Sexisme bienveillant en entreprise : perceptions, impacts sur les projections de carrière et stratégies d’adaptation

The workplace is not free from gender bias. In recent years, efforts to eradicate gender-based discriminatory behaviours at work have emerged (EIGE, 2021). However, a form of sexism still seems to be accepted because of its subjectively positive dimension: benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996). This qualitative study examines the perception of benevolent sexism among female civil engineers, its potential impact on their career projections, and the strategies used to cope with benevolent sexist micro-aggressions. Semi-directed interviews were conducted with seven female civil engineer participants. The interviews were then analysed according to the steps of the interpretative phenomenological analysis method (Smith, 1996), combining a vertical and a horizontal analysis. Our results show a low perception of benevolent sexism by the participants interviewed and a very limited effective impact on their career projections. Seven coping strategies emerged from the interviews: confronting, desensitizing, recontextualizing, seeking support, refocusing, taking collective action, and leaving the company. The results obtained in this research can be explained by a habituation to sexist behaviours during studies in a predominantly male field, the importance of the contextual elements, particularly the high rate of employability of these women, and the potential effectiveness of the coping strategies implemented. Two main purposes were identified in these coping strategies: acting directly on perpetrators in order to decrease discrimination frequency and intensity (resistance), and reducing the impact of sexist behaviours on the target without affecting perpetrators (resignation).