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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Essay Example

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Introduction

Sexual harassment has been a hot topic for years. Corporations all over the world have been forced to deal with sexual harassment legal challenges. Crain & Heischmidt (1995) mention that after the case of Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court nominee, the number of women coming out to file a complaint about sexual harassment increased significantly. Indeed, in the next nine months, the number of cases increased by 150 percent (Crain & Heischmidt, 1995). Sexual harassment is defined by the Federal Register (1980) as any form of sexual advance, physical or verbal conduct of sexual nature. While sexual harassment is illegal in most countries, it also has ethical implications. Employers need to put effective measures in place that prevent sexual harassment from happening, and make reporting easy, anonymous, and safe. The below paper will focus on government and corporate guidelines for preventing and identifying sexual harrassment.

Sexual Harassment in Context

Significance of the Issue

According to Dromm (2012), “sexual harassment is a real issue with real consequences. What some people in the workplace think brings comfort, actually brings fear and problems with self-esteem” (Dromm, 2012). Sexual harassment in the workplace is a very critical issue and affects men and women alike.

A recent publication by Stop Violence Agaisnt Women (2010) states that “It is believed that at least one-third of women in the United States experience some form of sexual harassment”. This indicates that the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace is significantly greater than the number of reported cases would suggest.

Ramsarop & Parumasur (2007) stated that it is still not clear which behaviors and behavior patterns constitute towards sexual harassment. The existence of the gray area makes it harder for individuals to make a judgment, and prosecutors to rule in individual cases. The next section of the review will focus on the main problems that prevent the discovery and the reporting of sexual harassment cases worldwide.

Barriers of Reporting and Ethical/Legal Considerations

According to the Stop Violence Against Women (2007), in most cases sexual harassment is not reported for many reasons. First, women do not believe that authorities and supervisors within the company would take any steps. Secondly, many women are afraid of becoming stigmatized and being blamed for falling a victim of this act. Finally, in some cases, women simply do not want to hurt the person who harassed them. They might be good friends, and a corporate night out resulted in unwanted sexual advancements. In these cases, women believe that the prosecution of the person would be too great of a punishment.

It is also hard to provide a proof of injury at court, and in most cases it is one person’s word against the other person’s, as sexual harassment usually takes place without anyone witnessing it.

Preventive Actions

One of the actions that are taken to handle sexual harassment is that all sexual harassment problems is to create relevant company policies that focus on training related to ethics. Further, policies need to state that employees can report sexual harassment anonymously.

The culture of the organization should focus on openness information sharing. In an ethical company, unwanted sexual advancement should not be tolerated. It’s one thing to be on even ground with that person, as far as sexual advances or even making sexual jokes that they don’t mind. At the same time, when the person starts taking it personally then it should be reported because the person has to feel like what they say and feel matters. According to Sherwyn (2008), “Everyone entertains a different perception of sexual harassment in the workplace, but a coworker’s personal life combined with sexual teasing should never come into play because it can cause some real damage to them especially with people that they have to work around (Sherwyn, 55, 2008).

Recent Case Analysis

A recent sexual harassment case against Kroger (Arkansas Matters, 2015) shows that the company itself has certain responsibilities towards employees. Certain steps need to be taken after the issues are reported, or the preventive policies will not achieve their intended effect. A teenager employee was subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, and repeatedly reported the issue to her supervisor. According to the ruling in the case, Keoger “failed to take effective action to prevent such abuse of the employee by a male co-worker” (Arkansas Matters, 2015, para. 2). The company did not take any action against the harasser, and is now made to pay a settlement of $42.500. As Faye A. Williams, regional attorney of EEOC’s  confirmed: “Employees – especially very young and vulnerable employees such as in this case — should be able to report to work without fear of sexual harassment,” (Quoted in:  Arkansas Matters, 2015, para. 5).

Bosses and supervisors are usually required to take action, but sometimes they fail to fulfill their obligations to victims, like in the above case.  In light of this, special or mandatory training on sexual harassment is another course of action that people as well as CEOs are forced to take and participate in. During the training people, people, coworkers as well as supervisors are taught about the importance of sexual harassment preventions. Also, these same people are walked through several different training scenarios that show and illustrate what is appropriate behavior in the workplace along with what is intolerable or where the line needs to be drawn.

Reflection and Recommendations

According to Blackstone (2012), “Men and women are made victims of sexual harassment, harmless sexual teasing can open the doors to workplace violence unless measures are put in place to prevent this from happening” (Blackstone, 2012). Therefore, policies should not only focus on women, but the entire population.

It can be argued that women are usually the common victims of sexual harassment and are immediately expected to tell the supervisor, but men are just as susceptible to it as women are. Back in the mid to late 90s, sexual harassment wasn’t as prevalent and in need of methodical prevention like it is today but what is clear is that both genders of people experience it at one point in time.

There have been instances in the past where people who file sexual harassment complaints aren’t dealt with accordingly because of the lack of evidence or because it’s her word against his. In these cases,  employers need to determine who is lying and who’s telling the truth; it can become a battle of moral and workplace. Education related to sexual harassment, prevention, and making it easy to report cases seems to be the most effective solution for reducing the number of cases.

According to Carter (2006), “taking preventative steps to eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace is the key to happy and productive workers not to mention happy supervisors” (Carter, 2006). It can be said that sexual harassment in the workplace is an issue that should be handled with care, because it can impact a lot of people.

In closing, sexual harassment in the workplace has caused quite a lot of damage to the people working in the workplace because of the inaction on both parties’ side but taking the time to prevent it shows courage and adaptability to change; a person’s job is not a place for sexual advances or sexual harassment of any kind. It’s everyone’s responsibility to stop it at the source.

Arkansas Matters. (2015) Kroger to Pay Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Settlement. Arkansas Matters News online. Retrieved from http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-  news/kroger-to-pay-sexual-harrassment-lawsuit-settlement

Blackstone, A. (2012, May 1). Fighting Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from University of Maine http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/content/fighting-sexual-harassment-workplace

Carter, S. (2006). Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://www.roughnotes.com/rnmagazine/search/management/08_08P070.htm

Crain, K. A., & Heischmidt, K. A. (1995). Implementing business ethics: Sexual harassment. Journal of Business Ethics ,  14 (4), 299-308.

Dromm, K. (2012, May 31). Keith Dromm on Sexual Harassment . Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://sites.broadviewpress.com/keith-dromm-on-sexual-harassment/

Ramsaroop, A., & Parumasur, S. B. (2007). The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment in the workplace: A model for early identification and effective management thereof. SA  Journal of Industrial Psychology ,  33 (2), 25-33.

