Gender and Public Organization: A Quasi-Experimental Examination of Inclusion on Experiencing and Reporting Wrongful Behavior in the Workplace

Abstract

Most public organizations share values and beliefs and socially constructed patterns of action that guide the behavior of their employees, resulting in their unique organizational culture. Existing literature on police organizations describes an unmistakable culture that celebrates masculine values and a social structure that exists purposely and specifically to repress female officers. Using a survey data set of 1,114 female federal law enforcement officers, this research employs coarsened exact matching to examine perceived inclusion and its effects on women experiencing disrespect by male colleagues and incidences of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. In addition, reporting behavior is captured for female officers who experience wrongful conduct. The study finds that women who report working in an inclusive organizational culture are less likely to experience pervasive negative attitudes from their male colleagues or occurrences of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. However, the existence of an inclusive organizational culture did not show a significant difference in reporting sexual harassment or sexual discrimination if women experienced such wrongful behavior.