Over the years I’ve covered a few studies that have explored the seeming societal bias that associates brilliance more with men than women, especially if that brilliance is in scientific fields. Research from NYU suggests that this might in part be because the very notion of brilliance can often foster a sort of “masculinity contest” culture.

Such a culture tends to be extremely competitive and its dysfunctional nature can discourage participation from women and undermine their efforts to advance professionally.

Toxic brilliance

The authors find that when a field is strongly linked with the notion of brilliance, or even when organizations highly value brilliance, then it’s common for a masculinity contest culture to emerge. Such a connection was particularly strongly felt by women.

This masculine and competitive culture was strongly linked with declining interest among women as well as a lower sense of belonging, both of which contributed to a heightened sense of imposter syndrome.

As such, if organizations want to encourage contributions from female employees, it’s vital that efforts are made to dampen such a culture or prevent it from emerging to begin with. The researchers found that when this happened, the decline in interest and belonging were both reversed.

“Our findings shed new light on a key reason why these brilliance stereotypes are so harmful: they are connected with a negative workplace culture that is discouraging to women,” the authors explain. “These insights suggest that we can make workplaces more inclusive by promoting a culture that curbs competition for intellectual dominance and favors free exchange and openness.”

They suggest that when we focus on supposed brilliance, it creates a culture typified by a highly competitive struggle for intellectual dominance. The authors believe that women can be especially attuned to this association and find such an environment demotivating, which may explain the gender gap in disciplines where such associations exist.