Multidimensional gender discrimination in workplace and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Background Discrimination is associated with depressive symptoms and other negative health effects, but little is known about the mental health risks of workplace gender discrimination. We aimed to investigate the association of workplace gender discrimination and depressive symptoms among employed women in South Korea. Methods The 6 th wave (2016) survey datasets of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Family (KLoWF) were analyzed for 2,339 respondents who are identified as wage workers. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the short-form (10-item) Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Association of workplace gender discrimination and depressive symptoms was assessed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounding variables including age, income satisfaction, education level, marital status, and currently diagnosed disease. We then measured the age effect using age stratification multivariate logistic regression model. Results Women who experienced gender discrimination at workplace had higher odds of depressive symptoms regardless of the type of the discrimination including hiring, promotion, work assignments, paid wages, and firing. These associations were consistent in younger women below 40 years of age in regard to hiring, promotion, paid wages and firing, whereas inconsistent among older women above 40 years of age. Limitations We did not investigate the effect of workplace gender discrimination on depressive symptoms in a longitudinal manner. Conclusions Workplace gender discrimination was found to be significantly associated with depressive symptoms after adjustment for socio-demographic factors. Further, women under 40 years of age were especially vulnerable to workplace gender discrimination.

Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life in Greek Hospital Staff: A Study in the Aftermath of the Debt Crisis Era

“…A second finding which has to be examined in line with the previous literature regards the higher scores of depression in females. This finding can be attributed to the well-known hormone-related differences, which make females more prone to depression after childhood [ 24 , 25 ], as well as to barriers that females face in workplace, such as sexism [ 26 ].…”

Revisiting the Women Workplace Culture Scale: Validation and Psychometric Properties of a Three-Factor Structure in an Iranian Study Sample

“…This scale might be especially needed in such a context where society has failed to provide a suitable environment for the active participation of women, whose motives, interests and needs have been abundantly ignored [ 7 , 8 ]. In particular, the use of this scale, supported by the validation of the short 10-item version, may lead to more initiatives aimed at improving women’s working conditions in terms of wellbeing at work [ 45 ], but also at exploiting the benefits of women’s inclusion in the workforce and women’s ability to contribute to business, thus, guiding the advancement of social and economic development in the contexts that will also be investigated through this tool.…”

Gender-Oriented Mental Health Prevention: A Reappraisal

“…It is defined as being treated unfairly in any field of public life based on one's personal characteristics, such as race, gender, or religion [133]. Perceived discrimination is strongly associated with poor indicators of both physical [134] and mental health, particularly with anxiety [135], depression [136] and PTSD [137]. Gender discrimination in the workplace includes harassment, unequal pay, and the implementation of rules that put one gender at a disadvantage [12].…”