different standards, double binds challenge women.
by ida o. abbott
sponsoring women: what men need to know
common patterns of gender bias include holding women to higher standards than men and expressing contradictory expectations (“double binds”) for women.
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different standards: people expect more of women than of men and they hold women to higher standards. this sets the bar higher for women who aspire to leadership and makes it more difficult for them to prove their value to the organization, even though research shows that women outperform men in 17 of 67 critical leadership skills, while men outperform women in only four.
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