A new study uncovers a troubling gender bias in workplace leadership programs, showing that men’s passion is often rewarded, whereas women’s similar qualities are penalized. Discover how this impacts leadership diversity and what organizations can do to address these inequities.
Passion is often heralded as a key indicator of leadership potential, but a new study published in the INFORMS journal Organization Science reveals that it doesn’t benefit everyone equally. The research indicates significant gender biases, disadvantaging women while favoring men.
“Passion is one criterion that managers often use to evaluate leadership potential, but our findings show that gender stereotypes distort how passion is perceived,” lead author Joyce He, an assistant professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, said in a news release. “This double standard unfairly disadvantages women and perpetuates workplace inequities.”
The study, aptly titled “Passion Penalizes Women and Advantages Men in High-Potential Designations,” unveils that men are 20%-30% more likely than women to be labeled as “high-potential” employees. This designation can fast-track their careers, even when men and women’s passion and performance levels are comparable.
The Gendered Double Standard
The research highlights a pervasive pattern within leadership evaluations.
Men who express passion for their work are perceived as more diligent and committed, potentially paving their way to higher positions.
Conversely, women exhibiting the same level of passion are often labeled as overly emotional and less professional, hindering their chances of being viewed as future leaders.
“Men, especially those with solid but not exceptional performance, were more likely to be rewarded for their passion, as it made them seem more hardworking,” added He. “Women, on the other hand, faced skepticism, with their passion being interpreted as less professional.”
The study utilized data from a major engineering firm and conducted experiments involving more than 2,100 participants. The findings underscore how subjective criteria like passion can inadvertently reinforce gender inequities, even in organizations that advocate for fairness.
“Organizations claim to value passion, but this research shows that it’s not evaluated equally for men and women,” added co-author Jon Jachimowicz, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. “This passion double standard can hold women back and prevent workplaces from building truly gender-diverse leadership pipelines.”
What Organizations Can Do
To counteract these inequities, the researchers propose several actionable steps for organizations:
- Focus on Measurable Achievements: Emphasize objective criteria during evaluations
- Train Managers: Equip them to recognize and mitigate gender biases
- Anonymize Evaluations: Implement anonymized review processes to ensure fairness
By surfacing these ingrained biases, the study aims to encourage organizations to rethink how they evaluate leadership potential, pushing for a more inclusive and diverse future in corporate leadership.