Theses and Dissertations Collection

Abstract

The objectives of the present research were to assess how perceptions of appli-cants' sex and gender influence ratings of qualification, competence, likability, and job placement into different types of engineering positions. Participants evaluated four tar-get résumés of applicants with equivalent information about education and experience. Résumés differed by information about an applicant's sex (i.e., male or female) and gender (i.e., masculine or feminine). Participants rated each applicant on perceived lev-els of qualification, competence, likability, and made annual salary suggestions for each applicant. Further, participants made placement decisions for all four applicants into one of four engineering positions (i.e., job types) that were described as requiring different amounts of independent and collaborative work. Results provided evidence that sex and gender of applicant significantly contributed to participant ratings of an applicant's perceived level of qualification and likability. Results also provided evidence that gender of applicant significantly contributed to participant ratings of an applicant's perceived competence.