New research reveals aging shifts gender stereotypes in unexpected ways

People view older men and women equally, but younger and middle-aged women are seen more favorably than their male peers, according to a large meta-analysis published in Psychological Bulletin.

Traditionally, older women have been seen as facing a “double jeopardy,” discrimination based both on their gender and their age. This perspective suggests that older women are doubly marginalized, experiencing more negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination than either older men or younger women.

However, some recent findings challenge this view, suggesting that the disadvantages tied to gender might actually lessen with age. In this newer “convergence” view, age-related changes may overshadow gender biases, leading to more equal perceptions of older men and women.

Angela Shakeri and Michael S. North explored these competing ideas by conducting a meta-analysis of how people view men and women at different life stages. Drawing on intersectionality theory, they compared support for the “double jeopardy” hypothesis versus the “convergence” hypothesis by examining how gender-based biases change across age groups. They also investigated whether specific attitude dimensions, such as warmth, agency, or attractiveness, differently shaped these perceptions.

The researchers systematically searched academic databases, dissertations, and conference proceedings to identify studies from the year 2000 onward that quantitatively measured attitudes toward younger (18-34), middle-aged (35-54), and older (55+) men and women. This meta-analysis synthesized data from 55 independent reports, encompassing 92 unique samples and a total of 37,235 participants.

To be included, studies had to report attitudes (e.g., stereotypes, emotional reactions, behavioral intentions) toward at least two intersecting age-gender groups (e.g., younger men vs. younger women, younger women vs. older women). Attitudes were gauged through a variety of stimuli, including written descriptions, photos, videos, audio clips, and even real-life individuals in field contexts. Participants ranged from university students to members of the general population, and target figures varied in presentation and setting (e.g., work vs. nonwork scenarios).

The researchers coded and categorized these studies by tagging key features such as the type of attitude measured (e.g., warmth, competence, attractiveness), study design (within- or between-subjects), and contextual variables like country and sample demographics. Attitudes were compared across different combinations of age and gender to evaluate both the overall effects and the potential moderating roles of these intersecting identities.

Shakeri and North found that, in general, women were viewed more positively than men, and younger and middle-aged adults were viewed more positively than older adults. However, when looking specifically at intersections of age and gender, the results revealed a more nuanced picture. Younger and middle-aged women were both rated more favorably than their male counterparts. But when it came to older adults, perceptions of women and men were virtually identical, suggesting that gender differences in attitudes tend to level out in later life. This pattern provides empirical support for what the authors call the “gender convergence effect,” where distinctions in attitudes based on gender diminish with age.

At the same time, evidence also supported the “double jeopardy” perspective, which posits that older women face sharper declines in social perception compared to other groups. Although older women were not rated more negatively than older men, the drop in positivity from youth to old age was significantly steeper for women than for men. For instance, the difference in attitudes between younger and older women was notably larger than the equivalent drop for men, indicating a disproportionate deterioration in how aging women are perceived.

Moreover, the nature of the specific attitude measured mattered. When rating traits like competence and agency, older women were viewed less favorably than other groups, even as they were perceived as highly warm. In contrast, behavioral intentions (such as willingness to interact or hire) showed a more equal pattern for older men and women, reinforcing the idea that convergence and double jeopardy can co-occur depending on the dimension of judgment. These findings underscore the importance of examining multiple facets of attitude, rather than relying on a single global measure.

One limitation is the lack of data from non-Western countries, which restricts the generalizability of the findings to more culturally diverse contexts.

The meta-analysis, “The Gender Convergence Effect in Older Age: A Meta-Analytic Review Comparing Modern Attitudes Toward Younger, Middle-Aged, and Older Women and Men,” was authored by Angela Shakeri and Michael S. North.