“Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” the new book by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, quotes a study lead-authored by Julie E. Phelan, senior research analyst at Langer Research Associates, during her doctoral work at Rutgers University.

Sandberg writes: “… a 2008 study by Phelan et al. examined the hiring criteria used to evaluate male and female agentic (highly competent, confident, ambitious) or communal (modest, sociable) managerial job applicants. The results found that evaluators ‘weighted competence more heavily than social skills for all applicants, with the exception of agentic women, whose social skills were given more weight than competence.’ The authors conclude that ‘evaluators shifted the job criteria away from agentic women’s strong suit (competence) and toward their perceived deficit (social skills) to justify discrimination.’”

Julie’s paper, “Competent Yet Out in the Cold: Shifting Criteria for Hiring Reflect Backlash Toward Agentic Women,” was published in theDecember 2008 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.