Sherwyn, D. (2008). Roundtable Retrospective 2007: Dealing with Sexual Harassment. The Scholarly Commons , 2, 55-55. http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=articles

Stop Violence Against Women. (2007) Barriers to Effective Enforcement of Sexual Harassment Law. Retrieved from http://www.stopvaw.org/barriers_to_effective_enforcement_of_sexual_harassment_law.html

Stop Violence Against Women. (2011) Prevalence of Sexual Harassmen t. Retrieved from http://www.stopvaw.org/prevalence_of_sexual_harassment

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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Consequences and Perceived Self-Efficacy in Women and Men Witnesses and Non-Witnesses

Daniela acquadro maran.

1 Department of Psychology, Università di Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy

Antonella Varetto

2 Clinical Psychology Unit, Città della Scienze e della Salute, Corso Bramante 88, 10126 Torino, Italy

Cristina Civilotti

Associated data.

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

Despite the numerous advances made in Italy over the years in the study of sexual harassment in the workplace (SHW), research has focused exclusively on victims, perpetrators, and their relationships, and not on the consequences that the experience of sexual harassment can produce in witnesses. The present study aims to address this gap by examining how the indirect experience of SHW, in conjunction with variables such as gender, age, self-efficacy, and coping strategies, affects the mental health status of witnesses of SHW. A sample of 724 employees completed a questionnaire that included a modified version of the Sexual Experience Questionnaire (SEQ), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE). Of the group, 321 participants reported witnessing sexual harassment in the workplace (28.2% of women and 16.2% of men). Results show that witnesses were younger than participants who described themselves as non-witnesses. Results also show that women and men who were witnesses were more likely to suffer the emotional and psychological consequences of the experience than non-witnesses. In addition, female witnesses expressed more positive emotions than men, which enabled them to manage their anxiety and emotional states when triggered in response to sexual harassment in the workplace. Finally, a significant association was found between perceptions of mental health and age, gender, experience with SHW, and self-efficacy strategies. The findings underscore the importance of sexual harassment intervention in the workplace, women and men who witness sexual harassment suffer vicarious experiences, psychological impact, exhaustion, disengagement, and negative feelings.

1. Introduction

Sexual harassment in the workplace (hereafter SHW) has been officially recognized since the 1970s as a form of violence to be prevented, and several studies have been conducted on it since then (see, e.g., [ 1 , 2 ]). Fitzgerald et al. [ 3 ] define this phenomenon as unsolicited and unwanted sexual behavior that is perceived by the victim as humiliating, offensive, and disabling in terms of their own safety and psychophysical well-being. The International Labor Organization (ILO) describes SHW as a series of repeated, unsolicited, non-reciprocal, and fully imposed harassments by the perpetrator that can have serious undesirable effects on the person [ 4 ]. SHW may include acts such as groping, intrusive looks, comments, and/or jokes about the victim’s body/clothing/uterus, use of sexually explicit language or innuendo about the victim’s private life, comments about sexual orientation, or even sexual/erotic contact and viewing of pornographic audio/video material. Chappell and Di Martino [ 5 ] provide the same definition in their study and also point out that perpetrators often hold more prestigious positions or have more power in the workplace than victims. For this reason, victims may be afraid to fight back or file formal complaints.

Direct experiences of SHW can be very disabling for both the individual and the organization. Research has shown that bullying can threaten physical, psychological, and occupational well-being [ 6 ]. In a summary of studies conducted by the European Commission in Northern European countries, it was found that in 7 of the 75 studies reviewed, more than half of the respondents suffered from negative consequences on general health and well-being [ 7 ]. The effects reported by victims included psychosomatic symptoms such as muscle pain and problems of a physical and psychological nature. The most recurrent emotions are anxiety, anger, stress, humiliation, loss of confidence, personal and professional dissatisfaction, and, above all, a deterioration in interpersonal relationships, especially with colleagues. As far as physical symptoms are concerned, those affected mainly report gastrointestinal problems, headaches, insomnia, nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss [ 8 ]. As for mental health, the most serious problems are depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder [ 9 ]. The suffering of people in relation to work also leads to deterioration from an organizational point of view. Phenomena such as absenteeism, turnover intentions, and job dissatisfaction can affect organizational performance [ 10 ]. Individuals also often experience deterioration in their work performance [ 11 ]. Organizational culture also suffers, SHW creates a stressful environment in which victims experience important effects such as loss of trust, confidence, and sense of justice toward the organization and its leadership, a reality in which workers ultimately conclude that they count for nothing to the organization [ 12 ].

1.1. Consequences of SHW in Witnesses

SHW has been discussed for decades in the scientific literature and in sociopolitical organizations, and there are numerous studies addressing this aspect to guide experimental research, dissemination, and prevention campaigns in the face of increasing and broader awareness by organizations and stakeholders. Unfortunately, the impact of SHW affects not only the direct victims, but also the witnesses of SHW who live in a climate characterized by these dysfunctional behaviors. As early as the late 1990s, Fitzgerald and her colleagues analyzed the potential consequences of SHW, emphasizing that perceptions of such phenomena can lead to deterioration in the physical health of both direct and indirect victims [ 2 , 13 , 14 ]. These studies suggest that perceptions of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and other forms of organizational mistreatment can affect women’s and men’s well-being, even if they are not directly affected by SHW.

