Perceptions of Gender Bias in the Utah Workplace

Utah has one of the highest economic growth rates in the nation, and the ability to attract, retain, and provide positive workplace environments for women will be critical for future growth and success. However, Utah ranks as one of the worst states for women’s equality in many areas, including wages, education, health, and political empowerment. For example, Utah is 46th out of 50 states in the disparity between the percentage of full-time working women who hold executive positions (0.8%) and the percentage of full-time working men who hold executive positions (2.1%).

It is critical to understand what obstacles stand in the way of closing gender gaps such as this so that Utah’s workforce and economy can thrive and meet its potential. One set of obstacles relates to “gender bias,” a term used to describe various barriers embedded in workplace cultures that disadvantage women, either overtly (e.g., harassment) or covertly (e.g., policies that inadvertently benefit men more than women). 

Study Background

To better understand how Utah women and men perceive gender bias in the workplace, an online survey was administered through Qualtrics between October and November 2022.

• The author reached out via social media and word of mouth to professional contacts; diversity, equity, and inclusion representatives; and human resource representatives in Utah organizations. 
• The author also contacted consultants who reached out through their networks, and the survey link was distributed through Utah Women & Leadership Project networks as well.
• All participants completed the same 15 demographic questions (e.g., gender, age, religion, education, years of work). 
• Depending on their response to the gender question, participants were then asked to complete the original Gender Bias Scale (GBS) developed for women or a modified GBS adapted for men.
• Both versions included 47 items, and participants were asked to rate each item on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The original version asks women to rate their perceptions and experiences of gender bias in the workplace. The adapted version asks men to rate their observations and perceptions of women experiencing gender bias in the workplace. 

This study investigated the following research questions: 1) What are women’s experiences and perceptions of gender bias in the Utah workplace? 2) How do men perceive women’s experiences of gender bias in the Utah workplace?

Demographics of Study Participants

• Gender: The sample included 119 participants: 72.2% were women and 27.8% were men.
• Race: Most respondents were White (83.8%).
• Occupation:The majority were managers (73.9%) who worked for international organizations based in Utah (86.5%) that had 500–10,000 employees (67.2%). However, 68.1% had never worked outside of Utah.
• Age: Most respondents (83.3%) were under the age of 50. 
• Religion: 56.3% of respondents were members of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints; 25.2% indicated they were not religious. 
• Other: had lived in Utah more than 5 years (78.2%), and were parents (73.1%), with 57.9% having daughters.

Differences of Results by Gender

• Higher ratings indicated greater recognition, perception, or awareness of a particular aspect of gender bias.
• Typically, men’s mean ratings were lower than women’s mean ratings for the same factor. Women’s overall GBS mean was 3.0, and men’s overall GBS mean was 2.4.
• Items under male privilege showed the largest gender differences, followed by devaluation and disproportionate constraints
• Women were significantly more likely to agree with statements about “being interrupted by men when speaking”.
• On items about salary inequality, women were significantly more likely than men to perceive that women made less than male counterparts
• Women were significantly more likely to perceive that unequal standards existed, such as being more scrutinized than their male counterparts, being expected to work harder for the same credibility, and being expected to be more nurturing.
• Additionally, women and men perceived communication differently, with women feeling constrained in their communication.
• Women also felt their ideas were taken more seriously when repeated by men:. Among women, 70.0% agreed that they downplayed their accomplishments at work, while 45.0% of men disagreed that this was the case. 
• Interestingly, women were significantly less likely to indicate that their career choices were constrained by gender norms.

Differences by Age and Other Factors

• The biggest trend observed was that individuals in the youngest age group had significantly lower scores compared to individuals in the middle age group. 
• The 20–30-year old age group did not perceive as much gender bias in the workplace as the 41–50-year-old group did.
• Two exceptions to this trend appeared: compared to the middle age group, the younger age group had significantly higher ratings about lacking a leader who sponsored them for promotion and about not advocating for women’s rights at work. 
• Differences by Religion
• The biggest trend was that the religious group had significantly lower mean scores, reflecting more disagreement with the statements compared to the non-religious group.
• Comparison of Utah Findings to Other Data 
• One limitation of the present study was the small sample size, particularly the subsample of men. 
• The Utah study findings were similar to the global study findings: Utah men’s overall mean scores on the adapted GBS were slightly lower than the mean scores for global men.
  

Summary & Recommendations

The study findings confirm that women and men in Utah’s workplaces perceive gender bias differently: women perceive it to a larger degree. This gap in perception is troubling since men make up a large proportion of Utah leadership, and thus have significant influence over workplace experiences, systems, processes, and culture.

• Researchers have also noted that in some cases where men recognize their privileged position, they use discourse to justify and reframe this privilege. 
• It is important to recognize that perceptions of workplace male privilege by women can lead to negative consequences, such as job dissatisfaction and intent to leave within a year. 
• Conversely, addressing issues regarding male privilege could lead to more workplace satisfaction for Utah women, increase retention rates, and help improve Utah’s ranking for women’s equality. 
• It is likely that there are areas where women do not fully understand men’s experiences. Thus, men and women need to learn more about each other’s perceptions of the workplace and engage in active listening
• Supporting education efforts around other aspects of gender bias may also diminish bias. 
• Some suggest that men need to be granted psychological standing (i.e., legitimizing the importance of men’s role in improving gender equity), ensuring that they know their voices are essential and that their efforts have valid and significant impact.
•  Future research should consider how men and women perceive racial or age bias and how each interacts with perceptions of gender bias.

Conclusion

This research highlights that Utah women experience elements of gender bias in the workplace that are not perceived to the same degree by Utah men. The findings align with other published data about men’s and women’s perceptions of gender bias, indicating that these gender differences are not limited to Utah. However, Utah men have slightly lower awareness of gender bias compared to global men. As employers, employees, and other stakeholders consider this data and use it to start conversations about gender bias in Utah workplaces, women and men can better understand each other’s perspectives and experiences. From these conversations, businesses can implement education and training, promote organizational change, and create innovative, targeted approaches that address gender biases identified in this work. Doing so will help women thrive and will boost overall workplace culture.

To learn more about the perception of gender bias in the Utah workplace, read the full brief.