Different Roots, Different Fruits: Gender-Based Differences in Cultural Narratives about Perceived Discrimination Produce Divergent Psychological Consequences

We examine whether narratives about, and the psychological consequences of, perceived gender discrimination differ between women and men. We argue that women and men have different dominant narratives about the reasons why people discriminate against people of their respective genders. While women attribute the majority of their perceptions of gender discrimination in the workplace to patriarchal norms and practices, the majority of men’s perceptions of gender discrimination emerge from a belief that organizations are likely to discriminate against them in order to reduce discrimination against women. These differences in understandings about the root causes of gender discrimination also produce divergent psychological consequences. We argue that perceived workplace gender discrimination (a) reduces self-efficacy among women but not among men and (b) reduces both men’s and women’s sense of belonging in the workplace. We further argue that these effects contribute to a reduction of well-being among members of both genders, with the negative effect on well-being being more pronounced among women than among men. We examine these predictions in five studies of working adults. We discuss the implications for research on perceptions of discrimination and for organizations seeking to reduce the negative consequences of perceptions of discrimination.