In a recent Belgian study, researchers found that teenagers who frequently watched TV series and social media posts featuring women in traditionally male-dominated professions, such as CEOs or scientists, had less stereotypical views about gender and professions. However, this correlation did not strongly translate into a change within individuals over time. The findings have been published in the journal Sex Roles.
Historically, the representation of women in media has been skewed towards traditional roles. Recent efforts to balance this portrayal, especially in male-dominated fields like STEM or executive positions, have led to the emergence of “woman boss” content in media. This term describes TV series or social media posts showcasing women in authoritative or traditionally male roles.
“Gender inequalities in the career world, including the underrepresentation of women in stereotypically male careers, still exist nowadays,” said study author Ilse Vranken, a postdoctoral researcher at the School for Mass Communication at KU Leuven in Belgium. “Efforts to reduce such inequalities are thus highly needed. Such inequalities, and especially the complexity in which such inequalities exist fascinate me and are central to my research on media effects.”
“In our longitudinal study, we focused on what we labeled as ‘woman boss TV series’ and ‘woman boss social media content.’ Such content focuses on female role models in stereotypically male jobs. As the storylines in TV series and posts on social media focus on these role models and their professional or personal lives, they may be particularly inspiring for late adolescents (teenagers between 16-18 years old). Therefore, we were inspired to study how exposure to such content may play a beneficial role in reducing gender-stereotypical beliefs about professional roles that are reserved for men vs. women, what we label as professional sexism.”
To understand the impact of this new wave of media content, Belgian researchers conducted a longitudinal study involving 1,286 high school seniors. The study spanned over three waves of data collection in January, May, and September of 2021, coinciding with a crucial period when these teenagers were making significant career-related decisions.
Participants were asked about their consumption of TV series and social media content that featured women in male-dominated professions, such as a female police officer, scientist, or CEO. The study also measured the perceived usefulness of this content – whether the participants felt they learned something valuable from it – and their levels of professional sexism, using questions that gauged their beliefs about gender-specific suitability for certain professions.
On a between-person level, meaning when comparing different individuals, there was a clear trend: adolescents who watched more “woman boss” series or engaged with similar social media posts tended to have less professional sexism. They also found this content more useful, indicating a potential shift in attitudes thanks to media exposure.
In other words, adolescents who engaged with more “woman boss” content were less likely to agree with statements such as “Women are better suited for caring professions (e.g., nursing) compared to men” and more likely to agree with statements such as “After viewing such series, I learned things that I would have never learned otherwise.”
However, when examining within-person changes over time – meaning how an individual’s attitudes changed with their media consumption – the results were not as clear-cut. Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, no stable within-person associations were found between exposure to woman boss content and professional sexism. This means that, over time, increased exposure to woman boss series or posts did not consistently relate to changes in professional sexism within individuals.
“Our study only found differences between adolescents, meaning that late adolescents who were more frequently exposed to women in stereotypically male careers in TV series compared to their peers, also scored lower on professional sexism,” Vranken told PsyPost. “However, we could not find any long-term effects of exposure to such content. Exposure to such counter-stereotypical content in TV series or on social media did not affect an adolescent’s professional sexism four months later.”
“This finding generally indicates that such content may not have been strong enough to evoke changes within adolescents’ levels of professional sexism. This raises questions on whether such content may only be effective among younger age groups, such as children, who may be more susceptible to endorse counter-stereotypes.”
One surprising finding was that teenagers with higher levels of professional sexism at one point in the study tended to find “woman boss” series more useful later on. This suggests that such content might be particularly informative for those with more traditional views on gender and professions.
However, the study also had its limitations. A significant number of participants dropped out by the third wave of data collection, especially as most had graduated from high school by then. The researchers speculate that important life events like graduation and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed media consumption patterns, could have influenced the results. Moreover, since the study was conducted in Belgium, the findings might not be directly applicable to other cultural contexts.
Future research might look into younger age groups, as the formation of gender-related beliefs and schemas could be more malleable in children than in late adolescents. The researchers also suggest a need for more detailed measures of media exposure, considering not just the quantity but the quality and context of “woman boss” portrayals.
“Another question is whether all female role models in atypical careers in TV series or on social media can be truly inspirational and can cause positive effects,” Vranken said. “Together with Prof. Vandenbosch, I conducted a content analysis of 740 characters across 15 fiction series. We found support for what we labelled as an ‘atypical occupational trade-off bias’; women in atypical occupations were more frequently presented as unfavorable and underachieving in other life domains, such as their family life or sexual life, compared to male and female characters in gender-stereotypical careers. This may entail that not all female role models in atypical careers in TV series may be equally effective in lowering adolescents’ professional sexism.”
“Our study is one of the first studies that examined the potentially beneficial role of exposure to women in atypical careers in TV series and on social media among adolescents,” Vranken added. “More research is needed to understand which representations of female role models in TV series and on social media are most likely to evoke positive effects. Such research should also consider under which circumstances and for whom such role models may be most effective.”
The study, “Counter‑Stereotypical Career‑Related Media Content and Adolescents’ Professional Sexism: A Longitudinal Study of Woman Boss Television Series and Social Media Posts“, was authored by Ilse Vranken, Sarah Devos, and Laura Vandenbosch.
