The Wife just got back from a conference, and one of our discussions about it resulted in an observation. We are looking for any formal confirmation or denial (are there stats that anyone is aware of).
* In IT, the industry is predominately male, however managerial positions are predominately female.
* In Nursing, the industry is predominately female, however managerial and research roles are predominately male.
* In Fine Art, the industry is predominately female, however males are viewed as career professionals (females as hobbyists)
* i could go on, but these are the ones we have direct experience in
The pattern appears to be that given an industry with a strong gender bias, individuals in the minority group attain higher levels of recognition within the industry.
Is anyone aware of any studies that would confirm or deny this?
In nursing and art, it's ordinary sexism. In IT, I have not seen that many female managers, but I would hazard a guess that many of those who are there may be working for companies that don't require managers to have coding experience -- it is often hard for women coders to get recognition, but managerial jobs are sometimes seen as an extension of the female 'helper' role.
Assuming it does exist, I would expect it to exist outside of gender as well (foreign accents, and race spring to mind). Further, if the pattern is consistent across gender, I would be reluctant to vary my explanation with the gender of the participants.