You’re Prettier When You Smile: Construction and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Microaggressions Against Women in the Workplace

Abstract

Gender microaggressions, especially its subtler forms microinsults and microinvalidations are by definition hard to discern. We aim to construct and validate a scale reflecting two facets of the microaggression taxonomy: microinsults and microinvalidations toward women in the workplace, the MIMI-16. Two studies were conducted (N1 = 500, N2 = 612). Using a genetic algorithm, a 16-item scale was developed and consequently validated via confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in three separate validation samples. Correlational analyses with organizational outcome measures were performed. The MIMI-16 exhibits good model fit in all validation samples (CFI = 0.936-0.960, TLI = 0.926-0.954, RMSEA = 0.046-0.062, SRMR = 0.042-0.049). Multigroup-CFA suggested strict measurement invariance between all validation samples. Correlations were as expected and indicate internal and external validity. Scholars on gender microaggressions have mostly used qualitative research. With the newly developed MIMI-16 we provide a reliable and valid quantitative instrument to measure gender microaggressions in the workplace.