When a woman rises to the top leadership of a company, it’s often seen as a sign of progress. A woman at the helm can challenge stereotypes and signal to other women that advancement is possible. But new research suggests there may be hidden negative consequences as well. The visibility of a few successful women may make people believe that sufficient equality has already been achieved, even when it hasn’t.
The research paper, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, consisted of four studies that showed that people overestimated a company’s gender diversity after learning that there were women at or near the top of management. The researchers also found that these overestimations reduced the likelihood of hiring a woman and may even hurt women’s pay.
For example, in one study, even when participants were shown the actual gender breakdown of real S&P 500 company boards, they overestimated the number of women on the board when they learned the company had a female CEO. In another study, participants viewed UK pay data by quartile (in the UK, companies are required to file reports showing the percentage of women and men in each pay band). The more women in the top pay band, the more likely participants were to overestimate the number of women working at the company.
Most importantly, the researchers found that these inflated perceptions of gender equality led to real-world consequences. Women were less likely to be hired when participants thought more women were employed at the company. In one experiment, participants viewed images of 20 employees and their average salaries at a fictional company. Some saw a few highly successful women, and some did not. Those who saw highly successful women overestimated female representation at the company. And then, when participants were asked to choose among candidates for a new job at the company, they were less likely to select a woman.
In other words, seeing a few successful women led people to believe that sufficient equality had already been achieved, ultimately reducing support for hiring the next one.
The researchers even found some evidence that overestimating the number of women in these situations may also impact pay. The more participants overestimated the gender balance in real companies, the larger the company’s actual gender pay gap tended to be.
When the researchers extended their analysis to race, they found the same pattern—a few successful Black employees led people to assume there were more Black employees employed by the company.
Why Progress Stalls
This research offers one explanation about why progress on gender diversity can slow once a company has a few women in prominent roles. But other researchers have offered alternative explanations.
Some point to social norms, where organizations model their hiring on what seems typical elsewhere. For example, research from 2019 found that far more S&P 1500 corporate boards had exactly two women than would be expected by chance. The researchers argue that once two women on a board became the unspoken standard, companies lost motivation to add more than two.
Others cite moral licensing as a possible explanation. This idea suggests that promoting a few women or minorities earns a company a kind of psychological credit that makes decision-makers feel they’ve already done enough. Feeling virtuous, they then lose motivation to make further efforts for these groups.
Transparency Helps Prevent False Impressions Of Progress
It’s important to note that none of this research suggests that having women or minorities at the top is a bad thing. It’s just the opposite. Their visibility clearly matters. Seeing women and people of color in leadership can change our perceptions of who makes a good leader and may encourage some to aim higher. But the studies remind us that visibility may come with unexpected consequences. A few prominent examples can create the illusion that equality has already been achieved, when, in reality, many barriers remain.
The authors of the overestimation studies suggest that transparency can help counter this effect. When companies clearly communicate the proportion of women and minorities across all levels of the organization, people are less likely to assume progress is complete. Making diversity data visible keeps attention focused on the broader goal, ensuring that inclusion extends beyond a few at the top and reaches throughout the ranks.