Suitable for the Job? Matching Stereotype Content of Occupations and Demographic Group Membership at the Intersection of Gender and Sexual Orientation

Theories on stereotype content suggest that job applicants should be perceived as more hireable when they belong to a social group whose stereotype content matches that of the occupation. However, few experimental studies have examined matching effects from the perspective of the stereotype content model (SCM; Fiske et al. 2002), simultaneously focusing on the combination of multiple social categories. This survey experiment examines whether matching occurs at the intersection of gender and sexual orientation, which gives rise to different warmth and competence stereotype content profiles according to the SCM. Similarly, matching is examined in relation to occupations characterized by different warmth and competence profiles. Participants consisted of 1,563 employees recruited through Prolific. They were asked to assess job suitability for (otherwise identical) gay and straight male and female jobseekers who had ostensibly submitted letters of interest for positions belonging to occupations whose stereotype content matched (e.g., personal assistant) or were opposite (e.g., accountant) of that, of the job-seeker’s social group (e.g., gay men). The results yielded no support for a matching effect. Instead, gay applicants received more positive evaluations regardless of gender and occupation. Field experimental research on actual hiring decisions is needed to examine whether the lack of matching effect is replicated in the real labor market.