Evaluating High Performing Female Colleagues: The Roles of Race, Gender, and Task Performance

Abstract

Understanding how high-performing female colleagues are evaluated has significant implications for improving group cohesion and productivity in the workplace. While a great deal of research has been done on identifying high performers and supporting them, little focus has been lent to studying these phenomena in conjunction with the unique issues faced by women and people of color in the workplace. Across two studies, the impact of a participant’s demographics, partner’s race, and performance on a task are measured in regards to their evaluation of a high performing female teammate. Results of this study show that female participants rated their partners higher than male participants did, black participants gave higher ratings when they had a white partner, and men gave higher ratings to their partner when they solved both tasks, whereas women gave higher ratings to their partner when they did not solve either task. These results provide valuable insight into the factors that affect how female high performers are perceived, and add to the growing literature around supporting high performers with marginalized identities.