HEALTH AND GENDER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MIDDLE AND SENIOR MANAGERS IN THE CANADIAN PUBLIC-SERVICE

Most studies of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) an d health have concentrated on disparities between the richest and poor est men; few studies have examined such relationships for women due to difficulties in measuring SES for women. For the present study, data collected from Canadian Public Service middle and senior managers prov ided an opportunity to examine associations between SES and health wit hin the upper end of the SES spectrum for both genders, since women ma nagers can be assumed to have a relatively high SES. Demographic, heal th and lifestyle characteristics are compared for middle and senior ma nagers for each gender separately to determine whether women experienc e the health benefits associated with higher SES that have been previo usly observed for men. The results support the hypothesis that achievi ng a higher SES through work is a more stressful process for women tha n for men and that women's upward mobility is restricted compared to t hat of men. Despite these findings, there is little evidence that wome n's health has Seen adversely affected. Compared to male managers, few er female managers smoke or drink and fewer have high body mass index, high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. Female managers are a lso more likely to report bring in good health. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd.