Perceptions of Subtle Sexism in the Higher Education Workplace

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how higher education administrators, faculty, and staff are able to identify subtle sexism, and indicate how they perceive it in the higher education workplace. Past research has also shown micro-aggressions lead to hostility and uncertainty in the workplace (Swim et al., 1995(Swim et al., , 1997Tougas et al., 1995). The design of this study does not allow for casual inference but data from the pilot study indicate that contemporary sexism in the workplace impacts men, women, and theLGBTQ community.This was a mixed methods study that included a survey and one-onone interviews. There were a total of 232 participants and 12 one-on-one interviews. The majority of participants were heterosexual, white women. Three new measures of sexism were identified during data analysis: attitudes and behaviors of sexism (Historic Sexism Scale and Contemporary Sexism Scale) and identifying cases of subtle sexism ("man to woman" cases across the five scenarios on the Gender Neutral Sexism Scenarios).Quantitative results indicated that women identified more instances of sexism than men.Overall, participants did not strongly identify instances of subtle sexism. Additional research is needed to determine the results. Interview participants indicated that trainings and professional development regarding appropriate behavior and language in the workplace are needed in order for employees to understand and recognize subtle sexism. iv DEDICATIONTo my grandfather, Dr. Kenneth Carroll, for always encouraging me to challenge myself and reach for the stars. You are my inspiration and the reason that I am the first Carroll woman to earn my doctorate.To my niece Savannah Paige and for all of the little girls out there. May all of your dreams come true -you can do anything that you put your mind to. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the tremendous support and guidance that I received from my dissertation committee. Thank you all for believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself. To my dissertation chair, Dr. Joseph DuCette, thank you for mentoring me and working with me on this project for the last three years. I have grown comfortable with data and statistics because of your patience and expertise. To my faculty advisor and committee member, Dr. James Earl Davis, thank you for all of the encouragement, positive thinking, and wisdom that you have shared with me for the last five years. I have grown to love theory because you have taught me to appreciate it. To Dr. Laura Pendergast, thank you for challenging me to be the best researcher that I can be and for exploring this topic with me from the beginning.Your support and advice has motivated me to continue with a career in research. Dr. Janice Laurence, thank you for agreeing to part of the journey and for sharing your expertise and knowledge with me.To Lawrence, thank you for your support and feedback regarding the survey and the study itself. I appreciate all of your advice.To my husband Jeremy, thank you ...