A high GPA doesn’t necessarily help women land a job once they leave college. In fact, it might hurt their chances, a new study from the American Sociological Review reveals.
The report, which was originally covered by Inside Higher Ed, notes that grades don’t particularly impact men during a job search, whereas female students were “punished” for academic achievement while sending in applications. Meanwhile, men were twice as likely to receive callbacks for a job interview than were women with the same grades.
The findings come from study author Natasha Quadlin, who sent 2,106 applications for entry-level jobs by creating various male and female job applicants. She found STEM jobs particularly chose men over women by a three-to-one ratio, and that while employers looked for men based on their competency, women were judged on “perceived likeability.” High grades inadvertently penalized women’s likeability, she explained in a press release on the study.
“This standard helps moderate-achieving women, who are often perceived as sociable and outgoing, but hurts high-achieving women, whose personalities are viewed more skeptically,” Quadlin explained in the press release. “Although women have made many advances in higher education, further change is needed for women to make comparable advances at work.”