Masculine anxiety in the workplace

Problem

Sexism in the workplace remains a widespread issue that plagues companies around the world. In order to make workplaces more equal, employees need to call out sexism when they witness it happening. However, men are often reluctant to confront sexism for many different reasons. This research set out to understand how a particular facet of men’s psychology, and men’s negative workplace environments, can discourage men from interrupting sexism at work. 

My role

• Identified the main research questions and measures.

• Developed the questionnaire and analyzed the data.

• Created the interview protocol and conducted in-depth interviews with men working in the U.S.

• Analyzed and coded the qualitative data

• Communicated the findings in the form of a formal report, presentations, and social media posts.

Method & Analysis

This study relied primarily on a quantitative approach using survey data collected from 1007 men. We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 men in parallel to inform our thinking about how men’s behavior in the workplace is influenced by organizational conditions.

We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, correlation, linear regression, and moderation analysis in IBM SPSS Statistics and also qualitative thematic analysis in NVivo.

Results

• 76% of men who experience a high degree of masculine anxiety - the distress that men feel when they do not think they are living up to society’s rigid standards of masculinity - said they would do nothing if a colleague makes a sexist comment at work, compared to just 14% of men who experience less masculine anxiety. 

• 55% of men in workplaces with a highly combative culture - workplaces that emphasize competition and work above all -reported having a high degree of masculine anxiety.

• 6% of men in less combative workplaces reported having a high degree of masculine anxiety.