The role of self-perceived agency and job attainability in women's impressions of successful women in masculine occupations

Past research indicates that both men and women rate successful women in masculine occupations high in interpersonal hostility and low in likeability. Such unfavorable ratings may constitute impediments to women's career success. The present study investigates social comparison as a possible mechanism contributing to the negative impressions formed by women about successful women in masculine occupations. Students from a U.S. university (n = 236) read a job description, completed self‐perceived agency and job attainability measures, and rated a successful woman in the occupation. Results suggest that for women only, participants high in agency viewed masculine occupations as more attainable, and thus were apparently not motivated to disparage the successful woman in the masculine occupation to salvage their self‐views. The findings support the idea that different underlying mechanisms contribute to women's and men's devaluation of successful women.