According to a new study led by psychologists at New York University and Hebrew University in Israel, people often do not notice the complete absence of women in male-dominated settings, nor do they notice the complete absence of men in women-dominated settings.
“These findings suggest that underrepresentation can be hard to see — regardless of who you are,” said lead author Rasha Kardosh, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at New York University. “People often notice who stands out, but not who is missing altogether, with these blind spots occurring in everyday settings.”
In one experiment, participants were asked to read a short article featuring quotes from neurosurgeons. Some participants read an article featuring quotes from six men, while others read an article featuring quotes from five men and one woman. The majority of participants failed to notice when no women were quoted, but they were much more likely to notice when one woman was quoted. For another experiment, participants were shown visuals of teachers and asked if they noticed the absence of male or female teachers. Participants were significantly less likely to notice the absence of male teachers than they were female teachers. These patterns held true regardless of participant gender.
“Our research points to a practical lesson: representation is not always obvious to the eye,” said Dr. Kardosh. “This bias in perception can mask inequality and make our environments appear more diverse than they truly are. Simply prompting people to ask ‘Who is missing?’ may change how they see a setting and how they think about possible responses.”