Some gender differences have been identified in research. Kobrynowicz and Brans-combe [ 15 ] indicated that men’s perceptions of SHW are associated with high levels of assertiveness and low self-esteem. Richman et al. [ 16 ] found that men’s and women’s perceptions of SHW resulted in diametrically opposite psychological states. In men, SHW was associated with worsening mental health. Schmitt et al. [ 17 ] examined the possible consequences of this perception and found that it was both physically and psychologically harmful for women, whereas it had no significant effects for men. One possible explanation suggested by the authors is that women are more likely to be victims of SHW than in other areas. This would lead to more attention being paid to this phenomenon. The study by Harnois and Bastos [ 18 ] investigated the phenomenon of SHW and its consequences in men and women. The results showed that the perception of SHW in women was associated with negative effects on the psycho-physical health of the participants. This supports the concept that the perception of SHW can be theorized as a social stressor [ 19 ]. Perceptions of the presence of SHW were positively associated with negative effects on physical and emotional well-being in both genders. In line with Siuta and Bergman [ 20 ] and Hansen, Garde, and Persson [ 21 ], it seems appropriate to refer to experiences of sexual harassment as stressors, also in light of the definition of Kahn and Byosiere [ 22 ], who define work stressors as stimuli generated at work that have negative physical or psychological consequences for a significant proportion of individuals exposed to them [ 23 ]. These stimuli may characterize a work environment that can be understood as discretionary, in which the stimuli are transmitted differently from individual to individual, or they may permeate the entire work group and thus be potentially available to all members of the group. According to the authors, this also applies to the phenomenon of SHW, which can act either directly at the individual level on the victim—as a discretionary stimulus—or indirectly at the group level on the members—as an environmental stimulus—which would have similar negative effects. Also, in the study presented by Bowling and Beehr [ 24 ], workplace bullying is clearly negatively associated with victim well-being, supporting the hypothesis that bullying is a workplace stressor that has effects similar to other workplace stressors such as SHW. Takaki, Taniguchi, and Hirokawa [ 25 ] examined the association between SHW and physical consequences, many of which were found to be significant. The authors analyzed data from questionnaires sent to employees (N = 1642) of 35 health care facilities in Japan. The results suggest that stress responses due to SHW could affect health through direct biological effects, prolonged physiological activation, and lack of repair or by affecting lifestyle and health-related behaviors. As suggested by Mathews et al. [ 26 ], exposure to these types of stressors could lead to burnout. In their study, 38% of 129 participants reported experiencing at least one SHW episode in their careers.

1.2. SHW and Perceived Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is a construct introduced by Bandura [ 27 ] that represents one of the core mechanisms of personal agency. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief that he or she is capable of organizing and performing the actions necessary to cope with future situations. It is an expression of a person’s self-regulatory abilities and influences the way he or she regulates his or her behavior, thoughts, and affect, as well as the decisions he or she makes and the efforts and persistence he or she undertakes [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. According to Bandura, people can successfully achieve their goals in difficult situations if they believe they can perform the required actions [ 29 ]. Overall, self-efficacy has been shown to protect against negative psychological factors such as stress and burnout [ 31 ]. In general, higher levels of self-efficacy have been shown to positively impact various workplace outcomes by influencing the way individuals interpret their environment. Self-efficacy has been associated with more effective coping with workplace stressors, leading to greater job satisfaction and lower intention to quit [ 32 ]. According to Bandura [ 29 ], individuals with high self-efficacy are more able to cope with workplace stressors and therefore less likely to avoid frustrating situations by quitting. Self-efficacy appears to have five main effects on behavior. It influences the choices an individual makes based on belief in success or failure; it mobilizes the individual to try harder to succeed; it provides perseverance in the face of obstacles and negative outcomes; it facilitates thought patterns that tell the individual he or she can accomplish the task; and it reduces stress and depression associated with fear of future failure [ 33 ]. Self-efficacy appears to play a central role in SHW; research has found that witnesses with high levels of self-efficacy were more likely to actively help or defend their peers, whereas witnesses with lower levels of self-efficacy were more likely to be passive [ 34 , 35 ]. In the study by Hellemans et al. [ 36 ], witnesses with low self-efficacy had a greater fear of intervening. This finding is important because it shows the influence of a witness’s personal resources on his or her (non)intervention in the context of SHW.

1.3. Current Study

In Italy, the National Institute of Statistics [ 37 ] estimates that 8,816,000 women (43.6% of the population) between the ages of 14 and 65 have been sexually harassed in some way during their lifetime, and that 3,118,000 women (15.4%) have been victims of sexual harassment in the last three years. Looking only at the types of sexual harassment also found in the 2008–2009 survey, the estimate of women sexually harassed in the three years prior to the survey increased from 3,778,000 (18.7%) in 2008–2009 to 2,578,000 (12.8%) in 2015–2016. For the first time, sexual harassment was also found among men; an estimated 3,754,000 men were harassed in their lifetime (18.8%), 1,274,000 in the last three years (6.4%). The severity of the harassment suffered varies greatly by gender, with 76.4% of women considering it very or fairly bad, compared to 47.2% of men. In addition, an estimated 1,404,000 (8.9%) women were victims of SHW; 425,000 (2.7%) in the last three years. The vast majority of victims (69.6%) consider the incident to be very or fairly serious. However, in 80.9% of cases, victims did not talk about it with anyone at work. Failure to report victimization experiences to colleagues and supervisors is due to the fear of being perceived as incompetent, inefficient, or inadequately prepared to deal with behaviors that may be considered part of the work environment [ 38 ].

In this context, it is important to note that, in 2021, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), an autonomous agency at the European level, published a gender equality index for the 28 countries of the European Union, based on six areas (work, money, knowledge, time, power, and health). The report shows that Italy has improved significantly in terms of gender equality, but is still below the European average [ 39 ]. Apart from this consideration, and despite the numerous advances made in Italy over the years in the study of the phenomenon of sexual harassment, to our knowledge, research has mainly focused on the victims, the perpetrators, and their relationships (e.g., [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]), and not on the consequences that the experience of sexual harassment can cause in the witnesses. The present study aims to fill this gap in the Italian scientific landscape. The aim of this study was to analyze the consequences of SHW episodes in self-defined witnesses and the perceived self-efficacy that could influence the intention to intervene [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. To better understand the experience of being a witness and the role of gender, a comparison was made between male and female witnesses and non-witnesses.

The literature suggests that the consequences are the result of a specific stressor. Therefore, perceived mental health, life satisfaction, and burnout were analyzed, as has been done in other studies around the world with primary victims of SHW (e.g., [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]). In addition, to assess attitudes toward the intervention, self-efficacy was assessed in terms of the ability to express negative and positive feelings related to SHW episodes. In this context, behaviors characteristic of the experience of SHW were assessed to measure consequences and attitudes toward the intervention.

The overall goal of the study was to examine how the experience of SHW, in conjunction with variables such as gender, age, and coping strategies, affects witnesses’ mental health. To better describe the phenomenon, the following hypotheses were also formulated based on the literature review described below, such as gender differences.

• (1) Women who witnessed SHW were more likely to suffer the emotional and psychological consequences of the experience than men and female non-witnesses.
• (2) Women who witnessed SHW had more difficulty managing their stress than men and female non-witnesses.
• (3) Women who witnessed SHW were more inclined to express negative emotions and less inclined to express positive emotions than men and female non-witnesses.

