Human
Women In Mostly Male Dominated Workplaces Show Dysregulated Stress Patterns
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Aug 25, 2015 11:02 AM EDT
Even in modern times, today's workplace is still very much sex-segregated in some areas.
Researchers at Indiana University Bloomington examined one important consequence of occupational sex segregation. For women working highly male-dominated occupations, it can be particularly stressful.
Previous studies have revealed that women in male-dominated occupations face extra challenges, including social isolation, sexual harassment, obstacles to mobility, performance pressures, moments of both high visibility and invisibility, co-workers doubts regarding their competence and low levels of workplace social support. Furthermore, the chronic pressure to these types of social stress is also known to cause vulnerability to disease and mortality via dysregulation of the human body's response to stress.
In this recent study, researchers measured whether women in occupations that were made up of 85 percent or more men were prone to the aforementioned regulation by measuring daily cortisol patterns--a stress hormone that naturally fluctuates through the day. Those with high stress levels of interpersonal stress exposure show different fluctuation patterns than those exposed to average stress levels.
"We find that women in male-dominated occupations have less healthy, or 'dysregulated,' patterns of cortisol throughout the day," Bianca Manago, a doctoral student in sociology, said in a news release. "We use nationally representative data, the MIDUS National Study of Daily Experiences, which allow us to assess women's cortisol profiles in workers across the United States.
"We also use statistical techniques to account for individuals' occupational and individual-level characteristics, allowing us to be more confident that the dysregulation of cortisol profiles we observe is due to the negative working conditions of token women, and not their own personal characteristics nor the characteristics of their occupations."
More information regarding the study can be found here.
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TagsHuman, women, Work, Stress, Patterns, Dominance, Workplace, Men, Male, Female, Sex, Regulation, Stressful, University Bloomington ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Aug 25, 2015 11:02 AM EDT
Even in modern times, today's workplace is still very much sex-segregated in some areas.
Researchers at Indiana University Bloomington examined one important consequence of occupational sex segregation. For women working highly male-dominated occupations, it can be particularly stressful.
Previous studies have revealed that women in male-dominated occupations face extra challenges, including social isolation, sexual harassment, obstacles to mobility, performance pressures, moments of both high visibility and invisibility, co-workers doubts regarding their competence and low levels of workplace social support. Furthermore, the chronic pressure to these types of social stress is also known to cause vulnerability to disease and mortality via dysregulation of the human body's response to stress.
In this recent study, researchers measured whether women in occupations that were made up of 85 percent or more men were prone to the aforementioned regulation by measuring daily cortisol patterns--a stress hormone that naturally fluctuates through the day. Those with high stress levels of interpersonal stress exposure show different fluctuation patterns than those exposed to average stress levels.
"We find that women in male-dominated occupations have less healthy, or 'dysregulated,' patterns of cortisol throughout the day," Bianca Manago, a doctoral student in sociology, said in a news release. "We use nationally representative data, the MIDUS National Study of Daily Experiences, which allow us to assess women's cortisol profiles in workers across the United States.
"We also use statistical techniques to account for individuals' occupational and individual-level characteristics, allowing us to be more confident that the dysregulation of cortisol profiles we observe is due to the negative working conditions of token women, and not their own personal characteristics nor the characteristics of their occupations."
More information regarding the study can be found here.
Related Articles
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone