Men are perceived as "brilliant" more often than women, according to a landmark study on global gender perceptions. Conducted by researchers from New York University, the University of Denver, and Harvard University, the findings highlight implicit biases—automatic associations people hold but rarely admit outright.
"Stereotypes portraying brilliance as a masculine trait likely discourage women from pursuing prestigious careers," says Daniel Storage, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Denver and lead author.
"Understanding the scope of this gender stereotype can inform efforts to promote equality in professional outcomes," adds Andrei Cimpian, associate professor of psychology at NYU and co-lead author.
Prior research by Cimpian and colleagues shows women are underrepresented in fields seen as requiring exceptional intellect, such as science and technology.
Less clear have been the underlying factors. This study explores how stereotypes associating genius with men may discourage women from these paths or create unwelcoming environments.
Measuring stereotypes accurately is tricky, as people hesitate to acknowledge them. Direct questions often yield unreliable results on beliefs about brilliance being more common in men.
To address this, the researchers used the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a validated tool that detects automatic links between traits like "brilliant" and groups like men, without explicit questioning.
The IAT is a rapid sorting task. Participants viewed stimuli (e.g., images of women or the word "brilliant") and categorized them using keyboard keys (E or I). In some trials, masculine and brilliant shared a key; in others, feminine and brilliant did. Faster sorting when brilliant paired with masculine indicates stronger mental association.
Across five studies—involving U.S. adults, children aged 9-10, and adults from 78 countries—consistent evidence emerged: brilliance implicitly links more to men. The effect size matched prior biases, like men with careers and women with family.
Explicit questions showed the opposite: participants rejected men being more brilliant and, in one study, explicitly linked "brilliance" more to women. This underscores why indirect measures like IAT are essential, as people rarely admit stereotypes.
"Excitingly, people explicitly associate women with brilliance, but implicit tests reveal the automatic bias favoring men for genius," notes Tessa Charlesworth, Harvard doctoral student and co-author.