2. Materials and Methods

Participants were asked to anonymously complete a self-administered questionnaire. The first part described the purpose of the questionnaire and included instructions for answering it (including the contact details of the authors of this paper for any doubts or problems), as well as the informed consent form and the declaration of anonymity and privacy. In addition, following the study of Fitzgerald et al. [ 46 ], the following description of SHW was given, “Sexual harassment was defined as any unwelcome sexual conduct or other form of discrimination based on sex that violates the dignity of men and women in the learning and working environment, including physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct. Examples of sexual harassment include (a) implicit or explicit solicitation of offensive or unwanted sexual services; (b) display of pornographic material in the workplace, including in electronic form; (c) use of sexist criteria in any type of interpersonal relationship; (d) implicit or explicit promises of facilities and privileges or professional advancement in return for sexual services; (e) threats or retaliation for refusing sexual services; (f) unwanted and inappropriate physical contact; (g) verbal comments about the body or comments about sexuality or sexual orientation that are perceived as offensive”. The second part of the questionnaire included a request to indicate whether participants had ever witnessed SHW (response = yes/no). The third part of the questionnaire included scales on emotional and psychological consequences, perception of the phenomenon, and coping with the suffering. The last part of the questionnaire included sociodemographic data (e.g., gender, age).

To assess the experiences of witnesses of SHW, the Sexual Experience Questionnaire was used (SEQ, [ 3 ]). SEQ is the most widely used and validated measure of sexual harassment [ 47 , 48 ] and asks participants to indicate, on a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (often), how often they have been the target of sexually harassing behavior within the past year. Examples used in this survey include “During the past 12 months, have you been in a situation where any of your supervisors or coworkers … Made sexist remarks to you”. Higher scores indicate more SH victimization. For the purposes of this study, the third-person questions were reformulated in third person: “During the past 12 months, have you been in a situation where any of your supervisors or co-workers … Made sexist remarks to your colleague or other employee or client…”. This scale was only considered for participants who answered “yes” to the question of whether they witnessed SHW. In this study, items from SEQ were aggregated (see [ 23 , 48 ]) (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.94).

The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI; [ 49 ]) is an instrument for assessing burnout and work engagement. It contains both positively (e.g., “I find my work a positive challenge” or “After work, I have enough energy for my leisure activities”) and negatively (e.g., “During my work, I often feel emotionally drained” or “Over time, one can become disconnected from this type of work”) worded items. This allows the two main dimensions of burnout to be measured; exhaustion, as the result of excessive physical, emotional, and cognitive effort associated with the long-term consequences of the particular demands of a given job, and disengagement (from work, understood as turning away from it in general, from the object of the work, and from its content). These aspects concern the relationship between workers and their work, especially identification with the job and willingness to stay in the same job. The instrument consists of 16 items with a Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85).

The General Health Questionnaire, 12-item version (GHQ-12; [ 50 ]; Italian version by Picardi et al. [ 51 ]), as described by Shevlin and Adamson [ 52 ], belongs to a family of questionnaires for respondents’ self-assessment of psychiatric disorders in community and clinical contexts, as well as for the assessment of disorders of normal functioning and the presence of stress symptoms. The original version consists of 60 items, whereas the version presented in the present study is a follow-up version consisting of exactly 12 items. The items are asked in the form of questions (e.g., “In the past two weeks, have you felt able to concentrate on what you are doing?”) and include a response scale with three response options (from as usual to much less than usual) (Cronbach alpha = 0.81).

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; [ 53 ]) was used to assess satisfaction with one’s life in general in relation to a general cognitive process. The instrument consists of five statements about specific general aspects of life (e.g., “The conditions of my life are excellent”), which were rated on a Likert scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87).

The Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE; [ 54 ]) is an instrument designed to assess perceived self-efficacy in coping with negative affect and expressing positive affect. The theoretical basis of this instrument lies in the concept that self-efficacy beliefs are dynamic rather than static factors that can be enhanced by coping experiences as a result of the individual’s ability to self-reflect and learn from experiences [ 29 ]. In terms of self-efficacy in dealing with positive and negative emotions, the authors refer to the belief that one is able to cope with stress and emotional states (e.g., joy, anger) when they are triggered in response to adverse events. This self-assessment scale includes 12 items (e.g., “Express joy when something good things happen to you?” or “Avoid getting upset when others give you a hard time?”), which are assessed in two subscales: POS (4 items) and NEG (8 items). The NEG subscale also consists of the anger–irritation (ANG 4, items) and dejection–stress (DES, 4 items) subscales (Cronbach alpha = 0.86).

For the scales for which no Italian version was available, they were translated from British English and then back-translated [ 55 ]. The translation was done by the authors and two research assistants to agree on a final version.

2.1. Procedure

The research project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Turin (Prot. N. 456048/2018). The organizations were contacted with a request for a questionnaire about SHW. The criterion for inclusion was that they were public and private labor organizations in Northern Italy. The exclusion criterion was whether they were voluntary associations or non-profit foundations. A letter of invitation was sent to the heads of the organizations with which we were in contact based on previous work. We asked them to provide us names of people they had already been in contact with. A month after the contacts began, we sent out about thirty letters of invitation. Seven organizations responded positively to the invitation. The other organizations declined or did not respond for various reasons (e.g., lack of time for the project or organizational changes). The organizations that expressed interest received a detailed explanation of the research project. Along with the questionnaires, several ballot boxes were delivered to all sites where employees could have kept their completed questionnaires—given the heterogeneous distribution of employees, the ballot boxes were placed primarily at the organizations’ headquarters, two for each floor and a single ballot box for the other sites. The employees were informed about the research topic, the modalities of voluntary and anonymous participation, and the corresponding deadlines for placing the questionnaires in the corresponding ballot boxes. All participants were informed that their participation was voluntary, that they could leave the interview at any time, and that their responses would remain anonymous. In addition, participants were informed that they could avoid answering if the question worried them, and that if they had negative feelings, they could contact free services offering psychological support. The study was conducted in accordance with Italian privacy regulations. Two weeks were initially allocated for the completion of the questionnaires, which were then extended by a further ten days until the final collection of the questionnaires (information about the schedule and the research topic was also clearly highlighted on the ballots themselves to avoid any ambiguity).

2.2. Participants

The questionnaire was distributed in seven different organizations, five of which were private (four companies involved in the production and/or management of goods and services for users and one from the social care sector) and two public (one from the administrative sector and the second from the public health sector). It should be noted that some of the participating organizations were easily identified by the participants of the research due to the number of employees and the type of activity. Therefore, to ensure the anonymity of the participants and the participating organizations, the activities of the organizations were categorized as public/private without providing further information. The estimated total number of potential participants in the study is approximately 1500 individuals, of which 733 employees completed the questionnaires and 724 were considered valid (nine participants did not answer the gender question).

