Women in power-- those with high position at work, higher pay, better education, and more influence in the outside world-- are not as in-control of their emotions as other people might perceive. In fact, a study reveals that women who have vast job authority are more likely to experience bouts of depression compared to women who do not hold high office positions. Researchers from the University of Texas found that symptoms of depression significantly increased in women who hold power at work, while in men, those with job authority have less depression symptoms compared to the regular male employee.
The study, "Gender, Job Authority, and Depression," published in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, considered more than 1,300 middle-aged men and 1,500 middle-aged women who graduated from high schools in Wisconsin.
Lead author and sociologist Tetyana Pudrovska said that women without job authority exhibited slightly more symptoms of depression on average than men without job authority. But among people with the ability to hire, fire and influence pay, women typically exhibit more symptoms of depression than men.
"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," said Pudrovska. "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."
One explanation is that women face more stressors at work when in positions of power because they are faced with overcoming more stereotypes and resistance to their leadership.
"Years of social science research suggest that women in authority positions deal with interpersonal tension, negative social interactions, negative stereotypes, prejudice, social isolation, as well as resistance from subordinates, colleagues and superiors," Pudrovska said. "Women in authority positions are viewed as lacking the assertiveness and confidence of strong leaders. But when these women display such characteristics, they are judged negatively for being unfeminine. This contributes to chronic stress."
Men, on the other hand, don't appear to face such obstacles.
"Men in positions of authority are consistent with the expected status beliefs, and male leadership is accepted as normative and legitimate," she said. "This increases men's power and effectiveness as leaders and diminishes interpersonal conflict."
In terms of the study's policy implications, Pudrovska said the findings indicate "we need to address gender discrimination, hostility and prejudice against women leaders to reduce the psychological costs and increase the psychological rewards of higher-status jobs for women."
The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging.
