In a puzzling and shocking outcome, Professor Jennifer Berdahl of the University of Toronto reports that women who act like men get harrassed more at work than if women are just more stereotypically “womanly”. Dr. Berdahl reports that:
BEHAVING like “one of the boys” to get ahead at work may not be the best strategy for women. A study had found that alpha-females are more likely to suffer sexual harassment.
Women who display what many regard as traditional male traits – such as assertiveness, independence and ambition – are more often the targets of sexual harassment than “feminine” women, the Canadian research has found. The situation is worst in workplaces dominated by men, where women with so-called masculine personalities – described in the study as “uppity” – suffered more than twice the harassment of other women.
Of course this begs the question, what if a woman is simply more masculined traited would her acting more stereotypically feminine get her someplace or would that be seen as non-stereo typical too?
The report goes on to say that:
“The more women deviated from traditional gender roles – by occupying a ‘man’s’ job or having a ‘masculine’ personality – the more they were targeted,” Dr Berdahl said. “Although having a masculine personality would seem to help employees fit into male-dominated work environments, having such a personality appears to have hurt the women in this study.”
But why is this? Accroding to Dr. Berdahl, it appears that sexual harrassment is not so much about sex it’s about punishing gender role deviance.
You can find the full report at Pscynet here or if your cheap (like we are at The Cafe) go here for the summary.
Recent Comments