The Differential Impact of Gender Ratios on Women and Men: Tokenism, Self-Confidence, and Expectations

Abstract

The results show that female subjects who anticipated being tokens-the only woman in the group were more likely than nontoken women to prefer a different group, to desire a change in the gender composition of the group, and to expect to stereotype others. These effects were stronger for token women with less confidence about an upcoming task. In contrast, token and nontoken male subjects did not differ in their responses to these measures. Yet potential female and male tokens, regardless of confidence, were both more likely to anticipate stereotypic evaluations from their group members. The authors discuss the relevance of these results to career choices by women in nontraditional careers.