Endorsing and Reinforcing Gender and Age Stereotypes: The Negative Effect on Self-Rated Leadership Potential for Women and Older Workers

Previous research has examined the impact of stereotypes on outcomes such as

career progression and hiring decisions. We present a novel approach to examine

the role of stereotypes in predicting self-rated leadership potential across gender and

age groups. This research sheds light on the impact of leadership-incongruent and

detrimental stereotypes about one’s gender and age, for women and older workers, on

self-ratings of leadership potential. Across three studies (total N = 640), correlational and

experimental evidence shows differential effects of stereotypes about women (vs. men)

and older (vs. younger) people on self-ratings of their own leadership potential. Results

suggest that both gender and age stereotypes affect older workers more than their

younger counterparts (Study 1). Specifically, effects on self-rated leadership potential

at the intersectional level show that endorsement of stereotypes has opposite effects on

older women to younger men (Study 1). Furthermore, stereotyped workplace cultures

impacted women’s and older worker’s perceptions of job fit (Studies 2 and 3), also

extending to job appeal for older workers (Study 3). Results are discussed in terms of

career implications for both women and older workers, with a particular focus on older

women, whose intersecting identities are leadership stereotype-incongruent.