Neosexism Among Male Managers: Is It a Matter of Numbers?¹

In the last 2 decades, the number of women entering the managerial field has increased. However, this increase has not been equally distributed at all levels. The interest of this study lies in understanding how this sudden surge of women in managerial fields and their unequal distribution across levels are associated with men's reactions toward women. Do men feel threatened by the introduction of women as their coworkers, and if so does this change trigger prejudicial views of women? In all, 123 male managers employed in a Canadian federal agency participated in this study. According to the final path model, as the estimate of the representation of female managers increases, so does male managers' feeling of threat. Feeling threatened along with the estimate of an increase of new female recruits is linked to heightened neosexist views. In turn, neosexism is related to a pro‐male bias in the evaluation of women's and men's competence. Additionally, neosexism is negatively associated with men's willingness to support women. Theoretical as well as practical implications of results are discussed.