Sexism in workplace: impact on well-being of female employees

Abstract

Sexism has been defined as “individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and organizational, institutional, and cultural practices that either reflect negative evaluations of individuals based on their gender or support unequal status of women and men” (Swim & Hyers, 2009; p. 407). Sexism can exist both overtly and covertly. Literature has provided evidence for existence of blatant, covert, and subtle forms of sexism (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999). Blatant sexism differs from covert sexism as the former is a more obvious discrimination against women relative to men whereas the latter can be recognized but is deliberately concealed. Subtle sexism, on the other hand, represents discrimination against women “not recognized by many people because it is perceived to be normative, and therefore does not appear unusual.” (Swim, Mallett & Stangor, 2004; p.117). In this backdrop, the purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of women in today’s workplaces, understand how it affects their well-being. Further, an assessment of measures taken by workplaces to remedy this situation and their effectiveness will also be done.