Gender discrimination and job-related outcomes : a cross-cultural comparison of working women in the United States and China

摘要

Gender discrimination continues to be an issue that is encountered by women in the workplace. In this study we test hypotheses about two forms of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and gender evaluation (the use of gender as a criteria for job-related decisions), and several job-related outcomes. Our sample of 583 working women is drawn from three geographic regions (the United States, Chinese mainland, and Hong Kong SAR). These regions each have distinct cultural and social characteristics as well as different levels of legislation and enforcement regarding gender discrimination. Results indicated that gender discrimination was negatively associated with job satisfaction and affective commitment and positively associated with turnover intentions and life stress. Across geographical regions, women reported significant differences in all constructs. Several relationships between gender discrimination and the job-related outcomes were moderated by geographic region.