Systemic Sexism Perception and Antisexist Motivation Predict Men and Women's Collective Action Orientation

Current events would suggest that activism against gender inequality is on the rise in the United States. However, more action is needed if gender equality is to be achieved. To better understand these events and to encourage greater participation, two studies explore potential underlying mechanisms that explain men and women's intentions to participate in social movements for women's rights (antisexist collective action intent). Using bystander intervention theory (Latane & Darley, 1969) as a guide, we theorized that people who identify inequalities in their environments as systemic sexism (systemic sexism perception) are more likely to be driven by prescriptive moral convictions that one must proactively advocate for women's rights (antisexist motivation). This motivation is predicted to consequently increase both men and women's antisexist collective action intent. Cross-sectional data demonstrated that systemic sexism perception predicted antisexist motivation, and both variables predicted antisexist collective action intent, for both men and women (over and above other predictors). An experiment demonstrated that participants who were exposed to a video outlining the effects of systemic sexism on the STEM gender gap (vs. a control) were more likely to believe systemic sexism contributes to this gap, thereby experiencing greater antisexist motivation and collective action intent. The implications of these findings are discussed and future lines of research are proposed.