The persistence of pro-male bias despite identical information regarding causes of success

The present study controlled performance attributions in situations which required direct male-female comparison, and found that even with such control the pro-male bias in evaluation and treatment persisted. Forty eight middle-level managers from a variety of organizations in Israel reviewed performance appraisal material of fictitious male and female employees whose work success was attributed to the same causes. Although attribution influenced decisions, the pro-male bias did not disappear. Despite identical causes provided, males were consistently ranked higher than females. It is argued that the methodology in the sex-linked bias research should use (1) direct male-female comparison, (2) mixed-sex sets of stimulus persons, and (3) ranking formats rather than rating formats.