The Multiple Dimensions of Gender Stereotypes: A Current Look at Men's and Women's Characterizations of Others and Themselves

This study uses a multi-dimensional framework to assess current stereotypes of men and women, examining how men and women are characterized by male and female raters, how men and women characterize themselves, and the convergence between self-characterizations and characterizations of one's gender group. Results from an experimental study (N=628 US male and female raters) indicate persistent stereotypes about communality, equally prevalent for male and female raters. Agency characterizations were more complex, with male raters describing women as less agentic than men and less agentic than female raters described them. Female raters differentiated among agency dimensions, describing women as less assertive but equally independent and leadership competent as men. Gender stereotypes were also evident in self-characterizations. Comparisons revealed women characterized themselves in more stereotypically negative terms than they characterized other women, while men characterized themselves in less stereotyped terms.

Tanja Hentschel, Madeline E. Heilman, Claudia V. Peus