Women who earn lesser than their male colleagues are more likely to develop depression, says study
Posted on: 08/Jan/2016 5:10:10 PM
A study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine has said that women who earn less than their male colleagues are more likely to suffer from depression. The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University.
Says one of the researchers, Our results show that some of the gender disparities in depression and anxiety may be due to the effects of structural gender inequality in the workforce and beyond. The social processes that sort women into certain jobs, compensate them less than equivalent male counterparts, and create gender disparities in domestic labour have material and psychosocial consequences.’
According to the results of their study, women who are paid lesser than their male counterparts are 2.5 times more likely to get depressed. However, in cases where the income was equal irrespective of gender, the odds of depression were the same. If women internalise these negative experiences as reflective of inferior merit, rather than the result of discrimination, they may be at increased risk for depression and anxiety disorders, say the authors of the study.
