Gender Essentialism Leads to Biased Learning Opportunities That Shape Women’s Career Interests · ICGS Research Library

Title

Gender Essentialism Leads to Biased Learning Opportunities That Shape Women’s Career Interests

Author

Katherine R. Christensen, Andrei Cimpian, Sapna Cheryan (2025)

Year Published

2025

Description

This study examines how beliefs about innate gender differences—known as gender essentialism—can unintentionally shape women’s career interests by influencing the learning opportunities they receive. Across three experiments, the researchers found that when people assume gender differences are biological, they are more likely to assign women and men stereotypical tasks (e.g., women to empathizing roles, men to systemizing roles). Over time, these biased experiences reinforce traditional gendered career interests, even when the original intentions were neutral. The findings highlight how subtle beliefs about gender can limit agency and opportunity, and suggest that fostering a more contextual understanding of gender differences is key to supporting equitable career pathways for all students.

Reference

Christensen, K. R., Cimpian, A., & Cheryan, S. (2025). Gender essentialism leads to biased learning opportunities that shape women’s career interests. Psychological Science , 36(7), 1195–1209. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976251353753