There was an interesting study from 2015 making the rounds anew in November 2017. The study showed that low-performing males in the online game Halo 3 were hostile towards high-performing females. The study found:
“…lower-skilled players were more hostile towards a female-voiced teammate, especially when [the male was] performing poorly. In contrast, lower-skilled players behaved submissively towards a male-voiced player in the identical scenario. This difference in gender-directed behaviour became more extreme with poorer focal-player performance…. Higher-skilled [male] players, in contrast, were more positive towards a female relative to a male teammate.”
The general idea is that in a contest of skills in a male-dominated environment, there is a hierarchy amongst the men in which junior men are politely submissive towards the men who are at the top of their game. However, if a woman enters the arena, the lower-ranking men perceive that they can be pushed even lower in the hierarchy and respond with hostility towards the female entrants.
By contrast, higher-performing males aren’t as worried about hierarchical reorganization, so they act like gentlemen, scoring points (figuratively) for being both high-performing and well-mannered.
This is relevant to workforce analytics because the data was good. There was a clear performance measurement, verbal communications were recorded (including hostility), and it was possible to split the data between males and females. It’s hard to get this kind of data, and sometimes it’s best to look at games and sports, where data is abundant, to make meaningful interpretations.
In terms of what interpretations to make, it’s a reminder that women can’t simply be given permission to enter a male-dominated area of work. Verbal discouragement and unfair treatment can damage performance, so creating an inclusive environment is key to allowing women to perform at their pre-existing level of competence. But that only takes care of women coming up to par. It is also implied that women need support to grow upwards and onwards. That is, encouragement and targeted supports directed towards women might be part-and-parcel of enabling women to become equals and superiors. And some of this support might come from high-functioning men.
The paper entitled Insights into Sexism: Male Status and Performance Moderates Female-Directed Hostile and Amicable Behaviour, by Michael Kasumovic and Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff, is from July 15, 2016. In my own network I picked this up as a result of the paper being tweeted by Dr. Jennifer Berdahl from UBC. Dr. Berdahl is well-known and her tweet drove more than 5,400 retweets and 214 comments.
The comments responding to Dr. Berdahl’s tweet were lively and provocative. For example, the original paper proposes an evolutionary rationale for the male behaviour, and several people thought this was not meaningful (i.e. maybe this has nothing to do with cavemen). Some people thought that the context of the research (online gaming) is not representative of society overall, because of the number of teenage boys involved. It’s well known that those aged 15-25 exhibit behaviours that cannot be extrapolated into the general population.
The most prevalent comment was that the study rings true. This pattern of behaviour resembles typical behaviour in society, and it mirrors peoples’ experiences in many realms.
Stuart Murray Speaks 