Development and Validation of the Masculinity Contest Culture Scale

We developed and validated a 20-item Masculinity Contest Culture (MCC) scale as a workplace culture assessment. Participants indicated agreement or disagreement with workplace norm statements beginning with a common stem (In my work environment...). Exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses yielded four MCC subfactors: Show No Weakness, Strength and Stamina, Put Work First, and Dog Eat Dog. CFA and reliability analyses supported a second-order factor (with four subfactors), consistent with an overarching (though multifaceted) masculinity contest construct. Across two studies in which individuals rated their work environments, the MCC correlated with: (a) negative organizational dynamics (e.g., poor culture and toxic leadership), (b) dominative coworker behaviors (e.g., bullying and harassment), (d) negative individual work attitudes (e.g., burnout, turnover intentions), and (e) poor personal well-being. Results were generally consistent across studies and participant sex, suggesting that masculinity contest norms harm organizations and the men and women within them.