Working in a context of hostility toward women: implications for employees' well-being

J Occup Health Psychol. 2004 Apr;9(2):107-22. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.9.2.107.

Abstract

This study examined how working in an organizational context perceived as hostile toward women affects employees' well-being, even in the absence of personal hostility experiences. Participants were 289 public-sector employees who denied any personal history of being targeted with general or gender-based hostility at work. They completed measures of personal demographics, occupational and physical well-being, and perceptions of the organizational context for women. Results showed that 2 contextual indices of hostility toward women related to declines in well-being for male and female employees. The gender ratio of the workgroup moderated this relationship, with employees in male-skewed units reporting the most negative effects. These findings suggest that all employees in the workplace can suffer from working in a context of perceived misogyny.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Hostility*
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Male
  • Mental Health
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Health*
  • Organizational Culture*
  • Public Sector
  • Regression Analysis
  • Sexual Harassment / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Women's Health
  • Women, Working / psychology*
  • Workplace / psychology*