IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0234415.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multidimensional gender discrimination in workplace and depressive symptoms

Author

Listed:
  • Gaeul Kim
  • Jinmok Kim
  • Su-Kyoung Lee
  • Juho Sim
  • Yangwook Kim
  • Byung-Yoon Yun
  • Jin-Ha Yoon

Abstract

Background: Discrimination is associated with depressive symptoms and other negative health effects, but little is known about the mental health risks of workplace gender discrimination. We aimed to investigate the association of workplace gender discrimination and depressive symptoms among employed women in South Korea. Methods: The 6th wave (2016) survey datasets of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Family (KLoWF) were analyzed for 2,339 respondents who are identified as wage workers. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the short-form (10-item) Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Association of workplace gender discrimination and depressive symptoms was assessed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounding variables including age, income satisfaction, education level, marital status, and currently diagnosed disease. We then measured the age effect using age stratification multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Women who experienced gender discrimination at workplace had higher odds of depressive symptoms regardless of the type of the discrimination including hiring, promotion, work assignments, paid wages, and firing. These associations were consistent in younger women below 40 years of age in regard to hiring, promotion, paid wages and firing, whereas inconsistent among older women above 40 years of age. Limitations: We did not investigate the effect of workplace gender discrimination on depressive symptoms in a longitudinal manner. Conclusions: Workplace gender discrimination was found to be significantly associated with depressive symptoms after adjustment for socio-demographic factors. Further, women under 40 years of age were especially vulnerable to workplace gender discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaeul Kim & Jinmok Kim & Su-Kyoung Lee & Juho Sim & Yangwook Kim & Byung-Yoon Yun & Jin-Ha Yoon, 2020. "Multidimensional gender discrimination in workplace and depressive symptoms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0234415
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234415
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234415
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234415&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0234415?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williams, D.R. & Neighbors, H.W. & Jackson, J.S., 2003. "Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 200-208.
    2. Wendy Zhang & Nadia O’Brien & Jamie I Forrest & Kate A Salters & Thomas L Patterson & Julio S G Montaner & Robert S Hogg & Viviane D Lima, 2012. "Validating a Shortened Depression Scale (10 Item CES-D) among HIV-Positive People in British Columbia, Canada," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-5, July.
    3. Schulz, A.J. & Gravlee, C.C. & Williams, D.R. & Israel, B.A. & Mentz, G. & Rowe, Z., 2006. "Discrimination, symptoms of depression, and self-rated health among African American women in Detroit: Results from a longitudinal analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(7), pages 1265-1270.
    4. Krieger, N. & Sidney, S., 1996. "Racial discrimination and blood pressure: The CARDIA study of young black and white adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 86(10), pages 1370-1378.
    5. Simbayi, Leickness C. & Kalichman, Seth & Strebel, Anna & Cloete, Allanise & Henda, Nomvo & Mqeketo, Ayanda, 2007. "Internalized stigma, discrimination, and depression among men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Cape Town, South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(9), pages 1823-1831, May.
    6. Louise Patterson & Brandon Walcutt, 2013. "Korean workplace gender discrimination research analysis: a review of the literature from 1990 to 2010," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 85-101, January.
    7. Meitzen, Mark E, 1986. "Differences in Male and Female Job-quitting Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(2), pages 151-167, April.
    8. Seung-Sup Kim & David R Williams, 2012. "Perceived Discrimination and Self-Rated Health in South Korea: A Nationally Representative Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jeong-Hyun Nam & Soo-Hyun Nam, 2022. "Multifaceted Work-to-Life Negative Spillover and Depressive Symptoms among Working Women: The Moderating Effect of Social Activities Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    2. Rim, Hyunseo & Kim, Jinho, 2024. "The influence of perceptions of gender discrimination in the workplace on depressive symptoms among Korean working women: The moderating role of job satisfaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    3. Carla Comacchio & Giulia Antolini & Mirella Ruggeri & Marco Colizzi, 2022. "Gender-Oriented Mental Health Prevention: A Reappraisal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Baek, Seong-Uk & Yoon, Jin-Ha & Won, Jong-Uk, 2023. "Reciprocal longitudinal associations of supportive workplace relationships with depressive symptoms and self-rated health: A study of Korean women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    5. Srirang K. Jha & Shweta Jha, 2023. "Gender Discrimination and Retaliation at Pinterest," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(2), pages 132-137, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lindström, Martin, 2008. "Social capital, anticipated ethnic discrimination and self-reported psychological health: A population-based study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 1-13, January.
