An Emphasis on Brilliance Fosters Masculinity-Contest Cultures
研究发现，当一个领域或组织被认为重视才华时，人们也会认为它充满男性气质竞争文化，这种关联在女性中更强，进而降低女性的兴趣和归属感，并加剧冒名顶替感。
Women are underrepresented in fields in which success is believed to require brilliance, but the reasons for this pattern are poorly understood. We investigated perceptions of a “masculinity-contest culture,” an organizational environment of ruthless competition, as a key mechanism whereby a perceived emphasis on brilliance discourages female participation. Across three preregistered correlational and experimental studies involving adult lay participants online ( N = 870) and academics from more than 30 disciplines ( N = 1,347), we found a positive association between the perception that a field or an organization values brilliance and the perception that this field or organization is characterized by a masculinity-contest culture. This association was particularly strong among women. In turn, perceiving a masculinity-contest culture predicted lower interest and sense of belonging as well as stronger impostor feelings. Experimentally reducing the perception of a masculinity-contest culture eliminated gender gaps in interest and belonging in a brilliance-oriented organization, suggesting possible avenues for intervention.