The Research: Devon Proudfoot, a PhD candidate at Duke, and her colleagues Aaron Kay and Christy Koval performed several studies of gender bias and creativity. In one, subjects rated how central certain personality characteristics were to creativity. The results showed that both men and women associated creativity with stereotypically “masculine” traits—independence, daring—more than with “feminine” traits, such as cooperativeness and sensitivity.

研究： 美国杜克大学博士生德文· 普劳德弗特（Devon Proudfoot）及其同事亚伦·凯伊（Aaron Kay）以及克里斯蒂·科瓦尔（Christy Koval），针对性别偏见和创造力进行了多项实验。在一项实验中，参与者被要求对特定品格与创造力的相关性进行打分。结果，无论男女，都更多将创造力与刻板印象里的男性特质（独立与勇敢）联系在一起，将创造力与女性特质（协同性与敏感性）联系在一起的人数则相对要少。

In another study the researchers asked subjects to evaluate a house design but varied the gender of the architect. Both men and women rated creativity higher when told that the architect was a man.

在另一项实验中，研究人员在被告知建筑师的性别后，要求参与者评估此建筑师所设计房子的设计感。相比被告知建筑师是女性，被告知建筑师是男性时，实验参与者对创造性的评分更高。

The Challenge: Is gender bias so insidious that it affects how we judge ingenuity, too? And who brainwashed women into believing men’s ideas are better? Ms. Proudfoot, defend your research.

挑战：性别歧视真的潜藏于我们的意识中，以至于会影响到我们对创造力的判断？到底是谁洗脑了女性，令其相信男性的点子更具创意？普劳德弗特女士，捍卫你的研究吧！

Proudfoot: Our research clearly showed that people associate creativity with “agentic” masculine qualities—boldness, risk taking, independence. And because of this, people believe that men are generally more creative than women. It doesn’t affect just assessments of work, like an architect’s design. We also found that the bosses of 134 executives rated women as significantly less creative in their thinking than men. That has repercussions: In another study we did, male managers who were rated as more creative than female managers were perceived as more deserving of rewards.

普劳德弗特：我们的研究清楚表明，人们会将创造力与“颇具代表性”的男性特质（大胆、敢冒风险以及独立）联系到一起。正因如此，人们会认为，男性通常比女性更具创造力。这直接影响到人们对工作表现的评估，比如对上述建筑师的评价。我们还发现，在134 名高管的老板心目中，女性的创造力远远不及男性。由此产生的影响是，在我们所进行的另一项实验中，参与者认为，在创造力方面得分超过女性管理者的男性管理者，应该得到更多报酬。

HBR: Great. Another way men get recognition that they don’t necessarily earn.

Actually, that’s not what our research suggests. The pattern of results we found is more consistent with supervisors’ tendency to underestimate women’s creativity, not to overestimate men’s. That’s what accounts for the gender difference in these evaluations.

HBR：太棒了，又有一种方式能让男性得到意料之外的认可。

其实，这并非我们的研究想要揭示的现象。管理者倾向于低估女性的创造力，而不是高估男性的创造力。实验结果与这种现象一致，它解释了这种现象存在的原因。

HBR: Why is it important to look at gender bias regarding creativity?

This work came out of a broader program examining social and psychological forces that may explain why women are not reaching high-level positions. There’s also evidence that more and more value is placed on creativity at work. In one recent survey of 1,500 CEOs, creativity was identified as the most important skill for the future. So perceptions about it have a strong influence on who advances and who doesn’t.

HBR: 为什么要审视创造力方面的性别偏见？

我们的研究源于一个更大的项目，该项目旨在考察女性难以升至高位的可能的社会学和心理学原因。此外，有证据显示，职场越来越多将价值归结于创造力。最近针对1500名CEO所做的调研显示，创造力被认定为未来最重要的技能。因此，对创造力的评价严重影响着职位晋升。

HBR: But that’s not the only explanation for a dearth of women at the top, right? Aren’t a lot of factors at play?

There’s already a great deal of research demonstrating that men are assumed to be more competent and intelligent and better leaders than women. We also know that perceptions of creativity are likely to be correlated with perceptions of ability. But we’re not demonstrating that because men are seen as better, they are, by default, seen as more innovative. By statistically controlling for participants’ perceptions of the competence and skill of the person being evaluated, we show that it’s not just a general bias against women at work here. It’s something very specific about creativity.

HBR: 但这并非女性高管严重匮乏的惟一原因，对吧？难道不是还有其他因素在起作用吗？

已有大量研究表明，人们认为男性比女性更能干、更聪明，更适合当领导者。对创造力的评价很可能与对两性能力的评价有关联。但我们并不是想说，既然男性被视为更好的领导者，就自然而然被认为更具创新力。通过收集参与者对一个人能力和技能的评估数据，我们发现，起作用的并非针对女性的一般性偏见，关键在于人们对创造力本身的偏见。

HBR: And what’s that?

Our studies suggest that the reason men are seen as more creative is a belief that it takes autonomy, independence, and thinking that diverges from the status quo. These are “masculine” traits.

HBR: 什么意思？

我们的研究显示，男性之所以被认为更具创造力是因为人们觉得创造力需要如下特质：独立、自主性，并能跳出现状思考问题。这些是男性特质。

HBR: How have we come to associate these things with creativity in the first place?

Our research wasn’t focused on the origins. Also, it was done with American participants only. So we’re really looking at a specific cultural interpretation of creativity. But my intuition tells me that we live in a very individualistic culture that emphasizes being independent as a way to achieve. And we associate innovation with autonomy.

