MICROAGGRESSION IN THE WORKPLACE: THE HIDDEN PLAY OF GENDER STEREOTYPE

ABSTRACT The study tries to understand the interplay of Gender stereotype and Microaggression experienced at workplace and what are the coping strategies that are applied by those who experience this. The study also tries to answer certain questions pertaining to the impact of Gender stereotype on microaggression at workplace, How Employees Cope with or Respond to Gender-Based Microaggressions in Their Professional Environment, If Gender-Based Microaggressions Influence Employees' Decisions to Stay in or Leave Their Jobs, If gender based micro-aggression is gender specific? The research uses a phenomenological research design, where 14 participants (7 male, 7 female) between the age range of 25-40, were collected using snowball sampling technique. A set of semi-structured interview questions was formed and the selected participants were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and Thematic Analysis was used to Analyse the data. At the end of the analysis, 5 themes and their sub-themes were also attained, i.e- Perception of Gender Stereotype (Perception of competence; Expectations of Behaviour; Emotional Impact), Nature of microaggression (Subtlety of microaggression; Frequency of occurrence; Types of microaggression), Emotional and Professional Impact (Emotional toll of microaggressions; Impact on Job satisfaction; Coping Strategies), Coping Mechanisms and Response (Direct confrontation; Diplomatic approach; Seeking support and resources), Call for organizational change (Promoting open discussions; Creating a supportive environment).