While previous research has demonstrated that the presence of a female
expert can buffer against the negative effects of identity threats on women
in STEM, the present research examined if similarly stereotyped outgroup
experts also serve as identity safety cues for women in STEM due to cues
transfers. The present study asked White women to imagine applying to a
technology company and were presented with basic information about a
critical department head who was either a White female, White male, or
Asian male and were then asked to indicate how much they would identify
with the department head, as well as how similar they believed stereotypes
of women and Asians were. Participants indicated greater identification
with both the White female and Asian male, compared to the White male, and
this effect was greatest among women who perceived greater stereotype
overlap (B = -0.18, SE=0.09, p = .03).
