Think women and men are treated differently when it comes to taking a sick or personal day? You may be right. According to Eric Patton, assistant professor of management at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, studies have consistently found that women are absent from work more than men. But the underlying reasons and expectations have not been studied, and Patton believes that these underpinnings are of critical importance in understanding absenteeism and the “benevolent sexism” that might accompany people’s reactions to it.