Symbolic violence in the workplace is more common than thought

The company Bumeran and the organization Grow- género y trabajo conducted a survey regarding symbolic violence within the workplace, where 87% of the universe of people consulted participated, lives or lived some situation of symbolic violence in their work. When delving into the type of situations they experienced: 9 out of 10 said they had received inappropriate or offensive comments about their physical appearance and/or their body. The survey involved 1062 people of which 763 are from Argentina. However, 87% of the Argentines who participated in the survey expressed living or having experienced situations of symbolic violence in the workplace, two percentage points above the average of the region that stands at 85%. In this way, Argentina is the country where this problem is most experienced. If people who not only experienced symbolic violence in the first person but also heard associated situations, such as inappropriate comments or jokes, are taken into account, the percentage increases to 97% both in Argentina and in the region. Regarding the situations experienced, inappropriate or aggravating comments about physical appearance or body stand out with 95%. That is, 9 out of 10 Argentines received this type of comment. There are no substantial differences with the rest of the region.” Physical appearance is a big factor when receiving discriminatory comments and symbolic violence. If we think about it from a gender perspective, it is possible that this affects women to a greater extent, since the imperative of beauty and good looks falls mainly on them,” said Georgina Sticco, co-founder of Grow- gender and work. In addition, 86% of the people surveyed in Argentina, 8 out of 10, were subject to jokes or inappropriate comments associated with having or not having a partner or sexual relations. Another practice experienced by a large part of the participants, 86% or 8 out of 10, was to be assigned tasks or roles that are outside the responsibilities of their job based on their gender. 94% of the participants in the study from Argentina claim to have heard or witnessed a situation of symbolic violence at work. The regional average does not present significant differences. Among the situations witnessed, 79% of Argentines heard stereotypical comments, jokes, jokes, jokes and / or nicknames regarding gender identity. This number is two points above the regional number of 77%. In turn, 79% witnessed stereotyped comments, jokes, jokes, jokes and / or nicknames in relation to affective sex orientation; and another 79% inappropriate or offensive comments about physical appearance and/or body. In both cases the result in Argentina is higher than the average of the region, where it presents 76%. It is also noteworthy that 77% heard jokes or inappropriate comments for showing sensitivity or emotionality. This number is three points above the region’s overall figure of 74%. Cis men, those whose gender corresponds to that assigned to them at birth, were the most identified as those who exercised situations of violence. 67% of the Argentine participants indicated cis male bosses as the authors of these behaviors.
“The one that through stereotyped patterns, messages, values, icons or signs transmits and reproduces domination, inequality and discrimination in social relations, naturalizing the subordination of one person over another, mainly women and other vulnerable groups in society,” explains Sticco.

Original source in Spanish