Gender discrimination and job characteristics

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between gender discrimination and the perceived job demands and job resources of women and men. This is important because it may provide insight into what factors contribute to women’s disadvantaged position at work.




Design/methodology/approach

– Two cross-sectional studies were conducted, Study 1 in a male-dominated organization and Study 2 in a gender-balanced organization.




Findings

– The results showed that in both organizations, gender discrimination was positively associated with women’s job demands and negatively associated with their job resources. Additionally, in the male-dominated organization the perceived gender discrimination was also negatively associated with men’s job resources. Overall, the results were more consistent across the two organizations for women’s job resources.




Originality/value

– This paper links gender literature with the job demands-resources model to translate gender discrimination into quantifiable job characteristics and may provide alternative explanations for previous found gender differences in well-being and career success.