Gender bias in the workplace may not be breaking news, but its negative impact on mental health among powerful women might surprise you. A new study highlighted in Fast Company magazine suggests that women in high-ranking positions experience increased symptoms of depression. Lead author, sociologist Tetyana Pudrovska, describes the unexpected findings that came out of the WILLSHE project on the experiences of highly successful women:
What’s striking is that women with job authority in our study are advantaged in terms of most characteristics that are strong predictors of positive mental health. These women have more education, higher incomes, more prestigious occupations, and higher levels of job satisfaction and autonomy than women without job authority. Yet, they have worse mental health than lower-status women.
Men do not seem to suffer similar negative mental health consequences when in powerful occupations. Marianne Cooper, sociologist at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, explains:
Women leaders are viewed as being less competent than men, they’re evaluated in performance reviews on personality traits while men are evaluated on accomplishments, and they’re interrupted more often during team meetings. The day-to-day interactions can become tiring to deal with—it’s like death by 10,000 paper cuts.
Comments 4
John — January 25, 2015
What explains the higher suicide rates among men? Do women have more "weaker" depression than me?
Tim — January 25, 2015
John, studies have shown women attempt suicide more than men, but are less "successful" at it. The disparity owes to men and women's different techniques for suicide, with men disproportionately using more violent approaches.
Tetyana Pudrovska — January 28, 2015
I agree with Tim that men’s suicide attempts are more fatal than women’s and more often involve firearms or suffocation. But there is a more complex process that starts before actual suicide attempts. Depression often goes unnoticed in men because of the gender bias in help seeking and diagnosis. First, men who are depressed are less likely to seek help. Emotional stoicism and strength expected from men in our culture may prevent them from talking about their symptoms or seeing a mental health professional. Second, when men do seek professional help, they are less likely than women to be diagnosed with depression and other mood disorders because psychiatric diagnoses are also affected by social norms and values. Third, even when diagnosed, men are more reluctant than women to stick to the treatment. According to CDC, among people with severe depressive symptoms, 40% of women but only 21% of men take antidepressant medications. All these factors converge to increase undiagnosed and untreated depression among men. Untreated depression dramatically increases the risk of suicide. Even more striking, it is white middle-aged and older men who have the highest rates of suicide. One of our research projects tries to understand this paradox – that this group has the most power, status, and resources in our society, yet has the highest suicide risk.
Connor Martin — October 6, 2021
This is actually a very interesting point of view that is shown in this study. Just imagine how big the difference is in the emotional state of different statuses of people. Depression is a global problem and many people experience and put its meaning into the music. So, for example, there are https://ratingsgamemusic.com/2021/08/28/top-7-songs-about-depression/ a lot of songs about depression, and musicians show certain experiences through this. As a non-creative person, you must find yourself a hobby, people, a place that will completely free you from depression.