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How passion penalizes women: Study uncovers hidden gender bias in workplace leadership programs

Passion is often touted as a hallmark of leadership potential, but a new study in the journal Organization Science reveals that it does not benefit everyone equally. Gender stereotypes, the study shows, skew perceptions of passion in ways that disadvantage women while rewarding men.

"Passion is one criterion that managers often use to evaluate leadership potential, but our findings show that gender stereotypes distort how passion is perceived," says Joyce He, lead author and an assistant professor at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. "This double standard unfairly disadvantages women and perpetuates workplace inequities."

The study, "Passion Penalizes Women and Advantages Men in High-Potential Designations," reveals that men are 20–30% more likely than women to be labeled as "high-potential" employees—a designation that can fast-track careers—a bias that persists even when their passion and performance levels are comparable. This research sheds light on how gender stereotypes influence leadership evaluations, offering actionable insights for organizations seeking to build more inclusive and diverse leadership teams.

The gendered double standard

The research highlights a troubling pattern: When men express passion for their work, they are perceived as more diligent and committed, increasing their likelihood of being seen as future leaders. In contrast, women displaying the same passion are often labeled as overly emotional, making them less likely to be deemed high potential.

"Men, especially those with solid but not exceptional performance, were more likely to be rewarded for their passion, as it made them seem more hardworking," says He. "Women, on the other hand, faced skepticism, with their passion being interpreted as less professional."

Using data from a major engineering firm and experiments involving more than 2,100 participants, the study demonstrates how subjective criteria like passion can unintentionally reinforce gender inequities, even in organizations committed to fairness.

"Organizations claim to value passion, but this research shows that it's not evaluated equally for men and women," says Jon Jachimowicz, co-author and assistant professor at Harvard Business School. "This passion double standard can hold women back and prevent workplaces from building truly gender-diverse leadership pipelines."

What organizations can do

To address these inequities, the researchers recommend that organizations:

• Focus on measurable achievements and objective criteria in evaluations.
• Train managers to recognize and counteract gender bias.
• Anonymize parts of the evaluation process to ensure fairness.