Gender differences in office occupant perception of indoor environmental quality (IEQ)

Abstract

This paper investigates the gender differences in the occupants' perception on various aspects of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) by two lines of inquiry; Firstly, a comprehensive literature survey spanning the research areas of indoor air quality (IAQ), sick building syndrome (SBS), thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics was conducted. Secondly, statistical analyses were performed on a large, predominantly North American Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) database( N=38,257). Statistical analyses indicated that female occupants' satisfaction levels were consistently lower than male occupants for all fifteen IEQ factors (including thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, acoustics, office l..