Cold Philosophers: Female Students' Perceived Lack of Fit in Stereotypes Is Associated With Underrepresentation

Abstract

Women's underrepresentation in philosophy requires a comprehensive investigation of the factors that contribute to it. This paper examines the presence of gender stereotypes regarding philosophers and the consequences of a perceived misfit in three studies. A pre-study (N = 49) confirmed that students tend to think about males when asked to name philosophers. Study 1 (N = 530) used an online experiment with a general sample and found that philosophers are perceived as more male than female. Results demonstrated a perceived gender-philosopher-misfit regarding communal but not agentic attributes. Study 2 (N = 178) confirmed the prevalence of the male philosopher stereotype in philosophy students. Building on the Lack-of-Fit Model, we hypothesized and found that female students showed a higher perceived self-philosopher-misfit than male students on the communion dimension, but unexpectedly not on the agency dimension. Using a structural equation model, we showed that this perceived gender-related communal misfit was associated with their lowered intention to persist and increased intention to quit their philosophy studies. The results replicate prior findings on gender stereotype misfits and highlight the special role of the communal dimension in shaping career decisions. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.