    2. Gee, Gilbert C. & Spencer, Michael & Chen, Juan & Yip, Tiffany & Takeuchi, David T., 2007. "The association between self-reported racial discrimination and 12-month DSM-IV mental disorders among Asian Americans nationwide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1984-1996, May.
    3. Gee, Gilbert & Walsemann, Katrina, 2009. "Does health predict the reporting of racial discrimination or do reports of discrimination predict health? Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1676-1684, May.
    4. Chae, David H. & Lincoln, Karen D. & Adler, Nancy E. & Syme, S. Leonard, 2010. "Do experiences of racial discrimination predict cardiovascular disease among African American men? The moderating role of internalized negative racial group attitudes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1182-1188, September.
    5. Dušan Drbohlav & Dagmar Dzúrová, 2017. "Social Hazards as Manifested Workplace Discrimination and Health (Vietnamese and Ukrainian Female and Male Migrants in Czechia)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Mieko Yoshihama & Jun Sung Hong & Yueqi Yan, 2022. "Everyday Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms among Gujarati Adults: Gender Difference in the Role of Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-13, July.
    7. Williams, David R. & Gonzalez, Hector M. & Williams, Stacey & Mohammed, Selina A. & Moomal, Hashim & Stein, Dan J., 2008. "Perceived discrimination, race and health in South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 441-452, August.
    8. Ziersch, Anna M. & Gallaher, Gilbert & Baum, Fran & Bentley, Michael, 2011. "Responding to racism: Insights on how racism can damage health from an urban study of Australian Aboriginal people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1045-1053.
    9. Forrest-Bank, Shandra S. & Jenson, Jeffery M., 2015. "The relationship among childhood risk and protective factors, racial microaggression and ethnic identity, and academic self-efficacy and antisocial behavior in young adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 64-74.
    10. Yang, Tse-Chuan & Chen, I-Chien & Choi, Seung-won & Kurtulus, Aysenur, 2019. "Linking perceived discrimination during adolescence to health during mid-adulthood: Self-esteem and risk-behavior mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 434-443.
    11. Seung-Sup Kim & Yeonseung Chung & S V Subramanian & David R Williams, 2012. "Measuring Discrimination in South Korea: Underestimating the Prevalence of Discriminatory Experiences among Female and Less Educated Workers?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-8, March.
    12. Gilbert, Paul A. & Zemore, Sarah E., 2016. "Discrimination and drinking: A systematic review of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 178-194.
    13. Miller, Carol T. & Solomon, Sondra E. & Varni, Susan E. & Hodge, James J. & Knapp, F. Andrew & Bunn, Janice Y., 2016. "A transactional approach to relationships over time between perceived HIV stigma and the psychological and physical well-being of people with HIV," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 97-105.
    14. Javier Alvarez-Galvez & Luis Salvador-Carulla, 2013. "Perceived Discrimination and Self-Rated Health in Europe: Evidence from the European Social Survey (2010)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-1, September.
    15. Borrell, Luisa N. & Kiefe, Catarina I. & Williams, David R. & Diez-Roux, Ana V. & Gordon-Larsen, Penny, 2006. "Self-reported health, perceived racial discrimination, and skin color in African Americans in the CARDIA study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1415-1427, September.
    16. Lukachko, Alicia & Hatzenbuehler, Mark L. & Keyes, Katherine M., 2014. "Structural racism and myocardial infarction in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 42-50.
    17. Yoo, Hyung Chol & Gee, Gilbert C. & Takeuchi, David, 2009. "Discrimination and health among Asian American immigrants: Disentangling racial from language discrimination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 726-732, February.
    18. Shakked Lubotzky-Gete & Maru Gete & Roni Levy & Yaffa Kurzweil & Ronit Calderon-Margalit, 2021. "Comparing the Different Manifestations of Postpartum Mental Disorders by Origin, among Immigrants and Native-Born in Israel According to Different Mental Scales," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, November.
    19. Chen, Danhong & Yang, Tse-Chuan, 2014. "The pathways from perceived discrimination to self-rated health: An investigation of the roles of distrust, social capital, and health behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 64-73.
    20. Mario L. Small & Devah Pager, 2020. "Sociological Perspectives on Racial Discrimination," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 49-67, Spring.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0234415. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.