GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- According to a Gallup poll conducted Dec. 2-4, 2000, 48% of Americans say they would prefer to work for man rather than a woman, while 22% would choose a female boss and 28% do not care one way or the other. The public has preferred male bosses for more than 50 years, although the margin in favor of men over women is lower now than it was a few decades ago. In 1953 -- the first time Gallup asked this question -- 66% of Americans said they would prefer to work for a man, while only 5% preferred working for a woman. In 1975, almost a quarter of a century later, opinion had not changed much, as Americans still preferred a male to a female boss by a 62% to 7% margin. But by 1982, preference for a male boss had declined while preference for a female boss began a slow climb. Today, although there is still a minority of Americans who say they would prefer to work for a woman, the percentage is more than four times higher than it was in 1953, when just 5% of Americans voiced a preference for a female boss.
Women Slightly More Likely Than Men to Prefer a Male
Boss
According to the current poll, half of all adult women in the
United States say they would prefer to work for a man, compared to
45% of men. About a quarter of women -- 26% -- say they would
rather work for a woman, compared to 19% of men. Men are more
likely than women to say they the gender of their boss does not
matter -- 35% compared to 22%.
These findings show somewhat of a change in the pattern recorded over the past 20 years. In 1982, 1993, 1995 and 1999, men were more likely to say that the gender of their boss did not matter to them than they were to say they would prefer to have a male boss. According to the most recent survey, however, a plurality of men now say they would prefer to work for a man, and just a third of men (35%) say they do not have a preference. This represents the strongest male bias since 1975, when 63% of men said they would prefer to work for a man. On the other hand, although just 19% of men say they would rather have a female boss, this is the largest percentage of men that have ever voiced that preference.
Younger Women Much More Likely Than Their Elders to Prefer
Working for Women
Although more women say they prefer a male to a female boss, this
is not true among young women, who show a slight preference for a
female boss. Overall, 39% of women aged 18-29 say they would choose
to work for a woman, while just 35% prefer working for a man. By
comparison, women 30 and older prefer a male to a female boss by a
53% to 23% margin.
Young men, on the other hand, do not differ much from older men on this question. Forty-four percent of men aged 18-29 say they would choose a male boss, compared with 45% of men aged 30 and older.
Citizens Around the World Would Rather Work for
Men
The public's bias in favor of male bosses is not uniquely American.
International Gallup Poll data show that the preference for male
bosses is strong across many different countries. In 1995, Gallup
asked this question in 22 different countries and found that people
all over the globe had a bias for male bosses. In six countries --
Canada, China, Iceland, Panama, Spain and Britain -- a plurality of
the public said the sex of their boss did not matter to them, but
of those who did have a preference, more said they would prefer to
work for a man if given the choice. In 14 countries, including the
United States, at least a plurality, if not a majority, of people
said they would choose to work for a man. In no country did a
plurality of people say they would rather work for a woman.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,026 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Dec. 2-4, 2000. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
If you were taking a new job and had your choice of a boss, would you prefer to work for a man or a woman?
Prefer |
Prefer |
NO |
No |
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
National Adults |
||||
2000 Dec 2-4 |
48 |
22 |
28 |
2 |
1999 Aug 24-26 |
38 |
16 |
45 |
1 |
1995 Sep 14-17 |
46 |
20 |
33 |
1 |
1993 Aug 23-25 |
39 |
22 |
36 |
3 |
1994 Jun 25-28 |
35 |
16 |
47 |
2 |
1989 Dec 18-21 |
48 |
14 |
34 |
4 |
1982 Jun 25-28 |
46 |
12 |
38 |
4 |
1975 |
62 |
7 |
29 |
2 |
1953 |
66 |
5 |
25 |
4 |
Men |
||||
2000 Dec 2-4 |
45 |
19 |
35 |
1 |
1999 Aug 24-26 |
35 |
12 |
52 |
1 |
1995 Sep 14-17 |
37 |
17 |
44 |
2 |
1993 Aug 23-25 |
33 |
16 |
49 |
2 |
1982 Jun 25-28 |
40 |
9 |
46 |
5 |
1975 |
63 |
4 |
32 |
1 |
1953 |
75 |
2 |
21 |
2 |
Women |
||||
2000 Dec 2-4 |
50 |
26 |
22 |
2 |
1999 Aug 24-26 |
42 |
22 |
35 |
1 |
1995 Sep 14-17 |
54 |
22 |
24 |
* |
1993 Aug 23-25 |
44 |
29 |
24 |
3 |
1982 Jun 25-28 |
52 |
15 |
30 |
3 |
1975 |
60 |
10 |
27 |
3 |
1953 |
57 |
8 |
29 |
6 |
(vol.) = volunteered response |
||||
*Less than 0.5% |