Women's fear of being stereotyped by male service providers shapes their consumer choices, US, South Korean and Canadian researchers say。
study authors Kyoungmi Lee of Yonsei University in South Korea, Hakkyun Kim of Concordia University in Montreal and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota said their research shows women avoid situations in which they fear they will be the brunt of the stereotype -- especially situations that involve male service providers in transactions that call for science, technology, engineering and math abilities。
"One of the most widely held stereotypes in North America is that women's competence and aptitude in science, technology, engineering, and math domains is less than men's," the study authors say in a statement。
The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, demonstrated that female consumers who are reminded of their gender identity expressed lower intentions to purchase service from firms that advertised themselves with male service providers。
"When the threat of being stereotyped is in the air, consumers become anxious when they contemplate transacting with outgroup vs. ingroup service providers if they are reminded of the negative gender stereotype in science, technology, engineering and math domains," the researchers say. "A rise in consumer anxiety, in turn, is the very driving force behind women's disinterest in transacting with male service providers or sales persons."