Fairness Judgments in the Context of Structural Sexism: The Role of Beliefs in Individual and Structural Causes of Success

Due to structural sexism, women frequently encounter barriers that result in lower rankings on performance indicators such as productivity data and appraisals by others. The fairness literature offers unclear predictions about the extent to which observers would judge allocations that fail (vs. attempt) to account for such structural barriers as fair. We suggest that past conceptual discussions and empirical designs did not factor in the causal ambiguity embedded in information about structural barriers and the variance in how individuals interpret such information. Hence, we propose that beliefs in the causes of success, anchored in the endorsement of meritocratic ideals, shape fairness judgments by determining the weight given to performance indicators and structural barriers. Such effects emerge in the presence of information about structural barriers in the context of the decision, a feature that is absent from past studies. We discuss our theory and findings in the context of calls for bridging organizational fairness and social justice research and for a nuanced understanding of people's responses to violations of the meritocratic ideal within organizations.