Sexist Microaggressions and Internalised Stereotypes of Women: Impact on Unethical Behaviour at Work

Although various policies exist to reduce gender inequality, the literature suggests that many women experimented or assisted forms of sexism in working or living settings. It is claimed that sexism evolved into a more ambiguous and subtle form, turning into benevolent sexism, reverse sexism and microaggressions. Everyday sexist microaggressions mainly involve women in a series of discriminatory and humiliating messages, which can cause significant harm to their psychosocial and physical health, self-esteem, sense of identity, and job performance. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between sexist microaggressions and unethical behaviour at work and to identify the mechanisms through which they act. Using a sample of 392 women, we proposed that sexist microaggressions predict unethical work behaviour and that this relationship is explained by the measure in which women experiencing modifications on their sense of worth (self-compassion) and in their view of themselves as women (internalised misogyny). We tested a moderated-mediation model with sexist microaggressions as predicter and unethical behaviour as outcomes, mediated by self-compassion and moderated by internalised misogyny. The results suggested that the experience of workplace microaggressions contributed to an increased likelihood of engaging in counterproductive behaviour and that self-compassion is a protective factor, which controls and reduces unethical behaviour. Significant differences also emerged in the hypothesised pattern for different levels of internalised misogyny. Studies such as this can provide insights about the reasons for diversity policy implementation failures and perceptions of negative organisational climates, but at the same time provide evidence about the content and competencies that need to be strengthened to achieve inclusion.