The gendered cost of assistive technology: female (but not male) caregivers are seen as less warm and more machine-like when wearing an exoskeleton

Abstract

Abstract Exoskeletons can reduce physical strain at work, but they can also change how wearers are perceived by others. This may be especially consequential in professional caregiving, where warmth and human connection are central to good care and where gendered expectations frame the domain as feminine. Yet little is known about how exoskeleton use is socially received in care settings. This online experiment examined how wearing an exoskeleton shapes perceptions of caregivers, drawing on the Stereotype Content Model and theories of mechanistic dehumanization. We recruited 223 participants from the general population, who viewed one of four videos showing a female or male caregiver, with or without an exoskeleton, in an eldercare interaction and rated the caregiver’s warmth, competence, and machine-likeness. Exoskeleton use alone showed no overall effect. However, responses varied by caregiver gender: for female caregivers, wearing an exoskeleton came at a social cost, as they were perceived as less warm and more machine-like. For male caregivers, exoskeleton use did not alter these perceptions. Our findings suggest that the social reception of exoskeletons in care may be influenced by gender role stereotypes, refining existing accounts of dehumanization in human–technology interaction.