The gender convergence effect in older age: A meta-analytic review comparing modern attitudes toward younger, middle-aged, and older women and men.

Abstract

As older women drive aging population trends, it is crucial to understand how target age and gender jointly influence perceiver attitudes. Although the prevailing "double jeopardy" perspective portrays older women as the most derogated age-gender group due to facing both age and sex bias, some evidence suggests gender attitudes converge with target age (i.e., a "convergence" perspective). Investigating these competing hypotheses, we meta-analyzed 55 reports (k = 92 samples, N = 37,235) comparing attitudes toward younger, middle-aged, and older women and men. Results suggested more positive overall attitudes toward younger and middle-aged adults versus older adults-and, perhaps surprisingly, toward women versus men. Moderator analyses revealed significant Age × Gender interactions. Consistent with convergence, a pro-female bias emerged toward younger (g = -0.12) and middle-aged (g = -0.11) targets, but attitudes toward older women and men were virtually equivalent (g = -0.01). Consistent with double jeopardy, a stronger pro-younger (vs. older) bias existed for women (g = -0.34) as compared to men (g = -0.22), and a stronger pro-middle aged (vs. older) bias existed for women (g = -0.34) as compared to men (g = -0.22). Attitude dimension emerged as a significant moderator: For example, whereas warmth and agency stereotypes reflected a double jeopardy pattern-older women seen as the warmest but least agentic group-behaviors followed a pattern of gender convergence with age. Our findings highlight the complex interplay of age and gender in shaping attitudes, underscoring the need to simultaneously consider both identities in social perception research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).