Workshop 5: Gender stereotypes: Cause or consequence of gender inequality?

Sabine Sczesny (University of Bern) and Alice Eagly (Northwestern University)

Observations of women and men in their everyday roles produce today’s gender stereotypes. In turn, stereotypes foster gender inequality through causing, for example, prejudice and discrimination in many contexts. Stereotypes also infiltrate individual self-concepts to produce gender identities, which also can perpetuate the status quo. 

People who hope to foster gender equality often wonder where to intervene in this system of cultural, social, and personal processes. Social psychologists often focus on stereotypes as the culprit, without taking into account stereotypes’ group-level accuracy and the reality of substantial sex differences in gender identities and motivations.

The seminar will consider equality-inducing interventions that reflect a more complete understanding of gender dynamics in society than is conventional in social psychology.  The seminar will foster research projects that enhance understanding of gender relations and of innovative ways to increase gender equality.

For more information about the workgroup leaders, please consult their university web-pages:

http://www.soz.psy.unibe.ch/about_us/personen/sczesny_sabine/index_eng.html

http://www.psychology.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core/profiles/alice-eagly.html