Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Incivility at Academic Conferences: Gender Differences and the Mediating Role of Climate

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In a survey study of 458 U.S. women and men, we examined experiences of incivility at an academic conference, a context that represents an important extension of the academic/professional workplace. We hypothesized and found that women reported more incivility, perceived the climate to be more sexist, and reported more conference exclusion than men. Counter to our prediction, men and women did not differ in how negatively they viewed the climate or their conference satisfaction. Since incivility may be a subtle form of bias that targets women more than men, women’s experiences of incivility may lead them to view the environment as more sexist. We found support for this, such that the relationship between incivility and sexist climate perceptions were stronger for women than men. Finally, we proposed that incivility would be related to negative conference outcomes through more negative perceptions of the conference climate for both genders, and through sexist climate perceptions only for women. Results of our path analyses indicated that positive, but not sexist, climate perceptions mediated the relationship between incivility and conference satisfaction for both genders. Further, both sexist and positive climate perceptions mediated the relationship between incivility and conference exclusion for both genders. We discuss incivility as a gendered phenomenon related to sexist contexts, as well as reasons for the observed mediated relationships. Additionally, we discuss the significant role that conference experiences may play for women and men in academia and professional settings, and implications for conference organizers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat: The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, 452–471. doi:10.5465/AMR.1999.2202131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barak, M. E. M., Cherin, D. A., & Berkman, S. (1998). Organizational and personal dimensions in diversity climate: Ethnic and gender differences in employee perceptions. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 34, 82–104. doi:10.1177/0021886398341006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, J. Z., Schmidt, A. M., Ford, J. K., & DeShon, R. P. (2003). Climate perceptions matter: A meta-analytic path analysis relating molar climate, cognitive and affective states, and individual level work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 605–619. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caza, B. B., & Cortina, L. M. (2007). From insult to injury: Explaining the impact of incivility. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29, 335–350. doi:10.1090/01973530701665108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education & Center for the Education of Women. (1999). University of Michigan work-life study report. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, L. (2008). Unseen injustice: Incivility as modern discrimination in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 33, 55–75. doi:10.2307/20159376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, L. M., Lonsway, K. L., Magley, V. J., Freeman, L. V., Collinsworth, L. L., Hunter, M., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2002). What’s gender got to do with it? Incivility in the federal courts. Law and Social Inquiry, 27, 235–270. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.2002.tb00804.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2009). Patterns and profiles of response to incivility in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14, 272–288. doi:10.1037/a0014934.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, L., Magley, V., Williams, J., & Langhout, R. (2001). Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6, 64–80. doi:10.1037/1076-8998.6.1.64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, L. M., Swan, S., Fitzgerald, L. F., & Waldo, C. (1998). Sexual harassment and assault: Chilling the climate for women in academia. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 419–441. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1998.tb00166.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, M. A., Drasgow, F., & Munson, L. J. (1998). The perceptions of fair interpersonal treatment scale: Development and validation of a measure of interpersonal treatment in the workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 683–692. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.5.683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Egri, C. P. (1992). Academic conferences as ceremonials: Opportunities for organizational integration and socialization. Journal of Management Education, 16, 90–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, L. F., Drasgow, F., Hulin, C. L., Gelfand, M. J., & Magley, V. J. (1997). Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 578–589. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.82.4.578.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, L. F., Drasgow, F., & Magley, V. J. (1999). Sexual harassment in the armed forces: A test of an integrated model. Military Psychology, 11, 329–343. doi:10.1207/s15327876mp1103_7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R. M., & Sandler, B. R. (1982). The classroom climate: A chilly one for women? Washington, DC: Project on the Status and Education of Women, Association of American Colleges.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hesson-McInnis, M. S., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1997). Sexual harassment: A preliminary test of an integrative model. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 877–901. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb00276.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hostler, S., & Gressard, R. (1993). Appendix 3C: Gender fairness environment scale [developed by the University of Virginia School of Medicine Committee on Women]. Perceptions of the medical education environment. The Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, 48, 51–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulin, C. L., Fitzgerald, L. F., & Drasgow, F. (1996). Organizational influences on sexual harassment. In M. S. Stockdale (Ed.), Sexual harassment in the workplace: Perspectives, frontiers, and response strategies (pp. 127–150). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S. (1998). Texas A & M University campus climate survey: A study of faculty views and experiences. Ann Arbor: CSHPE, School of Education, University of Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeanquart-Barone, S., & Sekaran, U. (1996). Institutional racism: An empirical study. Journal of Social Psychology, 136, 477–482. doi:10.1090/00224545.1996.9714029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, P., & Indvik, J. (2001). Rudeness at work: Impulse over restraint. Public Personnel Management, 30, 457–465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. J., & McIntye, C. L. (1998). Organizational culture and climate correlates of job satisfaction. Psychological Reports, 82, 843–850. doi:10.2466/PR0.82.3.843-850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S. E., Mitchell, M. A., Bean, M. G., Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2010). Gender moderates the self-regulatory consequences of suppressing emotional reactions to sexism. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13, 215–226. doi:10.1177/1368430209344867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsrud, L. K., & Des Jarlais, C. D. (1994). Barriers to tenure for women and minorities. The Review of Higher Education, 17, 335–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, W. F., Slocum, J. W., & von Glinow, M. A. (1982). Person-situation interaction: Competing models of fit. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 3, 265–280. doi:10.1002/job.4030030402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kickul, J., & Liao-Troth, M. A. (2003). The meaning behind the message: Climate perceptions and the psychological contract. Mid-American Journal of Business, 18, 23–32. doi:10.1108/19355181200300009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, S., Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2008). Personal and workgroup incivility: Impact on work and health outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 95–107. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miner, K., Settles, I. H., Pratt-Hyatt, J., & Brady, C. (2012). Experiencing incivility in organizations: The buffering effects of emotional and organizational support. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42, 340–372. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00891.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miner-Rubino, K., & Cortina, L. M. (2004). Working in a context of hostility toward women: Implications for employees’ well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 9, 107–122. doi:10.1037/1076-8998.9.2.107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miner-Rubino, K., & Cortina, L. M. (2007). Beyond targets: Consequences of vicarious exposure to misogyny at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1254–1269. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.5.1254.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, K., Kane, K., & Vance, C. M. (2004). Accounting for differences in norms of respect: A study of assessments of incivility through the lenses of race and gender. Group & Organization Management, 29, 248–268. doi:10.1177/1059601103252105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesbitt, P. E., Inglehart, M. R., & Sinkford, J. C. (2003). Work environment perceptions of full-time dental educators: Does gender matter? Journal of Dental Education, 67, 916–924.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, J. H. (2004). Injustice, stress, and aggression in organizations. In R. W. Griffin & A. M. O’Leary-Kelly (Eds.), The dark side of organizational behavior (pp. 62–102). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, D., Maple, S. A., & Stage, F. K. (1995). Women and minority faculty job satisfaction: Professional role interests, professional satisfactions, and institutional fit. Journal of Higher Education, 66, 267–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostroff, C., Kinicki, A. J., and Muhammad, R. S. (2012). Organizational Cultural and Climate. In I. B. Weiner, N. W. Schmitt, & S. Highhouse (Eds.), Handbook of Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2nd Edition) (pp. 643–676). New York: Wiley.