The majority of participants worked in a company with more than 200 employees (37.4%), 21.7% had between 16 and 50 employees, 20.2% between 1 and 15, 12.6% between 51 and 100, and 6.4% in a company with 101 to 200 employees. The majority of participants were employed in a private organization (58.2%), with the remainder employed in a public organization. Overall, 58.4% of the sample were women, 59.1% were single, 36.3% were married, and 4.3% were separated/divorced. Two participants were widowed. Participants were on average 38.75 years old (range 19–65, SD = 13.13). They had work experience ranging from a few months to 44 years (M = 17.41, SD = 12.83), 58.1% had a permanent employment contract, and 44.7% had a college degree.

2.3. Statistical Analysis

The data were processed with SPSS version 28 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). To assess the significance of differences between witnesses and non-witnesses, χ 2 tests were used. The Cramer’s V value was calculated to estimate the effect size. As a post hoc test, standardized Pearson residuals (SPRs) were calculated for each cell to determine which cell differences contributed to the results of the χ 2 test. SPRs whose absolute values were greater than 1.96 indicated that the number of cases in that cell was significantly greater than expected (in terms of over-representation) if the null hypothesis was true, with a significance level of 0.05 [ 56 ]. The data were also analyzed using t-test to examine the experience of SHW in witnesses. ANOVA to measure differences between women and men witnesses and non-witnesses. Eta squared was calculated to estimate the effect size. Differences were considered statistically significant when p < 0.05. Finally, a multiple regression analysis was used to understand whether perceived mental health can be predicted based on gender, age, SHW, and self-efficacy.

A total of 321 participants reported being witnesses to SHW (28.2% women and 16.2% men). Among non-witnesses, 30.2% were women and 25.4% were men (see Table 1 ). On average, female witnesses to SHW were 37.17 years old (range 19–65, SD = 13.21), male witnesses were 36.78 years old (range 20–62, SD = 11.70), while women non-witnesses of SHW were 41.42 years old (range 19–65, SD = 13.34) and men non-witnesses were 38.57 years old (range 21–65, SD = 13.22) (F = 6.87, p = 0.002, η2 = 0.092). Regarding years of work experience, female witnesses of SHW had 16.90 years of work experience (range 1–40, SD = 12.63), male witnesses had 17.10 years (range 1–43, SD = 12.39), while female non-witnesses of SHW were 19.14 years old (range 0–41, SD = 12.54) and male non-witnesses were 16.07 years old (range 0–44, SD = 13.50) (F = 1.21, p = 0.170, η2 = 0.089). Regarding SHW experience, women reported more dysfunctional behaviors than men (M = 26.33, SD = 9.47 and M = 24.47, SD = 11.00, respectively; t = 2.27, p = 0.024, Cohen’s d = 0.176).

Characteristic of the participants (N = 724). Values expressed in column percentage.

Note. χ 2 = Chi-square value; p = p value; V = Cramer’s V value; * = Cells with overrepresentation of subjects.

As shown in Table 1 , single men and married/cohabiting woman are the two categories that report significantly fewer SHW experiences. Women working in the public sector and in organizations with 51 to 100 and 101 to 200 employees, respectively, are more likely to witness SHW, while men in the public sector and in organizations with more than 200 employees report more dysfunctional behaviors.

In Table 2 , there is the distribution of response in women and men witnesses and non-witnesses of SHW. Findings indicated that men witnesses were more prone than others to express disengagement, negative feelings such as anger, and dejection–stress. Women witnesses were more prone than others to express positive feelings.

Perceived mental health, life satisfaction, burnout, and self-efficacy; comparison between witnesses and non-witnesses of SHW (one-way ANOVA) (N = 724).

Note. F = Fischer’s value; p = p value; η2 = Eta squared.

Correlation analysis showed that when participants (women and men) witnessed SHW, life satisfaction decreased (r = −0.12, p = 0.029). Finally, multiple regression was performed to predict perceived mental health based on gender, age, SHW, and self-efficacy. Linearity was assessed using partial regression plots and a plot of student residuals against predicted values. Independence of the residuals was assessed with a Durbin–Watson value of 1.922. Homoscedasticity was assessed by visual inspection of a plot of student-specific residuals against the non-standardized predicted values, and there was no evidence of multilinearity assessed by tolerance values greater than 0.1. The normality assumption was met, as determined from a Q–Q plot. The multiple regression model statistically significantly predicted perceived mental health, F(6, 690) = 5.266, p < 0.001, adj. R 2 = 0.13, albeit with a modest effect size. All six variables contributed statistically significantly to prediction, p < 0.05. Regression coefficients and standard errors are found in Table 3 .

Multiple regression results for perceived mental health.

Note. Model = “Enter” method in SPSS statistics; B = unstandardized regression coefficient; CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit; SE B = standard error of the coefficient; β = standardized coefficients; R 2 = coefficient of determination; Δ R 2 = adjusted R 2 . ** p < 0.01. The gender variable is calculated as female vs. male.

4. Discussion

Overall, the results of this study show that perceptions of mental health were significantly predicted by the variables of age, sex, exposure to SHW, and self-efficacy strategies. The effect size was modest because some of the complexity of the phenomenon-which includes psychological, group, organizational, and social aspects was likely not fully accounted for in the modeling. Nonetheless, this is a very important finding because it shows how the phenomenon of SHW affects not only the direct victim but also those who experience it indirectly. This finding is consistent with previous recent studies that, albeit using different methodologies, show that SHW is one of the risk factors at all levels of investigation, from the psychological impact on the individual to the consequences for organizational climate and the welfare parameters of society as a whole [ 57 , 58 , 59 ].

Witnesses to SHW were younger than participants who identified as non-witnesses. While Powell [ 60 ] found that age did not affect how women perceived sexual harassment, Reilly, Lott, and Gallogly [ 61 ] found that younger individuals were more likely to tolerate sexual harassment than older individuals. Ford and Donis [ 62 ] found that younger women were least likely to tolerate sexual harassment, while younger men were most likely to tolerate sexual harassment. The authors found that tolerance of sexual harassment increases with age in women up to age 50, but decreases thereafter. For men, however, they found the opposite age effect, i.e., tolerance of sexual harassment decreased up to age 50, but acceptance increased thereafter. Foulis and McCabe [ 63 ] also found that age did not correlate with Australian workers’ perceptions of sexual harassment. In our study, the results confirmed Padavic and Orcutt’s [ 64 ] study that younger workers take the phenomenon of sexual harassment more seriously than older workers (see also [ 65 ]).

