Job Characteristics, Gender Stereotypes and Perceived Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

This study examines the processes underlying gender discrimination in a large Australian government research organization. It is specifically concerned with discrimination that occurs after the initial assignment of employees to career streams or ladders has occurred. When questioned, 37 and 41 percent of the women surveyed stated that they had regularly experienced promotional or day- to-day discrimination. Based on analyses of data collected from 625 women and 512 men, evidence is presented for a vested interest explanation as best account ing for promotional discrimination, as distinct from day-to-day discrimination. These findings highlight the need to recognize and treat different forms of gender discrimination in the workplace as analytically distinct.