"It's Like Death by a Thousand Cuts"-Selective Incivility, Hostility, and Intent to Leave Pathways Among Women in Engineering and Technology Careers

Recruiting and retaining women in engineering, information and communication technology (EICT) jobs and careers remains a pressing concern for many countries in the Global North, including Canada, Sweden, and Germany. Previous research into the leaky pipeline finds that workplace incivility contributes to women exiting these fields. Yet, it is unclear which mechanisms of workplace incivility are more likely to impact turnover intention. To address this gap, we perform a mixed-methods analysis of women's experiences working in EICT jobs in Canada, Sweden, and Germany. The results of the serial mediation model analysis show significant indirect effects among incivility, perceptions of organizational equity, emotional exhaustion, and intent to leave. This suggests that women who experience increased levels of incivility and/or hostility in the workplace are less likely to perceive their organization as equitable; that those who do not perceive their workplace as equitable are more likely to report more emotional exhaustion; and that respondents who report elevated emotional exhaustion are more likely to indicate that they intend to leave their workplace within the next two years. A content analysis of open-ended survey responses sheds light onto various types of uncivil and hostile acts and behaviors perpetrated against respondents because of their gender. We used this qualitative data to contextualize the statistical findings and offer a view into the lived experiences of women working within EICT.