Asymmetrical demography effects on psychological climate for gender diversity: Differential effects of leader gender and work unit gender composition among Swedish doctors

Abstract

This research examined the association between gender composition of the work context and perceived reward and social outcomes for women and men. A nationally representative sample of 594 male and 430 female Swedish medical doctors responded to a survey asking them to report the gender composition of their medical unit, the gender of their immediate supervisors, and the gender of the head of their work organizations. Participants also responded to previously validated measures of perceived fairness, discrimination, organizational support, exclusion, and gender harassment. Findings indicated that: 1) women who worked in medical units with a larger percentage of men reported more gender harassment; 2) women who had a male supervisor reported less organizational support; and 3) women who worked in an organization with a male head reported more gender discrimination. For men, gender composition was unrelated to any of the outcome measures.

In the Company of Women: The Well-Being Consequences of Working with (and for) Other Women

“…Perceived similarity among in-group members eases interpersonal interactions, facilitates communication, and builds friendships (Guillaume et al 2012 ); these processes make it easier for same-sex coworkers to fi nd common topics of conversation and generate pleasant interactions (Konrad et al 2010 ). Employees who have a high level of sex similarity with their coworkers are expected to identify more with the unit, to feel more included, and to experience less interpersonal confl ict with their coworkers (Avery et al 2013 ).…”

“…Further, status characteristics theory suggests that women are viewed as a lower status group than men (Ridgeway 1991 ). Therefore, their numeric distinctiveness is more likely to generate negative social consequences (e.g., social exclusion) in male-dominated environments (Konrad et al 2010 ). As a result, working in female-dominated units might deliver especially high psychological benefi ts to women.…”

“…Femaledominated units seem to create particularly positive and supportive environments. For example, women who work in units with a larger percentage of women report less gender harassment (Konrad et al 2010 ;Rosen and Martin 1997 ) and sex-based discrimination (Avery et al 2008 ;Stainback et al 2011 ). They experience higher levels of group cohesiveness and less confl ict with their coworkers (Chattopadhyay et al 2008 ).…”

“…Economic outcomes may be lower for women working in groups with a high percentage of women. This effect is explained by status characteristics theory: high status identity groups enjoy relatively munifi cent and rewarding work environments (Konrad et al 2010 ), and men constitute a high status identity group in society (Ridgeway 1991 ). Women, therefore, may reap economic benefi ts as a result of associating themselves with the high-status work units populated by men.…”

Sick Leave—A Signal of Unequal Work Organizations? Gender perspectives on work environment and work organizations in the health care sector: a knowledge review

“…However, research indicates that gender inequality and asymmetric regimes within an organization lead to psychosocial aspects, such as less support, discrimination, and harassments (Kanter 1993, Konrad et al 2010, Welsh 1999, West and Fenstermaker 1995. In health care we can see asymmetric regimes when it comes to the professional hierarchies and the line managers, where the line manager can be a nurse who is the head over a physician who in turn is higher up than the nurse in the professional hierarchies.…”