Gender-Based Discrimination in Care Service Occupations: Result from an Online Experiment

In this study, we conducted an online experiment to investigate the effect of masculine and feminine gender expression on hiring in care service occupations. Participants were presented with fictional hiring scenarios and workers’ profiles and photos, which were manipulated to appear distinctively masculine or feminine. For personal care services, we found that Asian masculine photo and Black feminine photo received the highest interview selection rates, while White feminine photo received the lowest. The typical gap was about 10–20 percentage points, equivalent to a 30–50% increase, and in the same order of magnitude as having one additional year of experience or having a community college degree. Our mediation analysis suggests that this effect was mediated by perceived gender expression and race and moderated by workers’ racial identity and the hiring occupation, but there are residual differences attributable to idiosyncratic features of the photos. While alternative explanations cannot be entirely ruled out, our findings are consistent with diminishing marginal return to masculinity and indicative that the social organization of care is not only gendered but also racialized.