Our results also confirm the Hypothesis 1: women and men who witnessed sexual harassment were more likely to suffer the emotional and psychological consequences of the experience than non-witnesses, confirming the Hypothesis 1 of this study. However, male witnesses suffered more than women by distancing themselves and expressing negative emotions such as anger and dejection–stress. These results did not confirm Hypothesis 2 (which stated that women who witnessed SHW had more difficulty managing their stress than men and female non-witnesses) and are consistent with Richman–Hirsch and Glomb [ 66 ]. Nevertheless, this result is very interesting. Traditionally, studies have focused on female victims of SHW, sociodemographic characteristics, organizational and male-dominance culture, consequences, etc. [ 5 ] Fewer studies have been conducted with men, focusing on analysis of their experiences and consequences as witnesses of SHW. The results of the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey, based on 30,000 face-to-face interviews with workers in 31 European countries, show that 2% of all workers are exposed to sexual harassment at work [ 67 ]. This means that colleagues, supervisors, and others have contributed to the misconduct. According to Hansen, Garde, and Persson [ 21 ], while SH can be understood as a unique discretionary stimulus when experienced directly by a target, it can also manifest as an environmental stimulus that permeates the work context and becomes something that everyone is exposed to in their environment. As mentioned earlier, SHW can lead to a generally stressful work environment that affects employees other than those directly affected by the misconduct [ 23 ]. Raver and Gelfand [ 68 ] also showed that the effects of SHW extend to group-level outcomes by demonstrating the detrimental effects on team conflict and cohesion. In addition, Berdahl, Magley, and Waldo [ 69 ] found that while both genders believe that sexual coercion, unwanted sexual attention, and lewd comments are a form of SHW, men also clearly indicate that punishment for deviating from the masculine gender role (i.e., being harassed as “not masculine enough” [ 70 ]) is sexually harassing [ 38 ]. Studies show that the men most at risk are those who do not appear sufficiently masculine [ 14 ]. Thus, even when men feel anger when they perceive that a member of their own group (and thus potentially themselves) is being harassed, they do not intervene (e.g., [ 6 ]). This non-intervention seems to be related to the need to maintain a sense of identification with the gender group; the cost to self might be perceived as a risk [ 71 ]. Otherwise, the result could be a sense of powerlessness, driven by the need to intervene to protect the members of the group and their identification with the group. Over time, these feelings can cause suffering, with consequences such as psychological discomfort, exhaustion, and burnout [ 72 ].

In addition, women who witnessed SHW expressed more positive emotions than men, which enabled them to manage their anxiety and emotional states when triggered in response to SHW events. Thus, Hypothesis 3, which stated that women who witnessed SHW were more inclined to express negative emotions and less inclined to express positive emotions than men and female non-witnesses, could not be confirmed. This result may be related to the findings of the study by Veletsianos et al. [ 73 ]. The authors found that women use different coping strategies to deal with harassment. One of these is resistance, a term we have used to describe women’s refusal to accept harassment or to remain silent or passive. Resistance is a reactive coping strategy, and strategies in this domain included persistent attempts to talk, persistence in general, asserting one’s voice and authority, turning to the community, and using self-protective measures. As Hashmi et al. [ 74 ] point out, thanks to the #MeToo campaign, SHW problems and their coping strategies are increasingly seen as structural problems and not just individual-level problems. The witnesses in our study may have been exposed to the “New Deal” for SHW, which influenced how they dealt with the phenomenon [ 75 ]. In 2016, prior to the #MeToo momentum, Johnson et al. [ 76 ] surveyed 250 professional women in the US about the prevalence of SHW and the impact on their work; they also interviewed 31 women in the US about their individual experiences. After #MeToo, they conducted a second survey of 263 women in September 2018 and reconnected with some of the previously surveyed women to find out if they had noticed any changes or changed their views. The results show the benefits of #MeToo in reducing sexual harassment over two years; women said the movement helped them realize they were not alone in their experiences.

4.1. Implications and Application Scenarios of the Study

The results of this study demonstrate the importance of intervening in SHW episodes. Women and men who witness suffer from their vicarious experiences, negative mental health, exhaustion, alienation, and negative feelings. Preventive measures and interventions are needed in the organization. Changing the organizational climate and context that fosters SHW is critical to reducing the phenomenon. Establishing clear zero-tolerance policies and procedures is part of changing the normative environment that fosters SHW. Organizations that proactively develop, disseminate, and enforce policies and procedures on violence against women have the lowest incident rates [ 77 ]. In addition, programs that promote witness intervention are important for reducing SHW [ 78 ]. Witnesses can potentially confront and stop harassers, report incidents, and support victims [ 79 , 80 ]. Many victims respond passively because they perceive the risk of reporting the incident to be too high; they may rely on others to act on their behalf [ 81 ]. By communicating norms that address harassment, witnesses could play a role in changing the group, organizational, and cultural context that supports SHW [ 82 ]. Identifying PWD is not enough to motivate intervention; witnesses must take responsibility for their actions [ 79 ]. However, multiple witnesses may lead witnesses to assume that their help is not needed and make them feel less responsible (diffusion of responsibility [ 83 ]). Witnesses may also attribute responsibility for their intervention to the victim’s colleagues or other members of the group [ 84 ]. It might be useful to promote values characteristic of both genders to activate responsibility for intervening. For men, this responsibility could be consistent with masculine roles such as honor and protection [ 85 ]. For women, it might be consistent with self-protection and resistance as individual and collective strategies for coping with an environment that might tolerate SHW. Companies could help witnesses stop workplace misconduct. For example, training could be provided to address lack of confidence in one’s own abilities by focusing on specific behaviors that witnesses can use to effectively intervene. Bowes-Sperry and O’Leary-Kelley [ 79 ] offered a typology of behaviors that might be useful for such training. The typology classifies possible witness actions along two dimensions, immediacy (immediate action vs. subsequent action) and involvement (direct involvement vs. indirect involvement). For example, episodes with high immediacy and involvement require the witness to take an active and recognizable action, such as asking the harasser to stop. In contrast, behaviors with low immediacy and involvement occur when bystanders later support the victim, for example, by privately encouraging the victim to report the incident. Training could take into account the phenomenon of audience inhibition, which is the concern witnesses have about what others will think of them if they act [ 83 ]. Male witnesses, for example, might believe that their intervention (to protect the victim or prevent the perpetrator) will result in a loss of social status if norms of loyalty to members of their own group stand in the way of intervention. Increasing empathy and the importance of personal norms that support intervention may override perceived social norms that contribute to audience inhibition. When an intervention requires that an aggressive member of one’s group be stopped, witnesses may be persuaded to intervene by portraying the actions of aggressors in one’s group as violating group norms and damaging the group’s reputation [ 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Finally, as suggested by Lee et al. [ 72 ], it is also important to include in a training program the opportunity to break down stereotypes and myths about SHW to increase the likelihood that witnesses will intervene in high-risk situations. Further research could examine the effectiveness of including witness training in SHW prevention programs. Studies could compare the effectiveness of training for witnesses and non-witnesses with SHW. This could contribute to a better understanding of readiness to intervene and what types of programs increase that readiness.

