{"id":37222,"date":"2021-05-31T06:45:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T10:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=37222"},"modified":"2021-06-02T10:10:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T14:10:15","slug":"gender-double-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gender-double-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gender Double Standard\u2014Yes, It Still Exists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is gender double standard? Does gender double standard still exist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gender double standard is judging men and women differently for the same behavior. Despite what some people say, the gender double standard still exists on many planes in our society (e.g. sexual double standard, behavioral expectations in the workplace<\/a>, gender pay gap<\/a>, etc) and it’s greater for women than men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is why the gender double standard is still a problem for women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Double Standard Against Women<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For this gender double-standard study, the researchers split the participants (business students at Columbia Business School) into two groups. The case study of a successful entrepreneur named Heidi was given to one group. An identical study was given to a second group, but with Heidi\u2019s name changed to Howard. The students respected <\/em>Heidi and Howard equally, but gave Howard greater likeability<\/a> <\/em>scores. The takeaway: men can be decisive<\/a> and driven and remain likeable, but women are punished for acting the same way. Society expects women to act in a nurturing and communal way.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This bias hurts women financially. Women pay a financial price for being perceived as more communal: they often do more in the workplace without more reward. This is called the \u201cgender discount problem.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if a man helps a colleague, that colleague is indebted to him and will return the favor. A woman, on the other hand, is seen as \u201chappy to help\u201d and is less likely to have the favor reciprocated.<\/strong> If a man is too busy<\/a> to help a colleague, it\u2019s not an issue, but if a woman is too busy, she is penalized with unfavorable reviews or fewer rewards. She\u2019s damned if she does and damned if she doesn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gender discount problem comes into play when negotiating for compensation. Men tend to negotiate more than women. There\u2019s no downside for them; they are expected<\/em> to advocate for themselves. But when a woman negotiates, both men <\/strong>and<\/em><\/strong> women react unfavorably.<\/strong> She\u2019s seen as demanding, violating the perceived gender norms. Even if her negotiations are successful she pays a long-term penalty in goodwill and future opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can women negotiate successfully and still have people like them?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  1. Show concern for the common good<\/strong>.