Does Sexism Affect Thai Women's Psychological and Behavioural Responses? The Stereotype Threat-Buffering Effect of Mindfulness

Abstract

F ew studies have examined the linkage of perceived sexism with stereotype threat and psychological responses in a work setting and moderators that may buffer this negative effect. In Study 1, the relationships among perceived sexism, stereotype threat, and psychological responses were explored among Thai female employees (N = 296) in a self-report questionnaire study. The aim of Study 2 was to investigate whether mindfulness can mitigate the disastrous effect of sexism on performance, using an experimental design. In Study 1, the standard error of measurement (SEM) results observed a partial mediation effect of stereotype threat for the sexism-disidentification relationship, and sexism only had a significant direct effect on career aspirations. In Study 2, the interaction effect of sexism × mindfulness on the female participants' reasoning test scores was significant, indicating that those with mindfulness practice performed better when being exposed to sexist behaviours. The current research provides additional information on understanding the impact of sexism on disengagement and decreased career aspirations among Thai female employees in male-dominated industries. In practice, Thai organisations should be concerned about the impact of sexism on disengagement and the protective factor of performance decrements by encouraging anti-sexist norms and fostering the cultivation of mindfulness through practice.

A Second-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Career Aspirations Scale of Female Thai Students

“…In general, female Thai students did not endorse the view that leadership should be a requirement in a career, although there have been increasing calls for this in the workplace. This may be lead Thai women to have lowered career aspiration (Jarunratanakul & Jinchang, 2018). This phenomenon also occurs in other Asian countries, so that it is essential to understand women's socialization experiences, which may relate to their career behavior (Hackett & Betz, 1981).…”

Deconstruction of the Discourse of Femininity: A Case of Thai Girls’ Schools

“…Nevertheless, the aforementioned reforms were written texts kept as policies. In practice, none of them is strictly practiced (Bui & Permpoonwiwat, 2015;Chinlumprasert, 2001;Ford & Kittisuksathit, 1996;Isaraphakdi, 2000;Jarunratanakul & Jinchang, 2018).…”

“…Only in 1997 were women in Thailand granted equal rights such as assuming an executive role, representing in Thailand's national parliament, being in the police force, and serving in the military by constitution (Romanow, 2012). More subtle bias, prejudice, and discrimination towards women are addressed (Jarunratanakul & Jinchang, 2018) in several studies (Bui & Permpoonwiwat, 2015;Chinlumprasert, 2001;Ford & Kittisuksathit, 1996;Isaraphakdi, 2000;Jarunratanakul & Jinchang, 2018).…”

“…A CASE OF THAI GIRLS' SCHOOLS -40-confidence and ambition. Biases at work, both unconscious or not, put an unneeded thumb on their career performance and aspirations (Jarunratanakul & Jinchang, 2018). Those negative experiences have resulted in their decrease in confidence when advocating for their pay increase.…”

Does sexism affect Thai women's psychological and behavioral responses? The stereotype threat-buffering effect of mindfulness – CORRIGENDUM

“…The authors apologize for error in the abstract (Jarunratanakul & Jinchang 2018). The correct version is given below…”