Connection as the antidote to feeling like an impostor

When I began my research on the experiences on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) people in leadership, I was full of questions. These were not only questions about how I would conduct the research, but about how I related to the work, and whether I was the right person for this project. As a bisexual woman, I questioned if I was “queer enough” to be in the position of conducting this research. I worried about how others would perceive me. I wondered about where I fit in all of this.

Scientific journals about men and masculinities

It is not easy to navigate among the plurality of scientific journals and figure out which of them would contain the most relevant theoretical and methodological approaches and lean toward a specific ideological tendency (e.g., feminist). To have a starting point, below, I list most (but not all) peer-reviewed journals that specialize in the topic of men & masculinities.

Coping with stigma

To simplify the many things we encounter in the world each day, people tend to categorize things. This categorization process is also applied to people, such that we very quickly and easily classify someone according to what we perceive to be their gender, race, age, and sexual orientation. While this cognitive heuristic makes processing people easier, it also tends to result in stereotypes, or, overgeneralizations about the characteristics of certain social groups. Women, for example, are generally perceived to be more emotional than men, while men are perceived to be more assertive than women. 

Metaphors describing Women’s Paths to Leadership

Research on women’s paths to leadership and the obstacles they encounter seems to have a certain affinity for metaphors to illustrate the mechanisms at play. In this blog post, I will describe and compare some of the most used of these metaphors.  As metaphors have the power to influence women’s  feelings and ambitions regarding their careers and situation in an organisation, understanding their meaning and implications is of importance (Burkinshaw & White, 2020).

LGBTQ+ Children’s books

LGBTQ+ children’s books can not only be useful tools to educate youngsters about different gender and sexual identities, human rights issues, and challenges of the queer community, but also help parents and educators talk about gender roles and identity with them. Yet, the existence of such publications is not without controversies. While sometimes they are welcomed and gladly used in schools, it is not uncommon that LGBTQ+ books face backlash and may even get banned.

Expecting a child or expecting a boy/a girl?

Processes of gender socialization have been shown to be connected with gender differences in particular skills, educational achievements, occupational aspirations, and choices, but also with differences in aggression levels. Knowing that our experiences and opportunities could be influenced by gender, the question arises: when does our gender become relevant for the way other people treat us?

Social Psychology Glossary (4): Prejudice

Unlike the term stereotype or the even more uncommon stereotype threat, many have probably heard, read, or used the word prejudice. Prejudice covers a wide variety of meanings in everyday life, and some of those meanings are the same in the field of Social Psychology. But before explaining what those meanings are, let’s think about this variety of different meanings – and the reasons to narrow them down.

Men applying for positions in childcare work

In attempts to achieve gender equality in the workplace, the underrepresentation of men in women-dominated careers is often overlooked. Men who wish to pursue careers in sectors dominated by women are often faced with opposition, as they are perceived unsuitable candidates. This is especially true of highly feminised careers, such as childcare work, where women are assumed to have innate qualities that make them more suitable for the position. Women are perceived as more communal—warm, nurturing and caring—than men, which results in men being overlooked for positions in childcare work. Persisting gender stereotypes such as this can impede the sustainable representation of men in childcare careers, hindering attempts to increase gender equality in society.

Why are most “flying people” men?

What pops into your mind when you think of the word “pilot”? In a collaboration project with the Finnish Aviation Academy about gender and pilot occupation, I asked this question to 962 Finnish students and their most frequent answer was “brave”. “Salary” was the second most frequent word, “responsibility” was the third, and interestingly, “man” was the seventh most frequent.  

The “rainbow plague”: gender conspiracies theories

Conspiracy theories are alternative explanations for important events that center around secret plots by powerful and ill-intentioned groups. According to the psychologists Jan-Willem van Prooijen and Karen M. Douglas, they are 1) consequential, which means they either promote or inhibit certain behaviors; 2) universal, because they have been present in every culture and historical period; 3) emotional, since they appeal to feelings rather than rational thoughts; 4) and social, meaning they refer to intergroup conflict.

Mental Health during a PhD: lessons from my first year

In the past year of my PhD, I’ve been learning that in order to feel seen and supported, you need to let people see you. It can feel challenging and uncomfortable to be vulnerable in a professional or academic setting, but talking about mental health struggles with both my supervisors and other PhD students has been key in helping me gain the support I need to work through difficult times.

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