Frauen werden am Arbeitsplatz eher von Frauen abgewertet

Ein interessanter Text dazu, ob Frauen eher von Frauen oder von Männer diskrimiert werden

The phenomenon of women discriminating against other women in the workplace — particularly as they rise in seniority — has long been documented as the “queen bee syndrome.” As women have increased their ranks in the workplace, most will admit to experiencing rude behavior and incivility.

Who is at fault for dishing out these mildly deviant behaviors? Has the syndrome grown more pervasive?

“Studies show women report more incivility experiences overall than men, but we wanted to find out who was targeting women with rude remarks,” said Allison Gabriel, assistant professor of management and organizations in the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.

Es wird ja gerne angenommen, dass es eben Männer sein müssen gerade aus dem Feminismus, die dann gegen die Frauen agieren, weil dort eben das Denken in Gruppen sehr stark verbreitet ist.

Gabriel and her co-authors set out to answer that question across three studies. Men and women who were employed full time answered questions about the incivility they experienced at work during the last month. The questions were about co-workers who put them down or were condescending, made demeaning or derogatory remarks, ignored them in a meeting or addressed them in unprofessional terms. Each set of questions was answered twice, once for male co-workers and once for female co-workers.

“Across the three studies, we found consistent evidence that women reported higher levels of incivility from other women than their male counterparts,” Gabriel said. “In other words, women are ruder to each other than they are to men, or than men are to women.

Frauen wären also untereinander eher gemein als sie es zu Männern wären und auch als Männer es zu Frauen wären.

Das kann ich mir durchaus gut vorstellen: Wenn ich mir so anschaue, wie viel Streitigkeiten und Feindseligkeiten mitunter so im Büro bei Frauen auftauchen und wer wieder gerade nicht mit wem kann, dann ist das mitunter wirklich erstaunlich. Und ich bekomme vieles davon noch nicht einmal mit.

“This isn’t to say men were off the hook or they weren’t engaging in these behaviors,” she noted. “But when we compared the average levels of incivility reported, female-instigated incivility was reported more often than male-instigated incivility by women in our three studies.”

Hier noch mal die Klarstellung: Natürlich gibt es auch entsprechendes von Männern, aber eben in geringerer Anzahl.

Participants also were asked to complete trait inventories of their personalities and behaviors to determine if there were any factors that contributed to women being treated uncivilly. The research showed that women who defied gender norms by being more assertive and dominant at work were more likely to be targeted by their female counterparts, compared to women who exhibited fewer of those traits.

Das könnte man vielleicht sogar teilweise in die feministische Theorie einbauen: Die Geschlechternormen stabilisieren sich selbst, indem Abweichlerinnen bestraft werden. Internalisierter Sexismus eben.

Man könnte aber auch darauf abstellen, dass in Frauengruppen häufig eine gewisse Gleichheit erzielt werden soll, die zu einem Krabbenkorbeffekt führen können, während Männer dann eher Hierarchien ausbilden und damit besser leben können. Das würde zu den evolutionären Gruppentheorien passen.

The researchers also found that when men acted assertive and warm — in general, not considered the norm for male behavior — they reported lower incivility from their male counterparts. This suggests men actually get a social credit for partially deviating from their gender stereotypes, a benefit that women are not afforded.

Das ist eben der Vorteil einer Hierachie. Sie lässt mehr Spielraum zu, weil es ja ein oben und unten gibt. Es ist gleichzeitig der Nachteil einer solchen. Es könnte aber auch daran liegen, dass Männer über so etwas eher hinwegsehen, weil sie evolutionär eher darauf ausgelegt sind, in Gruppen zusammenzuarbeiten zu müssen und Koalitionen zu schaffen, schlicht weil es für Großwildjagd und kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen aber auch für den Platz in der Hierarchie wichtig war.

“Companies should be asking, ‘What kinds of interventions can be put in place to really shift the narrative and reframe it?’” Gabriel said. “Making workplace interactions more positive and supportive for employees can go a long way toward creating a more positive, healthier environment that helps sustain the company in the long run. Organizations should make sure they also send signals that the ideas and opinions of all employees are valued, and that supporting others is crucial for business success — that is, acting assertively should not be viewed negatively, but as a positive way for employees to voice concerns and speak up.”

The study, “Further Understanding Incivility in the Workplace: The Effects of Gender, Agency and Communion,” is forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Hier noch einmal der Abstract der Studie:

Research conducted on workplace incivility-a low intensity form of deviant behavior-has generally shown that women report higher levels of incivility at work. However, to date, it is unclear as to whether women are primarily treated uncivilly by men (i.e., members of the socially dominant group/out-group) or other women (i.e., members of in-group) in organizations. In light of different theorizing surrounding gender and incivility, we examine whether women experience increased incivility from other women or men, and whether this effect is amplified for women who exhibit higher agency and less communion at work given that these traits and behaviors violate stereotypical gender norms. Across three complementary studies, results indicate that women report experiencing more incivility from other women than from men, with this effect being amplified for women who are more agentic at work. Further, agentic women who experience increased female-instigated incivility from their coworkers report lower well-being (job satisfaction, psychological vitality) and increased work withdrawal (turnover intentions). Theoretical implications tied to gender and incivility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record.

Interessanterweise verlagert der Feminismus diesen Streit um das richtige Verhalten aber dennoch auf die Mann-Frau-Ebene. Und versucht dort eine neue Norm zu schaffen, nach der dann eben entweder diejenigen, die sich nach den Geschlechternormen verhalten die „Schlechten“ sind oder es keine Norm mehr geben darf. Also eine Form des „wir sind alle gleich, auch wenn wir nicht gleich sind“. Das würde dann eigentlich durchaus in das Schema passen. Gerade wenn man dann noch den Feind nach außen verlagert: „es sind die Männer, die uns das auferlegt haben“.