Table 2. Prevalence, Frequency, and Severity of Sexist Microaggressions Among Female Physicians Using the Sexist MESS.
| Variable | Median (IQR)a | P valueb | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Hispanic | Asian | South Asian | Middle Eastern | Black | Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | Multiracial | Total | ||
| Survey subscale, No. (%) | 97 (37.5) | 18 (7) | 75 (29) | 17 (6.6) | 11 (4.2) | 19 (7.3) | 2 (0.8) | 20 (7.7) | 259 | NA |
| Leaving gender at the door | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 69 (71.1) | 15 (83.3) | 52 (69.3) | 13 (76.5) | 7 (63.6) | 12 (63.2) | 2 (100) | 18 (90) | 188 (72.6) | .47c |
| Frequency | 1.3 (0.8-1.8) | 1.8 (1.3-2.3) | 1.3 (1.0-2.0) | 1.8 (1.0-1.8) | 1.3 (0.5-2.0) | 1.3 (0.5-2.0) | 2.0 (1.5-2.5) | 1.7 (1.3-1.9) | 1.5 (1.0-2.0) | .16 |
| Severity | 1.3 (1.0-1.8) | 1.8 (1.3-2.3) | 1.5 (1.0-1.8) | 1.5 (0.8-1.8) | 1.5 (1.4-1.8) | 1.0 (0.5-1.8) | 1.3 (1.0-1.5) | 1.4 (1.2-1.8) | 1.3 (1.0-1.8) | .16 |
| Sexual objectification | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 44 (45.4) | 8 (44.4) | 24 (32) | 7 (41.2) | 4 (36.4) | 14 (73.7) | 2 (100) | 11 (55) | 114 (44) | .03 |
| Frequency | 0.9 (0.8-1.3) | 0.9 (0.6-1.5) | 0.8 (0.5-1.1) | 0.8 (0.8-1.0) | 0.7 (0.4-1.6) | 1.1 (1.0-1.4) | 1.4 (1.0-1.8) | 1.1 (0.9-1.4) | 0.9 (0.6-1.3) | .04 |
| Severity | 1.0 (0.5-1.4) | 1.2 (0.6-2.0) | 0.9 (0.5-1.5) | 1.1 (0.9-1.4) | 0.6 (0.3-2.0) | 0.9 (0.6-1.5) | 1.1 (0.4-1.8) | 1.2 (0.6-1.8) | 1.0 (0.5-1.5) | .75 |
| Environmental invalidations | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 88 (90.7) | 17 (94.4) | 55 (73.3) | 15 (88.2) | 9 (81.8) | 16 (84.2) | 2 (100) | 20 (100) | 222 (85.7) | .03c |
| Frequency | 1.5 (1.3-2.0) | 1.5 (1.0-2.0) | 1.3 (1.0-1.8) | 1.3 (1.0-1.5) | 1.5 (1.3-2.0) | 1.5 (1.3-2.0) | 1.5 (1.5-1.5) | 1.5 (1.3-1.8) | 1.5 (1.3-1.8) | .18 |
| Severity | 1.3 (1.0-1.8) | 1.8 (1.0-2.0) | 1.5 (1.0-1.8) | 1.3 (0.8-1.8) | 1.5 (1.0-1.5) | 1.0 (0.8-1.4) | 2.0 (2.0-2.0) | 1.4 (0.9-1.8) | 1.4 (1.0-1.8) | .39 |
| Invalidation of the reality of women | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 41 (42.3) | 9 (50) | 18 (24) | 6 (35.3) | 3 (27.3) | 4 (21.1) | 1 (50) | 4 (20) | 86 (33.2) | .10 |
| Frequency | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | 1.0 (0.5-1.3) | 0.7 (0.2-1.0) | 0.6 (0.5-1.2) | 0.7 (0.4-1.0) | 0.7 (0.3-0.9) | 0.8 (0.3-1.3) | 0.6 (0.4-0.9) | 0.7 (0.4-1.2) | .04 |
| Severity | 1.1 (0.7-1.7) | 1.5 (0.9-2.0) | 0.8 (0.4-1.7) | 1.2 (0.7-1.6) | 1.0 (0.7-1.2) | 0.9 (0.6-1.4) | 1.4 (1.4-1.4) | 1.0 (0.5-1.5) | 1.0 (0.5-1.6) | .53 |
