Perceptions a funny thing. Earlier this year a study revealed that people tend to perceive doctors as much more capable when they’re dressed in a lab coat.
A recent study suggests that there are similar biases at play when it comes to creativity. The paper, which was published in Psychological Science, found that we’re much more likely to view the work of men as creative than we are women.
“Our research shows that beliefs about what it takes to ‘think creatively’ overlap substantially with the unique content of male stereotypes, creating systematic bias in the way that men and women’s creativity is evaluated,” the authors say.
A creative type
The authors suggest this is because many of the traits we associate with creative types, are also those we commonly associate with men. Think of things such as risk taking and self-reliance, decisiveness and daring.
More feminine traits such as cooperation and mutual support were not considered creative at all. This was then carried through into a second experiment where people judged the work of men as more creative than that of women.
Why that’s wrong
The thing is, that’s actually incredibly dangerous thinking. Last year I covered some research that looked at the various characteristics that underpin good innovation.
The eight areas they were looking for in managers were:
1. Challenge their subordinates by giving them difficult or impossible problems to solve, ambitious goals to attain, and the support needed to manage stress.
2. Encourage broadening, which means providing employees with training in subjects or topics well outside their comfort zones.
3. Encourage capturing, that is, urging people to preserve their breakthrough ideas and giving them the tools (whether sophisticated computer programs or pocket-sized recorders) to do so.
4. Manage teams appropriately by assembling diverse groups that use brainstorming and other techniques to maximize their creative output.
5. Model the core competencies of creative expression by walking the walk; for example, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd had his assistants accompany him from meeting to meeting so they could record each new idea on a large chart.
6. Provide adequate and appropriate resources to enable creative functioning.
7. Provide a diverse and changing physical and social work environment that keeps employees on their toes.
8. Provide positive feedback and recognition to people who contribute new and important ideas.
They then analyzed workforces to see who tended to have these skills and characteristics. It emerged that women outperformed men in every single one of the 8 areas.
So not only are our perceptions of what is innovative wrong, but we’re also wrong on just who is innovative.
Sadly, this misconception seems to translate into economic hardship for women in the workplace, with the authors of the initial study revealing that their salaries suffer as a result of being perceived as less creative.
“This result suggests that gender bias in creativity judgments may affect tangible economic outcomes for men and women in the workplace,” the researchers write.
“In suggesting that women are less likely than men to have their creative thinking recognized, our research not only points to a unique reason why women may be passed over for corporate leadership positions, but also suggests why women remain largely absent from elite circles within creative industries,” they conclude.
Interesting, but not all that surprising.
oh, I guess since the title explicitly stated that women were more innovative I expected to see some sort of proof.. which leads me to believe that a woman wrote this article.. I'm going to make this easy, name 8 female innovations……. oh wait you can't.
Most certainly a man here Joe I'm afraid. As for female innovators, I believe 18% of all patents emerging from academia are from women, so that suggests there is plenty going on, even if you can't name any of them.
The reason is a lot of women are perfectionist obsessed with details and organization. I have always enjoyed working for a male boss. They allow your creativity to flow if you want to. Women also rend to take down other women.
"Men are believed to be more creative than women, even if they show equal skill." – Since men have created virtually everything that has been created by humans, even when it comes to cuisine and drink, it is not a theory that men are the creative sex, it's an inescapable fact, although the media is doing its damnedest to create the impression that females are potentially equally creative as males. I am not holding my breath on that one.
It hasn't exactly been a level playing field for men and women through the last few centuries though has it?
Everything from Electricity to Microwaves have been discovered, defined and developed by men. Ask any patent office 98% all patents are by men. Everything from light bulbs to jet engines and everything in between have been dreamed of, designed, and developed by men. But men keep a dignified silence about everything and let women rant.
Not quite true Matt – news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2015/07/women-patents.shtml – the figure is up to 18% in academia alone.
Yes 98% of Nobel prize winners are men and every billion dollar industry were started by men so yes of course men are more creative and smarter than women.
That the overwhelming majority of the world's greatest composers, musicians, authors, artists, etc. have been male surely speaks for itself!
Historically women have been denied education, opportunity and had their opinions dismissed. The fact that men have been so overwhelmingly privileged throughout history doesn't say anything about differences in creativity in the genders, just differences in bias.
Or a female known by a male name. Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna, was a talented musician without the opportunity because she was female.
I work in a creative industry and undoubtedly men are more talented.
Opportunities have been limited for women, but as the saying goes “behind every successful man is a woman” so whilst a male name is associated or credited, women will have contributed. Guessing a Hill’s hoist was not designed to help a man.