An exploratory study of the relations between women miners' gender-based workplace issues and their mental health and job satisfaction

The current study investigated the extent to which gender-based workplace issues were associated with women miners' mental health and job satisfaction. Participants were 263 women miners from Australian and other international mines sites owned by an Australian-based mining company. They completed an online survey that contained measures of gender-based workplace issues, mental health, and job satisfaction. An exploratory factor analysis identified three higher-order factors: organizational sexism, interpersonal sexism, and sense of belonging. Both organizational and interpersonal sexism were positive independent predictors of mental health and job satisfaction. In addition, sense of belonging mediated the associations between organizational sexism and (a) mental health and (b) job satisfaction. Potential strategies for reducing organizational and interpersonal sexism and increasing women's sense of belonging are considered.