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We present a new theory that seeks to explain differences in the performance of men and women friendship network brokers—individuals who bridge disconnected friends. In contrast to previous audience-centered explanations, our phenomenological theory emphasizes how brokers construe (i.e., perceive and interpret) their networks. We contend that when women perceive themselves as brokers in friendship networks they experience threat, rooted in negative stereotypes about women brokers, which undermines their performance. Using data from a cohort of MBA students, Study 1 finds that women (but not men) exhibit lower performance when they perceive themselves as brokers in small-group friendship networks. Using data from a larger group of MBA students, Study 2 replicates this finding and rules out the possibility that underlying differences in the propensity to connect those whom one bridges may …