In 2003 two professors at Columbia Business School and New York University gave their students a case study to test attitudes about gender in the workplace. Half the students got the real-life story of Heidi Roizen, who became a successful venture capitalist by using “her outgoing personality and … vast personal and professional network.” The other half received exactly the same study, but with one vital difference: The name Heidi was changed to Howard.
Both groups of students decided that Heidi and Howard were equally competent, but it turned out they liked Howard a whole lot better. Even though Heidi and Howard were the same person acting in the same way and getting the same results, Heidi was perceived as selfish and “not the type of person you would want to hire or work for.”
