Two studies carried out among Albanian public-sector employees examined the impact of different types of affirmative action policies (AAPs) on (counter)stereotypical perceptions of women in decision-making positions. Study 1 (N = 178) revealed that participants – especially women – perceived women in decision-making positions as more masculine (i.e., agentic) than feminine (i.e., communal). Study 2 (N = 239) showed that different types of AA had different effects on the attribution of gender stereotypes to AAP beneficiaries: Women benefiting from a quota policy were perceived as being more communal than agentic, while those benefiting from weak preferential treatment were perceived as being more agentic than communal. Furthermore, we examined how the belief that AAPs threaten men’s access to decision-making positions influenced the attribution of these traits to AAP beneficiaries. The results showed that men who reported high levels of perceived threat, as compared to men who reported low levels of perceived threat, attributed more communal than agentic traits to the beneficiaries of quotas. These findings suggest that AAPs may have created a backlash against its beneficiaries by emphasizing gender-stereotypical or counterstereotypical traits. Thus, the framing of AAPs, for instance, as a matter of enhancing organizational performance, in the process of policy making and implementation, may be a crucial tool to countering potential backlash.

中文翻译：

---

配额女性威胁男性

在阿尔巴尼亚公共部门雇员中进行的两项研究检验了不同类型的平权行动政策 (AAP) 对妇女担任决策职位的（反）陈规定型观念的影响。研究 1 (N = 178) 表明，参与者——尤其是女性——认为决策职位上的女性比女性（即公共性）更男性化（即主动性）。研究 2 (N = 239) 表明，不同类型的 AA 对将性别刻板印象归因于 AAP 受益人有不同的影响：受益于配额政策的女性被认为更具有公共性而不是代理人，而那些受益于弱优惠待遇的女性被认为是因为比公共更具有代理性。此外，我们研究了 AAP 威胁男性获得决策职位的信念如何影响将这些特征归因于 AAP 受益人。结果表明，与报告威胁程度较低的男性相比，报告高水平威胁感知的男性将更多的公共特征而非代理特征归因于配额的受益者。这些发现表明，AAP 可能通过强调性别刻板印象或反刻板印象的特征，对其受益人产生了强烈反对。因此，例如，在政策制定和实施过程中，作为提高组织绩效的一个问题，AAP 的框架可能是应对潜在反弹的关键工具。与报告感知威胁程度较低的男性相比，将更多的公共特征而非代理特征归因于配额的受益者。这些发现表明，AAP 可能通过强调性别刻板印象或反刻板印象的特征，对其受益人产生了强烈反对。因此，例如，在政策制定和实施过程中，作为提高组织绩效的一个问题，AAP 的框架可能是应对潜在反弹的关键工具。与报告感知威胁程度较低的男性相比，将更多的公共特征而非代理特征归因于配额的受益者。这些发现表明，AAP 可能通过强调性别刻板印象或反刻板印象的特征，对其受益人产生了强烈反对。因此，例如，在政策制定和实施过程中，作为提高组织绩效的一个问题，AAP 的框架可能是应对潜在反弹的关键工具。