Sexual Harassment

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Sexual Harassment
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Legal Definition

• Quid pro Quo
• Hostile Working Environment
• Sexual behavior at work can therefore remind men
  and women of their unequal status in society more
  broadly and reinforce their inequality at work
  (Cortina and Berdahl p3.)

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• Harasser can be of same sex
• Harasser can be employed for another business
• Victim does not have to be the one targeted.
• In 2000, there were 5332 sexual harassment
  charges filed with the EEOC..

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Social Psychological Definitions

• These definitions do not require that negative
  outcomes for victims..
• 1) sexist remarks/behavior
• 2) inappropriate sexual advances that do not
  result in work punishments
• 3). Quid pro quo (wanted or unwanted)
• 4) Sexual assault

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• Women are more likely to see behavior as sexually
  harassing.
• What does this mean to workplace behavior?

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• Men are less likely to be sexually harassed and
  more harassed for not adopting traditional
  conceptions of gender. For example, they may be
  teased for cooking at home.
• Women are also gender harassed

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Sexual Racism

• Combination of racist sexual harassment.
• This type of harassment is discussed, but hasnt
  been studied.

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Theorizing SH

• Nature
• Nurture
• Power
• Nurture and Power

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Who Harasses?

• 86-90 SH cases are filed by women.
• 93 of harassers are men.
• Race/Ethnicity has not been studied as much.
  Seems like women of color would more likely be
  targets..power.

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Outcomes to Harassment

• 1) Lowered productivity
• 2) Victims lose
• Mental health
• Money
• Job stability

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Reporting SH

• Very few victims report SH.
• Victims fear blame, disbelief, inaction and
  retaliation. 2/3 of women who DID report
  validate that these fears are true!!!!
• Most women do NOT confront the harasser.
• Most women look for support among informal
  networks.
• But most women avoid, deny and endure.

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Eliminating SH

• 1) Most organizations have SH policies. But top
  management must be willing to enforce policies.
  The more active organizations are at taking a
  firm stand against harassment, the less likely
  workers report harassment.
• Options for Organs Best to have wide range of
  choices
• Formal Grievance Procedure
• Informal Dispute Resolution

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• Training is the option most employers choose.
  However, research does not show that training
  reduces SH.
• Research shows that employing more women in high
  places and more women overall helps with
  preventing harassment.

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