九色视频

Sonia Kang

University of Toronto

The Professionalism Paradox: Feminized Traits, Masculine Prototype

Abstract:

The concept of 鈥減rofessionalism鈥� is often treated as objective and unbiased, but we actually know very little about what professionalism means, how people mentally represent it, or whether it is truly neutral. In this presentation, I share findings from four studies (N = 1,577) showing that these ostensibly neutral standards quietly encode masculine defaults. In Study 1 (reverse correlation), we visualized the mental image of a 鈥減rofessional鈥� and found that the prototype is consistently perceived as more masculine. In Study 2 (trait nomination), we mapped the structure and gendered content of (un)professionalism, showing that Professionalism centers on warmth, competence, and conscientiousness, whereas Unprofessionalism clusters around distinct components鈥攅specially incivility and incompetence. In Study 3 (word embeddings), large-scale natural language replicated this structure, with Professionalism skewing feminine (warmth) and Unprofessionalism skewing masculine (incivility). In Study 4 (occupational ratings), we applied these dimensions to a wide range of jobs and found that female-dominated occupations were viewed as slightly less professional but substantially less unprofessional鈥攁 pattern not explained by occupational prestige. Across studies, the results converge to show how 鈥減rofessionalism鈥� both reflects and reproduces inequality: standards that appear neutral privilege masculine norms in who looks professional, while the underlying trait content is feminized. This mismatch could help explain persistent gender bias in perceptions of competence, professionalism, and fit.