| Traditional gender roles | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 46 (47.4) | 10 (55.6) | 36 (48) | 8 (47.1) | 4 (36.4) | 15 (78.9) | 1 (50) | 9 (45) | 129 (49.8) | .33 |
| Frequency | 0.8 (0.3-1.5) | 1.0 (0.7-1.5) | 1.0 (0.5-1.5) | 0.8 (0.3-1.8) | 0.7 (0.3-1.5) | 1.5 (1.3-1.8) | 1.3 (0.8-1.7) | 0.8 (0.4-1.5) | 1.0 (0.5-1.5) | .21 |
| Severity | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | 0.7 (0.5-1.5) | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | 1.0 (0.3-1.5) | 0.4 (0.3-1.5) | 1.0 (0.5-1.3) | 1.0 (0.2-1.7) | 1.0 (0.2-1.7) | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | .99 |
| Expectations of appearance | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 45 (46.4) | 6 (33.3) | 18 (24) | 7 (41.2) | 3 (27.3) | 6 (31.6) | 0 (0) | 6 (30) | 91 (35.1) | .12 |
| Frequency | 0.7 (0.3-1.3) | 0.7 (0.0-1.0) | 0.3 (0.0-1.0) | 0.7 (0.0-1.0) | 0.2 (0.0-1.0) | 0.7 (0.0-1.0) | 0.5 (0.3-0.7) | 0.7 (0.0-1.0) | 0.7 (0.0-1.0) | .28 |
| Severity | 1.3 (0.7-2.0) | 1.2 (0.9-1.7) | 1.0 (0.7-1.7) | 1.3 (1.2-1.9) | 2.0 (1.2-2.5) | 1.3 (0.3-2.0) | 0.5 (0.3-0.7) | 1.7 (1.3-2.0) | 1.3 (0.7-2.0) | .16 |
| Inferiority | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 53 (54.6) | 12 (66.7) | 28 (37.3) | 8 (47.1) | 5 (45.5) | 8 (42.1) | 2 (100) | 9 (45) | 125 (48.3) | .18 |
| Frequency | 1.1 (0.6-1.7) | 1.4 (0.9-1.7) | 0.8 (0.2-1.2) | 0.8 (0.4-1.2) | 0.9 (0.3-1.1) | 0.9 (0.6-1.2) | 1.1 (1.0-1.1) | 0.9 (0.7-1.2) | 1.0 (0.4-1.6) | .04 |
| Severity | 1.5 (0.8-2.0) | 1.8 (1.0-2.6) | 1.2 (0.6-1.9) | 1.3 (0.6-1.7) | 1.3 (1.0-1.7) | 1.2 (1.0-2.1) | 1.2 (0.6-1.8) | 1.4 (1.0-2.0) | 1.3 (0.8-2.0) | .29 |
| All 7 subscales | ||||||||||
| No. (%) | 49 (50.5) | 11 (61.1) | 27 (36) | 9 (52.9) | 5 (45.5) | 10 (52.6) | 1 (50) | 11 (55) | 123 (47.5) | .48 |
| Overall frequency | 1.0 (0.8-1.4) | 1.1 (0.9-1.4) | 0.8 (0.6-1.2) | 1.0 (0.6-1.2) | 0.9 (0.6-1.4) | 1.0 (0.8-1.5) | 1.2 (1.0-1.4) | 1.0 (0.8-1.2) | 1.0 (0.7-1.3) | .16 |
| Overall severity | 1.0 (0.6-1.4) | 1.1 (0.9-1.7) | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | 1.0 (0.6-1.3) | 1.0 (0.5-1.1) | 0.8 (0.5-1.5) | 0.9 (0.3-1.4) | 1.0 (0.8-1.3) | 1.0 (0.6-1.4) | .55 |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; NA, not applicable; Sexist MESS, Sexist Microaggression Experience and Stress Scale.
a
Median comparisons were determined by the Kruskal-Wallis test for more than 2 comparison groups. Medians are reported for 245 physicians (those with microaggression prevalence).
b
P value determined by the χ2 test unless otherwise indicated.
c
P value determined by the Monte Carlo estimates for exact test.