4.2. Limitations of the Study and Future Research Directions

As far as we know, this is the first study conducted in Italy on the phenomenon of SHW in relation to witnesses and non-witnesses. The strength of the project lies in its innovative character, but it is important to consider some limitations that hopefully can be overcome in future studies. First, this was a cross-sectional study. An adequate, but non-random, sample was used for this study. We recognize that the participants in this study may not represent the general population of Italian workers. Willingness to participate in a survey about SHW may be influenced by organizational policies regarding the phenomenon, organizational climate, and previously adopted prevention and intervention strategies. For organizations, the decision to promote or not to promote this survey could imply a particular sensitivity to the phenomenon. A further study could analyze the relationship between the organization’s prevention strategy and the perception of the phenomenon by the organization’s employees. In addition, there could be a bias in participation. Participants might tend to answer a questionnaire in a way that conveys a positive image of themselves or of the organization they belong to (socially desirable responding; [ 88 ]). This could mean that participants did not identify themselves as victims and perpetrators; they could describe the phenomenon as witnesses but with greater involvement. Further research could consider the combined use of questionnaires and interviews to better understand the phenomenon and its meaning in an organizational context. Another limitation is that we included participants from different organizations. Therefore, it was not possible to identify specific patterns or episodes of SHW. It might be useful to examine an episode in a particular context using a different method. For example, the mixed method could be useful to describe SHW from different perspectives [ 89 ]. In addition, we did not consider the possible relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, their gender, and their sexual orientation. Therefore, further research needs to consider factors such as the perceived severity of the experience, the impact of multiple minority statuses and intersectional oppression on SHW [ 20 ], and the organizational values and norms that promote workplace misconduct. Because the nature of the relationship and gender are important predictors of intervention intent [ 90 ], it may be interesting to analyze perceptions of the phenomenon in relation to gender in the victim–offender dyad. Future research could use the vignette method to analyze how gender and the nature of the victim–offender relationship influences the intention to intervene in SHW. Finally, it is important to anchor this study in the specific Italian sociocultural context, which may differ from that of other countries [ 39 ]. Therefore, this study may not be transferable to other sociocultural contexts.

5. Conclusions

In summary, this study has shown that in addressing the serious problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, attention must be focused not only on the direct victims, but also on those who witness it, because they themselves may develop forms of discomfort and because sexual harassment contributes to creating a negative climate for the individual and for the organization itself. Although this is a cross-sectional study without randomization, it clearly shows the need for timely and appropriate intervention in the sociocultural context in which the organization is anchored. In the Italian context, for example, phenomena such as sexism, gender stereotypes, and a tolerance of sexual harassment that is not accepted in other countries still seem to be present [ 39 ]. If nothing is done in this regard, either preventively or to curb the phenomenon, there is a risk that harassment will continue in a self-reinforcing cycle. In terms of change and active transformation, it seems crucial to sensitize the widest possible audience of men and women and to promote knowledge and awareness of the problems of hostile and benevolent sexism, homophobia, patriarchal views, and gender stereotypes that still exist in our society. Therefore, it is important and essential that the principles of gender equality and respect for others are taught in all workplaces through appropriate and timely training, prevention, and monitoring.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the participants in this investigation.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.A.M. and A.V.; formal analysis, D.A.M. and C.C.; writing—original draft preparation, D.A.M.; writing—review and editing, D.A.M., C.C. and A.V.; supervision, D.A.M. and A.V.; project administration, D.A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Turin (prot. N. 456048/2018).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Ending Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual assault, harassment, and abuse are widespread societal problems that impact Americans across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, income, disability status, and many other factors. Recent research has demonstrated the scope and impact of workplace sexual harassment. This online resource collection includes information about defining workplace sexual harassment, understanding the scope of the size of the problem, and the path to prevention.

What is sexual harassment?

Under Federal law it is unlawful to harass a person (applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Sexual harassment is defined by its impact, not its intent. The conduct must be unwelcome to be considered sexual harassment. It can include behavior such as:

• unwelcome sexual advances
• requests for sexual favors,
• verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature
• inappropriate statements
• lewd gestures
• leering behavior
• sexually explicit jokes, emails, or texts
• offensive objects or images.

Anyone of any age, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity can be a victim or a harasser. The victim and the harasser can also be of the same sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity.

• Thirty eight percent of all women and fourteen percent of men have reported experiencing sexual harassment at work (Kearl, Johns, & Raj, 2019).
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 17 men have sought a new job assignment, changed jobs, or quit a job because of sexual harassment and assault (Kearl et al., 2019).
• Sixty percent of women say they have experienced unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, sexually crude conduct, or sexist comments in the workplace (Feldblum & Lipnic, 2016).
• In some industries, more than 9 in 10 women say they have been sexually harassed (Puente & Kelly, 2018).
• Over 85 percent of people who experience sexual harassment never file a formal legal charge, and approximately 70 percent of employees never even complain internally (Feldblum & Lipnic, 2016).
• Psychological symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, stress, and anxiety.
• Physical problems such as headaches, sleep problems, gastric problems, weight loss/gain, etc.
• Impact on other employees/witnesses - The damaging effects of harassment do not just impact the employee who is the victim of sexual harassment. Those who observe it can also suffer mental and physical harm and employee morale can decrease.
• Costs for businesses – Businesses can face financial costs associated with harassment complaints in addition to decreased employee productivity, increased employee turnover rate, and reputational harm.

