Page 203 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

The Detrimental Impact of Gender Microaggressions 177

men, who believe in sexual equality and would never consciously or deliberately
discriminate. As men, we have been culturally conditioned through a socio -
political process that denigrates the importance of women, objectifi es them,
and views them as inferior beings. On the one hand, we may hold conscious
beliefs of equality between the sexes, yet at another level also hold unconscious
or hidden biases and negative attitudes toward women.

Impact on Standard of Living

Although single mothers constitute only 20% of all families, they make
up nearly 50% of families living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001);
women are usually confined to the lowest status and paying positions,

such as child - care workers, receptionists, cashiers, and secretaries, while
men dominate higher - paying positions such as physicians, lawyers, judges,
engineers, and dentists (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005); women earn less
than three - quarters of the salaries of men (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002); they

hold approximately 10% of elective offices in the United States; and there
has never been a woman U.S. president; they hold only 14.8% of Fortune
500 board seats; they encounter the glass ceiling in places of employment

and have difficulty being promoted even when otherwise qualifi ed; and

they comprise only 27% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies
(Rubin, 2008). Even more discouraging when these statistics are seen from a
trend perspective, progress in closing the pay gap, increasing the number of
female offi cers in corporations, and increasing their representation in boards
has stalled and even declined in the past few years (Rubin, 2008).
These statistics reveal that women face many barriers in career choices. Due
to a primarily male - oriented work culture, women experience gender micro-
aggressions from their bosses, coworkers, and even other women that affect
the quality of their work experience, and ability to be hired, retained, and pro-
moted (Sue, Lin, & Rivera, in press). In the workplace, gender microaggressions
are manifested and impact women in the following ways (Lyness & Thompson,
2000; Piotrkowski, 1998):

• Women are made to feel like tokens and unqualified to fit senior man-

agement levels. They experience social distancing from their male col-
leagues and are often excluded from both formal and informal meetings.
Women often describe their male coworkers as being uncomfortable in
their presence.

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