While fewer people endorse blatant sexism, sexism is still an ongoing problem. Several measures have been taken to create awareness, but the question arises whether the confirming messages, for...Show moreWhile fewer people endorse blatant sexism, sexism is still an ongoing problem. Several measures have been taken to create awareness, but the question arises whether the confirming messages, for example, from the media or studies might give cues to women that they are being excluded. This research hypothesizes that if women pick up cues from confirming messages, it leads to more feelings of social exclusion compared to a context in which sexism is denied or is not mentioned. This research examines the effects of the confirmation of sexism on social exclusion, need-threats, feelings, motivation to apply, and expectations of their chances on the labor market. In this between-subjects study (confirmation of sexism vs. modern sexism vs. control condition), 157 female students from Leiden University completed a questionnaire. This study showed that women in the confirmation of sexism condition reported more feelings of social exclusion, more need-threats, more negative feelings, lower motivation to apply for a job, and lower expectations of their chances on the labor market compared to the other conditions. These results support the hypothesis that confirming sexism is more harmful than a context of modern sexism or not mentioning sexism, but more research is needed to provide general support for this hypothesis.Show less
In modern society, there is an increased attention for the acknowledgement of sexism. This comes almost as a counter movement against modern sexism, a form in which sexism is denied. The goal of...Show moreIn modern society, there is an increased attention for the acknowledgement of sexism. This comes almost as a counter movement against modern sexism, a form in which sexism is denied. The goal of this study was to investigate potential negative effects of exposure to acknowledgement of sexism, such as feelings of exclusion and low motivation to apply for a job. 161 female participants from a Dutch university, divided over three conditions, filled in a survey in order to measure exclusion and motivation to apply. The three conditions were the acknowledgement of sexism, modern sexism and a control condition. We found significant results for our hypotheses. The acknowledgement of sexism leads to feelings of exclusion, low need fulfilment, negative feelings, low expectancy to get a job and low motivation to apply for one. This shows that exposure to the acknowledgement sexism in, for example, the media can have negative effects. This thesis also provides several suggestions on how messages concerning the acknowledgment of sexism can be communicated, including future research suggestions.Show less
