Ubicación y características generales del municipio

Gender is a socially constructed category and there are different expectations for men and women in society (Anderson, 1997) which have an influence on their experiences of occupational stress (Iwasaki, 2004). Vagg et al (2002) argue that gender is a key determinant of occupational stress reflecting a wide acceptance of this viewpoint; the effects of gender on occupational stress have been examined in many studies (Elliott, 2009; Michailidis, 2008; O‟Laughlin & Bischoff, 2005; Iwasaki et al, 2004; Narayanan et al, 1999; Christie & Shultz, 1996; Jick & Mitz, 1980). These studies have found that women more frequently experience occupational stress and report higher levels of

occupational stress than their male counterparts in different occupations. Further, there is evidence that males and females may perceive and respond to occupational stress differently. Gender differences in occupational stress can be found. Interpersonal conflict, inadequate salary and insufficient personal time played a greater role in causing occupational stress for women than men, whereas for males occupational stress is more related to their role in the power structure and lack of participation in policy decisions (Vagg et al, 2002).

Despite the growth of research on occupational stress, gender-based analyses of occupational stress have not been extensively carried out (Iwasaki et al, 2004). One explanation by Michael (2009), Bell & Lee (2002) and Greenglass (1995) is that occupational stress has focused primarily on male employees and, consequently, the concepts of occupational stress, experience and coping mechanisms have been based mostly on male normative perspectives. Gender affects each element in occupational stress by determining whether a situation is perceived as stressful and by influencing coping ways and the result of occupational stress reactions (Barnett, 1987). Although much of the research on occupational stress examining the relationship between gender and occupational stress reveals several confounded outcomes, some researchers (Martocchio & O‟Leary, 1989; Blix et al, 1994; Jarrett & Winefield, 1995; Guppy & Rick, 1996; Winefield, 2000) found no significant gender differences with all employees reporting the same overall level of occupational stress; however, women experienced significantly more stressors as being severe than men, and men perceived a higher frequency of stressors than women. Further, some studies suggested that men would report higher levels of occupational stress (Rosen et al, 1999; Cooper et al, 1989), while most considered women would experience more occupational stress (Michael, 2009; Tytherleigh et al, 2007; Hall et al, 2006; Matud, 2004). Still, it is not appropriate to assume from the results of the above studies that women attach the same meanings to occupational stress and its causes in exactly the same way as men.

Authors who have identified women as experiencing higher levels of occupational stress have supposed that women reported higher occupational stress because of either

being less effective in coping with it or being exposed to greater levels of occupational stress than men (Michael, 2009). It has been suggested that work-home balance, marital status and work conditions result in increased amounts of occupational stress for women (Barnett & Brennan, 1997) and that competition for advancement, performing the duties of other employees and the pressure of expectation are perceived by women as both more severe and as occurring more often in their work (Vagg & Spielberger, 1998). Moreover, it appears that the nature of women‟s domestic roles and societal expectations have not changed much (Michael, 2009). In contrast, men have the privilege of focusing primarily on their personal development and considering other tasks as beyond their duty (Amstrong & Amstrong, 1990). Nevertheless some studies have reported few gender differences in occupational stress because the numbers of women in the research were relatively small (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005; Miller et al, 2000).

It is acknowledged that the relationship between occupational stress and gender is not clear (Michael et al, 2009) and results from the above studies have stated the need for further occupational stress research on gender. The continued influx of women into the work force, and higher education sector in particular, has created a need to understand occupational stress in terms of potential gender differences. While the high participation of employed women has increased dramatically in recent years, research on occupational stress have not typically included female samples or examined gender differences (Kahn & Byosiere, 1992). The role of gender in individuals‟ perceptions of occupational stress has been given very little attention in the occupational stress research (Iwasaki et al, 2004). Some studies have stated that women are more likely than men to see the family role as part of their social identity (Haar et al, 2005) because they are still expected to be responsive to childcare and housework and their success can be impeded by gendered practices in working settings and in academia specifically (Jacobs, 2004).

It is also found that there are wide gender differences in both perceptions and responses to occupational stress, however as Baruch et al (1987) and Greenglass (1995) argue,

research in this area has been limited by focusing more on males and by neglecting gender as a variable. Even though multiple-roles represent a source of occupational stress for both women and men, women spend more time on work and family activities than men (Hochschild, 1989) and work demands have effects regarding occupational stress within family, so the reverse is also true (Michael, 2009). Therefore, it is a drawback if occupational stress has been considered two separate fields of research, work stress and family stress (Gronlund, 2007), as even though women in different cultures say they are satisfied with their work, it is very difficult to balance work and family responsibilities given the demands of the career (Forster, 2001).

A large number of studies on occupational stress have primarily investigated white and professional men (Iwasaki, 2004); many gaps still exist in the literature on occupational stress and paid working women (Clark et al, 1996). Gendered differences exist in all social spheres, comprising of work and home family (Desmarais & Alksnis, 2005). One of the major causes of occupational stress in women has to do with having insufficient time to dedicate to both domains of work and home (Lu et al, 2005). Moreover, lack of support from colleagues also is a reason why many women delay having children, forgo becoming a mother and have fewer children than they expected (Armenti, 2004).

It is clear that in the occupational stress research very little attention has been given to gender in individuals‟ understanding and experiences of occupational stress (Iwasaki, 2004; Lazarus, 2000). Although recent studies of occupational stress have begun to determine causes of occupational stress for working women (Zhang, 2011; Michael, 2009; Devonport et al, 2008; Thanacoody et al, 2006), many gaps and biases still exist in the extant literature on occupational stress and gender in different cultures, so more research to explore relationships between occupational stress and gender is needed (Zhang, 2011; Iwasaki, 2004).

3.5 Occupational stress in higher education