Women working in an exclusively male environment are more stressed than those working in an environment where parity is respected. In any case, this is the finding established by a study published in the American Journal of Sociology , conducted by Indiana researchers. This stress would be directly linked to the numerical inferiority of women within the company, and this, because of several things:salary differences, the potential challenge of their authority or even cases of harassment.
In order to obtain this result, the researchers subjected volunteers to various experimental exercises; some men were placed in predominantly male groups; others, in mixed groups, and the last were placed in female groups where conversations were stereotyped (children, make-up, outings, etc.). Same exercise for the women who were divided into these three groups; one of which, exclusively composed of men, in which the discussions revolved around male interests such as sports or cars. During the experiment, the scientists conducting the study recorded the cortisol levels (the stress hormone) of the participants in order to measure their level of anxiety.
Among the results obtained, it appeared that the cortisol level was higher for men and women who joined a group where the opposite sex was mainly represented. On the other hand, the scientists noted that the stress levels exhibited by the women were clearly concerning for their health. They also established that women are more prone to stress peaks, whether temporary or chronic. On the other hand, contrary to what one might think, the women most subject to stress are not those who occupy a position of responsibility, but those who have an intermediate status within society.
In any case, for both men and women, stress at work can have significant health consequences. Burn-out or depression, insomnia, development of heart disease, many are the ailments that can appear following peaks of anxiety or because of untreated chronic anxiety.
