bias patterns, take our Gender Bias Quiz to
see how much you’ve learned. Click here.
Watch experts describe the Double Bind bias.
Watch experts suggest how to survive the Double Bind bias.