Everyday sexism in nursing degrees: A cross-sectional, multicenter study

Abstract

Background: Gender stereotypes are reproduced in healthcare settings, leading to unequal relationships, discrimination, and sexism. University students express insecurity about their ability to identify and handle these situations. There are gaps in our knowledge about everyday sexism in academic and clinical nursing settings.

Aim: To describe how nursing students perceive sexist behavior in their daily life at university and during university teaching.

Design: Cross-sectional, multicenter study using an online questionnaire.

Setting: Eight universities that offer nursing degrees in Catalonia.

Participants: In total, 317 valid responses were collected. The inclusion criteria were to be a third- or fourth-year undergraduate or a first- or second-year postgraduate nursing student in Catalonia. There were no exclusion criteria. Snowball sampling.

Method: Online questionnaire designed ad hoc with sociodemographic variables, academic characteristics, and perception of sexism and discrimination in students' daily life collected between November 2020 and March 2021. The Microsexism Against Women Scale was used as a frame of reference to formulate questions on sexism and discrimination at the nursing school and during practicums. A descriptive, bivariate analysis of the data was performed.

Results: Students do not place importance on differences between genders in involvement, task distribution, and oral presentation of group work. In this setting, there seems to be no perception of situations of power or inequality. Female students reported a higher frequency of unwanted physical contact than male students; however, the percentage was similar for both in practicums. Everyday sexism and discrimination were perceived at the nursing school but not in practicums.

Conclusions: Everyday sexism is perceived in nursing degrees in the context of relationships within the school but not during classroom teaching or in care settings. Various mechanisms make it difficult for students to consciously detect such behaviors. Addressing sexism in nursing training is necessary to ensure a safe learning environment.

Keywords: Gender; Nurse; Nursing; Sexism; Spain; Students.