He's Skilled, She's Lucky: A Meta-Analysis of Observers' Attributions for Women's and Men's Successes and Failures

Abstract

This meta-analysis builds on past qualitative reviews examining different attributions that observers give for other women's and men's successes and failures. Results suggest the greatest support for the argument that differences in expectations for women's and men's performances on masculine tasks influence the selection of stable or unstable causes. However, the results also indicate that the strength of the findings for all but one of the attributions is a function of the lack of independence in measuring the different attributions. The only attribution that is unaffected by this artifact is effort for successes and failures. Suggestions for pursuing new perspectives on the impact of gender on attribution processes are discussed.