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BY JOE TYRRELL
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
If you're a woman, hang back; if you're a man, go on the attack.
Boiled down drastically, that might be the job interview advice from a new study by Rutgers University researchers.
All that happy talk about equality under the law aside, there have been many studies suggesting assertive women still pay a price in the job market, said Rutgers spokesman Steve Manas.
But a new study by Corinne Moss-Racusin, Julie Phelan and Laurie Rudman looks at the other side of the equation. Their paper, "When Men Break Break the Gender Rules: Status Incongruity and Backlash Against Modest Men," is being published in the quarterly journal "Psychology of Men & Masculinity."
Looking at how applicants are judged in job interviews, they found men benefit when they do not waste time on modesty. Cultural stereotypes still apply.
"For men and women, there are things they must and must not be," said Moss-Racusin, a doctoral candidate in the department of psychology. "Women must be communal and other-oriented, but they must not be dominant.""It's pretty established that you still hear the b-word when it comes to dominant women, 'bitch, bitch, bitch,'" Manus said.
On the other hand, "women are allowed to be weak while this trait is strongly prohibited in men," Moss-Racusin said.
"I've got to be, a macho man," is Manus' Village People take on the situation.
To see how this would play out in job interviews, the researchers recruited 132 female and 100 male student volunteers. They then viewed videos of 15-minute interviews for jobs requiring strong technical abilities and social skills.
While the applicants' credentials were deliberately set as equal, some of the actors presented themselves in low-key, "modest" fashion.
The students judged the applicants as equally competent. But both females and males said they "liked" the modest men less. That reflects social backlash, according to the researchers.
Compared to their egotistical and self-asserted brothers, the mild-mannered men seemed weak to the evaluators. While a modest woman caused no ripples, a less-assertive man was pegged as having low status, according to the study.
But does Superman get the job or Clark Kent? As comic books teach us, that question is a bit murkier. Possibly they both get hired before Lois Lane.
Contrary to the researchers' expectations, the built-in antipathy toward reserved male behavior did not translate into hiring discrimination. Moss-Racusin speculates that because males start out with higher status, even failing to live up to all gender expectations does not cost them as much in the job market.
"From what Corinne has said, there's a feeling that a modest man may 'grow into' a job," Manus said.
"Let's face, men are still in a dominant position when it comes to most hiring decisions," and may allow more slack to an easy-going guy than to a go-getting gal, he said.
Subsequent performance and pay may be issues for another day, although as Crash Test Dummies remind us, "Superman never made any money, for saving the world from Solomon Grundy." Even with limited social skills, Tarzan might better fit the male employment ideal.
Joe Tyrrell may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