  • Parker, C. P., Baltes, B. B., Young, S. A., Huff, J. W., Altmann, R. A., & Lacost, H. A. (2003). Relationships between psychological climate perceptions and work outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 389–416. doi:10.1002/job.198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, C. M., & Porath, C. L. (2005). On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for “nice”? Think again. Academy of Management Executive, 19, 7–18. doi:10.5465/AME.2005.15841946.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, A. (1994). Why have all the women gone? A study of exit of women from the science and engineering professions. American Economic Review, 84, 1446–1462. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117783.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, A. (2004). Leaving science: Occupational exit from scientific careers. New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riger, S., Stokes, J., Raja, S., & Sullivan, M. (1997). Measuring perceptions of the work environment for faculty. The Review of Higher Education, 21, 63–78. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00091.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvatore, J., & Shelton, J. N. (2007). Cognitive costs of exposure to racial prejudice. Psychological Science, 18, 810–815. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01984.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seibert, S. E., Silver, S. R., & Randolph, W. A. (2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 332–349. doi:10.2307/20159585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settles, I. H., Buchanan, N. T., Yap, S. C. Y., & Harrell, Z. A. T. (2014). Sex differences in outcomes and harasser characteristics associated with frightening sexual harassment appraisals. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. in press

  • Settles, I. H., Cortina, L. M., Buchanan, N. T., & Miner, K. N. (2013). Derogation, discrimination, and (dis)satisfaction with jobs in science: A gendered analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 37, 179–191. doi:10.1177/0361684312468727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settles, I. H., Cortina, L. M., Malley, J., & Stewart, A. J. (2006). The climate for women in academic science: The good, the bad, and the changeable. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 47–58. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00261.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settles, I. H., Cortina, L. M., Stewart, A. J., & Malley, J. (2007). Voice matters: Buffering the impact of a negative climate for women in science. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 270–281. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00370.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, K. (2003). Faculty service roles and the scholarship of engagement. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoder, J. D., & Aniakudo, P. (1996). When pranks become harassment: The case of African American women firefighters. Sex Roles, 35, 253–270. doi:10.1007/BF01664768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Road – Room 44B, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1116, USA

    Isis H. Settles & Rachel C. O’Connor

Authors
  1. Isis H. Settles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rachel C. O’Connor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isis H. Settles.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Settles, I.H., O’Connor, R.C. Incivility at Academic Conferences: Gender Differences and the Mediating Role of Climate. Sex Roles 71, 71–82 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0355-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0355-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation