????在男性主宰的行業(yè)，女性求職時常常會面臨這樣一種困惑：應(yīng)該發(fā)揮女性的特長，例如樂于助人和善于傾聽，還是應(yīng)該強調(diào)更多與男性有關(guān)的品質(zhì)，例如果斷？

????最新一期《女性心理學(xué)季刊》（Psychology of Women Quarterly）發(fā)表的一項研究顯示，展現(xiàn)“男子氣概”是更好的策略。

????在實驗中，來自密歇根州立大學(xué)（Michigan State）的600多名本科生，對一組申請工程管理職位的女性進行了評估。最終的評估結(jié)果是，他們認為，使用通常與男性相關(guān)的特征——如獨立或注重業(yè)績等——來描述自己的女性，比強調(diào)更女性化的品質(zhì)（熱情、樂于助人和體貼等）的女性求職者，更適合這個崗位。

????密歇根州立大學(xué)的安妮?瑪麗?瑞安表示：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，‘像男人一樣’似乎是有效的策略，因為這是工作的需要。”瑞安與珍妮佛?維塞爾和其他同事共同組織了該項研究。

????對于女性如何在男性主導(dǎo)的領(lǐng)域生存和發(fā)展，近期出現(xiàn)了越來越多的討論，這項最新研究便是其中之一。

????瑞安及其團隊之所以選擇工程領(lǐng)域，是因為該領(lǐng)域女性極少。據(jù)國家科學(xué)基金會（National Science Foundation）的統(tǒng)計，2011年，僅有11.7%的工程師為女性。上周公布的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，接近40%的工程專業(yè)女性畢業(yè)生，放棄了所學(xué)專業(yè)，或者根本沒有找到工程類工作。

????美國國家科學(xué)基金會三年期研究的第一階段，對60多年內(nèi)的5,300名工程專業(yè)女畢業(yè)生進行了調(diào)查，此外，威斯康星大學(xué)密爾沃基分校（University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee）教育心理學(xué)教授娜迪亞?弗瓦德還從研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，在5年內(nèi)離開工程領(lǐng)域的女性畢業(yè)生中，有三分之二表示她們在其他領(lǐng)域找到更好的機會，另外三分之一則在家相夫教子，因為沒有公司愿意接受她們。

????弗瓦德與密歇根州立大學(xué)的羅米拉?辛格合作進行了該項研究。她表示：“這些女性更容易遭到排擠，因為她們不屬于內(nèi)部的‘好哥們’圈子。”

????早期的研究顯示，在男性占主導(dǎo)的領(lǐng)域，如科學(xué)領(lǐng)域，女性面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)之一，是如何克服某些根深蒂固的觀念，即某些高管職位是“男性專屬崗位”，需要的是與男性相關(guān)的技能。

????對于女性如何克服這種固有偏見，研究領(lǐng)域也曾出現(xiàn)分歧。

????有些研究認為，如果試圖展示她們硬朗的一面，女性可能會面臨激烈的反對，而《職業(yè)與組織心理學(xué)期刊》（Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology）2011年的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，具備侵略性、果敢、自信等品質(zhì)，并且可以根據(jù)具體情況展現(xiàn)這些品質(zhì)的女性，會比男性或其他女性得到更多升職機會。

????Any woman who has applied for a job in a male-dominated field faces a quandary: Does she play up her feminine strengths, such as being supportive or a good listener, or emphasize traits more associated with men, such as assertiveness?

????It turns out that showcasing “manliness” is the better strategy, according to a study in the latest issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.

????In a laboratory experiment, a group of more than 600 undergrads from Michigan State evaluated a group of women applying for an engineering management job. They concluded that women who described themselves using traits traditionally associated with men — independence, or a focus on achievement — were seen as more fitting for the job than those who emphasized traits often seen as more feminine (warmth, supportiveness, and nurturing).

????“We found that ‘manning up’ seemed to be an effective strategy, because it was seen as necessary for the job,” said Michigan State’s Ann Marie Ryan, who co-authored the study with Jennifer Wessel and several others.

????The study is the latest in a growing body of work examining how women survive and thrive in the often-male dominated worlds such as top management.

????Ryan and her team chose engineering because women are so poorly represented. Only 11.7 percent of engineers, according to the National Science Foundation, were women in 2011. Research released this week found nearly 40 percent of female engineering graduates quit the profession or never even get a job in the field.

????In the first phase of a three-year NSF study that surveyed 5,300 engineering alumnae spanning six decades, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Educational Psychology Professor NadyaFouad also found that two-thirds of those who left the field within five years said they pursued better opportunities in other fields, while a third stayed home with children because companies wouldn’t accommodate them.

????“These women are more vulnerable to being pushed out because they typically aren’t in the internal ‘good old boys’ network,” said Fouad, who conducted her research with MSU colleague Romila Singh.

????One of the biggest challenges for women in male-dominated fields, such as science, according to earlier research, is combating perceptions that certain top management jobs are “male positions” that require a skill set more associated with men.

????The research community in the past has been divided over how women should combat these inherent biases.

????Some have found that women face a potential backlash if they attempt to highlight their tough side, while a 2011 study in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology found that women who are aggressive, assertive, and confident — and can turn those traits on and off depending on the situation — get more promotions than either men or other women.