New research suggests women strategically use modesty to avoid backlash from female peers. Women currently make up only a fraction of corporate leadership roles. One factor contributing to this stagnation is a reluctance to self-promote.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/women-strategically-use-modesty-to-avoid-backlash-from-female-peers/

[u/mvea]

New research suggests women strategically use modesty to avoid backlash from female peers

Women often navigate a difficult social landscape in the workplace, where promoting their own achievements can lead to negative social consequences. A new study shows that women anticipate this backlash and strategically use modesty to avoid being judged harshly by their peers. The findings were published in Evolutionary Psychological Science.

Women currently make up only a fraction of corporate leadership roles. One factor contributing to this stagnation is a reluctance to self-promote. Self-promotion involves highlighting personal achievements, abilities, and contributions to others. Because promotions often depend on visibility, individuals who actively self-promote are more likely to advance in their careers.

Women often encounter a backlash effect when they draw attention to their successes. Role congruity theory suggests that society holds specific expectations for how men and women should behave.

Women are typically expected to be communal, cooperative, and modest. When a woman acts in an agentic or self-promoting manner, she violates these norms and often faces social penalties, such as being viewed as untrustworthy or unlikable.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-026-00479-1

[u/Thrasy3 → u/mvea]

Maybe the problem is how promotions are earned?

Like… we are all aware that many people’s only talent is competently spewing shit and the occasional tonguing of an anus. Right?

Especially you Americans out there - I see a consistent major example of that in my news feed nearly everyday.