HBR: 我们怎么会将这些因素与创造力联系起来？

我们的研究并未追本溯源。此外，参与者也局限于美国人。因此，我们正在审视特定文化对创造力的理解。不过，我的直觉告诉我，我们生活在一个非常个人主义的文化中，这种文化强调独立性是成功的重要条件。而且我们会将创新与自主性联系起来。

HBR: Can we fight this bias by getting more women into top spots?

Research shows that both men and women stereotype on the basis of gender. We found that as well.

HBR: 我们能否通过让更多女性晋升至高位对抗这一偏见？

研究显示，男女都有性别偏见。我们也在研究中发现了同样的情况。

HBR: So women are biased against other women. That’s hardly encouraging.

Yeah, it wasn’t surprising to find that—it’s actually consistent with what we’d expect.

HBR: 所以女性也对其他女性心存偏见。这太让人泄气了。

是的，得出这一结果，我们并不惊讶，它与我们预先设想的一致。

HBR: What if women just acted more like men?

In one of our studies, we had participants read write-ups about male and female managers. What we found is that when a male manager was described as acting in a “masculine” way, he was perceived as more creative—and as more deserving of a promotion or a bonus. We didn’t find the same effect for a female manager, even when she was described as acting in an identical way.

HBR: 要是女性像男性一样行事呢？

在一项实验中，我们让参与者看关于男女管理者的报告。结果发现，当一位男性管理者被描述为以颇为男性化的方式行事后，会被视为更具创造力，更值得获得晋升以及奖金。我们没有在女性管理者身上发现同样的情况，即便她被描述为用同样的方式行事。

HBR: The hits keep coming! What about employers? I’m assuming that bias isn’t limited to a few bad organizations?

Definitely not—most people are likely to be influenced by gender stereotypes at one time or another. This research has implications for organizational success. If organizations are less likely to see women’s ideas and output as creative, they could miss out on real innovations.

HBR: 打击还真是接二连三！那么雇主呢？我猜，偏见并不只存在于几家糟糕的组织里吧？

绝对如此。多数人可能都时不时地受到性别刻板印象的影响。这项研究为组织取得成功提供了借鉴。如果组织不太将女性的想法和贡献视为具有创造性时，它们会错失真正的创新。

HBR: If we all know that gender bias is bad for individuals, organizations, and economies, why can’t we fix it?

That’s a big question. So many mechanisms sustain gender inequality in our society. Our research is looking at one. People aren’t perfect in the way they judge others. They’re often influenced by stereotypes and social categories. They’re really busy, mentally taxed, and making judgments quickly. It’s just part of our cognitive limitations.

HBR: 如果我们都知道，性别偏见对个人、组织和经济会造成恶劣影响，为什么无法改变它？

这是一个大问题。我们的社会存在着很多维持性别不平等的机制。我们的研究只是考察了其中之一。人们在考察他人时使用的方式并不完美，时常受到刻板印象和社会分类的影响。他们很忙，身心疲惫，并且会过快下判断。这只是我们认知局限的一部分。

HBR: The number of female entrepreneurs is growing rapidly. Do you think women work for themselves partly to avoid the impact of gender bias?

I don’t know, but I have another project under way that looks at longitudinal data on male and female entrepreneurs and whether they are equally likely to receive venture capital funding. We’re thinking about whether perceptions of creativity and risk taking might help explain any gaps there.

HBR: 越来越多女性创业者涌现出来。你认为女性创业者能部分规避掉性别偏见的影响吗？

我不知道，不过我在进行的另外一个项目旨在考察男女创业者的纵向数据，以及他们是否能机会均等地获得风投资金。我们认为，若这之中出现差距，很可能是人们对创造力和风险承担的固有观念起了作用。

HBR: Where else do you want to go with your research?

We’re interested in two follow-up questions. First, are women who are associated with masculinized traits perceived as more creative than other women? Also, in what contexts does gender bias not favor men? In one of our studies, for instance, we found that men in fashion design were not perceived as more creative than women. We want to examine why.

HBR: 你还打算研究什么？

我们对两个进一步的问题感兴趣。其一，具备男性特质的女性会被视为比其他女性更具创造力吗？其二，性别偏见在什么情况下不会惠及男性？例如，在一项实验中我们发现，在时尚设计界，男性不会被视为比女性更具创造力。我们想探究一下具体原因。

HBR: Does your research suggest ways to mitigate bias?

Our findings are the first evidence of gender bias in creativity. We want to accumulate more before making prescriptions. But I do hope that anyone who reads this will consider whether they’re being influenced by gender bias when they’re evaluating creative output. Just being aware is one small step in the right direction.Research also shows that people are more likely to be influenced by stereotypes when they’re tired or depleted, when they don’t have the cognitive resources to develop an accurate impression.

HBR: 你们的研究有给出减少偏见的方法吗？

我们的发现为创造力方面存在性别偏见提供了第一手证据。在制定解决方案前，我们想要积累更多证据。但我确实希望，每位读到这篇文章的人思考一下，他们在评估创造力成果时，是否受到性别歧视的影响。意识到这个问题是朝着正确方向努力的一小步。研究还显示，当人们精疲力尽，认知资源难以得出正确印象时，更可能受到刻板印象的左右。

HBR: So we should get enough sleep, especially when we know we’ll be assessing someone’s performance?

Precisely.

HBR: 所以特别是在我们要评估一个人的表现时，我们需要休息好？

没错。