Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Livingston, RW; Rosette, AS; Washington, EF
Published in: Psychological science
April 2012

Prior research has demonstrated that the display of agentic behaviors, such as dominance, can produce backlash against female leaders because of the incongruence between these behaviors and prescribed gender roles. The current study was designed to fill a gap in existing research by investigating whether these well-established findings are moderated by race. Results revealed that dominant Black female leaders did not create the same backlash that dominant White female leaders did. Experimental evidence confirmed that White female (and Black male) leaders were conferred lower status when they expressed dominance rather than communality, whereas Black female (and White male) leaders were not. These findings highlight the importance, and complexity, of considering the intersection of gender and race when examining penalties for and proscriptions against dominant behavior of female leaders.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Psychological science

DOI

EISSN

1467-9280

ISSN

0956-7976

Publication Date

April 2012

Volume

23

Issue

4

Start / End Page

354 / 358

Related Subject Headings

  • Women
  • White People
  • Social Perception
  • Social Dominance
  • Social Behavior
  • Role
  • Race Relations
  • Male
  • Leadership
  • Interpersonal Relations
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Livingston, R. W., Rosette, A. S., & Washington, E. F. (2012). Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders. Psychological Science, 23(4), 354–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611428079
Livingston, Robert W., Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, and Ella F. Washington. “Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders.Psychological Science 23, no. 4 (April 2012): 354–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611428079.
Livingston RW, Rosette AS, Washington EF. Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders. Psychological science. 2012 Apr;23(4):354–8.
Livingston, Robert W., et al. “Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders.Psychological Science, vol. 23, no. 4, Apr. 2012, pp. 354–58. Epmc, doi:10.1177/0956797611428079.
Livingston RW, Rosette AS, Washington EF. Can an agentic Black woman get ahead? The impact of race and interpersonal dominance on perceptions of female leaders. Psychological science. 2012 Apr;23(4):354–358.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychological science

DOI

EISSN

1467-9280

ISSN

0956-7976

Publication Date

April 2012

Volume

23

Issue

4

Start / End Page

354 / 358

Related Subject Headings

  • Women
  • White People
  • Social Perception
  • Social Dominance
  • Social Behavior
  • Role
  • Race Relations
  • Male
  • Leadership
  • Interpersonal Relations