Relative Numbers across Gendered Occupations: The Impact of Gender Composition on Mental Health

• In Event: 413 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Refereed Roundtable Session. Table 01. Culture and Organizations
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 02. Gender

Abstract

In this paper we examine whether occupational context influences the mental health and employment consequences of gender “tokens” (i.e., numerical minorities), and whether these associations vary for men and women. Gender differences in token experiences and consequences have been well documented. However, it is less clear whether these patterns depend upon the occupational context in which one works – specifically, the level of feminization or masculinization of the occupation. We consider these contextual conditions using individual-level data from a national sample of U.S. workers matched to occupation-level data from the Occupational Information Network (ONET). Our findings suggest that the effects of token status on mental health and employment consequences depend upon the gendered occupational context. Tokens tend to be worse off in highly feminized occupations, as characterized by the average number of women per occupation. We theorize that these patterns result from the differential access to resources that might otherwise buffer the deleterious effects of tokenism. Contrary to expectation, the associations between token status, occupational context and mental health/employment consequences are similar for men and women.

Authors

• Ruth Repchuck, McMaster University

• Marisa Christine Young, McMaster University