Women In Male-Dominated Workplaces Suffer More Stress

Those women who work in places dominated by men tend to suffer acute stress, compared to women who were at places with a better gender balance, according to theindependent.

Earlier research too has indicated certain social stress indications, such as "social isolation, sexual harassment, and low-levels of support from their co-workers".

Researchers from Indiana University, Bloomington, conducted a new study that assessed the levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, in women who are in environments in which they make up just 15 per cent or less of the workforce.

All day, cortisol levels fluctuate naturally, however, for women in male-dominated places, the patterns tend to be different.

"We find that women in male-dominated occupations have less healthy, or 'dysregulated,' patterns of cortisol throughout the day," Bianca Manago, one of the study's researchers, said.

Cate Taylor, an assistant professor of sociology and gender studies, and Manago's co-author on the study, said: "Our findings are especially important because dysregulated cortisol profiles are associated with negative health outcomes.

"Thus, our project provides evidence that the negative workplace social climates encountered by women in male-dominated occupations may be linked to later negative health outcomes for these women."

Time reported that academically, a woman is thought to be an "occupational token" when 15% of her colleagues are women. The jobs studied included "construction supervisors, engineers, painters and groundskeepers".

The research was presented at the 110th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.