Main Content

(Gender) Diversity

Although major achievements have been made regarding the inclusion of women in the labour force, gender equality still has not been achieved in society. Women suffer from discrimination in the workplace, are target of maternity-related discrimination and segregated in the labour market by occupation and sector, being overrepresented amongst marginal part-time workers. They receive lower salaries than men, encounter difficulties to achieve a work-life balance, and present higher probabilities to be the targets of sexual harassment. Members of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community also suffer from heterosexist discrimination and harassment, which has a negative impact in their career development and well-being.

Our research adopts a feminist approach to organisational psychology and focuses on exploring the way tasks and responsibilities are assigned to women at work, as well as on determining the organisational factors that affect the occurrence of gender harassment in the workplace.

Selected publications

Wojtas, L. D., Kampa, J., & Otto, K. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of leaders’ emotional labor: The role of gender and authenticity. In C. L. Cooper, A.-S. Antoniou & Gatrell, C. (Eds.), Women, business and leadership: Gender in organizations (pp. 77-93). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Sobiraj, S., Schladitz, S., Küchler, R., & Otto, K. (2017). Die Bedeutung von Motiven der Studienfachwahl Psychologie für den Berufserfolg von Frauen und Männern [The impact of motives underlying the choice to study psychology for career success of women and men]. Journal Psychologie des Alltagshandelns / Psychology of Everyday Activity, 10, 41-54. Available from: http://www.allgemeine-psychologie.info/cms/jahrgaenge-a-hefte/2017-vol-10-no-2

García Johnson, C. P., & Otto, K. (2019). Better together: A model for women and LGBTQ equality in the workplace. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 272. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00272