Psychology Today | 27.06.2026 23:12
When you hear the word "expert," what comes to mind? If Google Image search is any reflection of our collective mind, the answer is a variety of rather male-looking figures. If you instead search for "expert woman," you'll find women with an affinity for navy blue blazers. Of course, there is variety: You'll also find black blazers, grey blazers, and the occasional splash of colour, alongside the classic folded-arms power pose. The first suggested "subgroup" to appear along the top of the Google Image search for "expert woman" is "costume," as if to imply that expertise is only ever something a woman can approximate, to don as a costume or disguise. (If you're wondering, the second subgroup offered is "hair removal.") If our prototypical image of an expert is either a man or a woman dressed in masculine attire, you might be forgiven for asking whether expertise can ever be feminine, or if it is inherently masculine.