Workplace sexual harassment general information

The resources below provide general information and research about sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual Harassment and Assault at Work: Understanding the Costs   (PDF, 12 pages) This briefing paper by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) reviews current literature on sexual harassment and assault and the impact on women’s economic advancement and economic security. Recommendations for preventing sexual harassment are also included.

Out of the Shadows: An Analysis of Sexual Harassment Charges filed by Working Women (PDF, 38 pages) The National Women’s Law Center analyzed sexual harassment charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by women in the private sector between 2012 and 2016. In 2016, almost 7,000 sexual harassment charges were filed, 82% by women. This report shares the findings from their analysis and recommendations for future research, prevention by employers, and legislative change.

#MeTooWhatNext: Strengthening Workplace Sexual Harassment Protections and Accountability (PDF, 10 pages) This resource from the National Women’s Law Center focuses on policy changes to extend protections to more workers, strengthening employees ability to hold employers and individuals accountable for harassment, redressing the harm to victims, restricting employer imposed secrecy, and requiring sexual harassment prevention strategies.

Know Your Rights At Work: Sexual Harassment : (Webpage) This online guide by Equal Rights Advocates can help those experiencing sexual harassment at work understand their rights and options.

Workplace sexual harassment online toolkits

The following are resources and tools for advocates and employers working to prevent and respond to sexual harassment.

Workplaces Respond to Domestic & Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center: (Webpage) Workplaces Respond provides resources, training, and technical assistance to employers , survivors, co-workers , and advocates to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, abuse, assault, and other forms of violence impacting the workplace. Highlighted resources by Workplaces Respond includes:

• COVID-19 Survivors & the Workplace (Webpage) – list of resources for employers on how to support survivors in the workplace during COVID-19.
• Guide for Advocates (PDF, 5 pages) - Outlines the strategies advocates can implement to help prevent and respond to sexual harassment, abuse, and assault in the workplace.
• Model Workplace Policy (PDF, 10 pages) – A customizable model policy on responding to violence in the workplace that employers can customize.
• The Top 10 Things Employers Can Do Right Now to Address Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (Blog post) – List of action items for employers to address sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Toolkit (PDF, 41 pages) This toolkit by Equal Rights Advocates contains information about employees' legal rights, tips on what to do if an employee experiences sexual harassment or is facing retaliation, and provides additional resources for legal information.

#NowWhat: The Sexual Harassment Solutions Toolkit (webpage) This toolkit by New America is the companion piece to their Sexual Harassment: A Severe and Pervasive Problem report that documents the pervasiveness of sexual harassment. The toolkit focuses on promising solutions for preventing sexual harassment.

National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) resources

Sexual Violence & the Workplace Information Packet (webpage) This information packet by NSVRC provides resources on the impact of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault on a survivor’s employment, and how to prevent it from happening. Resources are available for advocates and employers. Highlighted resources include:

• Guide for Employers (PDF, 16 pages) The purpose of this guide is to provide employers with information that may help them create a comprehensive violence prevention and response plan in collaboration with community-based rape crisis centers.
• Guide for Advocates (PDF, 16 pages) Using Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention (Davis, Parks, & Cohen, 2006), this guide provides advocates with information about the connections between sexual harassment, abuse, and assault, and employment and offers possible prevention strategies.

Key Findings from National Prevalence of Sexual Violence by a Workplace-Related Perpetrator (PDF, 8 pages)  This analysis by NSVRC provides an overview of a new analysis on workplace sexual violence.  This overview provides information on specifics types of sexual violence people have experienced and offers a closer look at the people who perpetrate these behaviors.

Ending Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Workplace (PDF, 3 pages) This tip sheet by NSVRC discusses the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment and provides tips for preventing it.

Helping Industries to Classify Reports of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Sexual Assault (PDF, 53 pages) This report by the Urban Institute and NSVRC developed a system of categorization for reports of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault received by Uber from users of the ride-sharing and other app-driven services. The report also discusses ways this method can improve similar efforts in other businesses and industries.

Impact of workplace sexual harassment in specific industries

The following are resources that highlight specific industries where survivors may have unique experiences of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.

Take off you mask so I know how much to tip you.  Service Workers’ Experience of Health & Harassment During COVID-19 (PDF, 30 pages) This report from One Fair Wage presents findings from their survey of workers in the service industry in five states (New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) and Washington D.C.  The report finds more than 80% of workers have seen a decline in tips and over 40% say they have experienced an increase in sexual harassment from customers. Detailed state reports are also available for New York , Massachusetts , and Illinois .

Sexual Harassment in STEM Research: Agencies Have Taken Actions, but Need Complaint Procedures, Overall Plans, and Better Collaboration (PDF, 82 pages).  This report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines how selected federal agencies receive, investigate and resolve Title IX complaints, agency plans to prevent sexual harassment and evaluation of those efforts and finally collaboration efforts.  Seventeen recommendations are also outlined.  

Sexual Harassment: Inconsistent and Incomplete Policies and Information hinder VA’s Efforts to Protect Employees (PDF, 78 pages) This report by the GAO summarizes findings from a review of VA’s efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment.  It examines VA policies to prevent and address sexual harassment and training provided to employers to prevent and address sexual harassment. The report concludes with seven recommendations.    

Technical Report: National Park Service (NPS) Work Environment Survey January –March 2017 (PDF, 222 pages) This report presents the findings from the National Park Service Work Environment Survey that analyzed the workplace harassment experiences of employees and the impact of that harassment.

Still Broken: Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in the Legal Profession: A National Study (PDF, 68 pages) This report provides the findings from a national study conducted by Women Lawyers on Guard on sexual misconduct and harassment experienced by people in the legal profession.

#MeToo in Traditionally Male-Dominated Occupations: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment (PDF, 7 pages) This briefing paper by Chicago Women in Trades and the National Center for Women’s Equality in Apprenticeship and Employment provides an overview of how sexual harassment differs for women in male-dominated workplaces and provides recommendations for public policy and changes employers can make.

Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (website) The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report on sexual harassment in academia examines the impacts of sexual harassment and identifies and analyzes policies, strategies, and practices that have been successful in preventing and responding to sexual harassment. Additional resources are available including an infographic on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Academia , infographicon The Iceberg of Sexual Harassment , and Interventions for Preventing Sexual Harassment .

Workplace Violence and Harassment of Low-Wage Workers (PDF, 47 pages) This article discusses the challenges and barriers low-wage workers encounter when they face sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace and proposes strategies for legal advocates on how to help survivors.

Tipped Over the Edge: Gender Inequity in the Restaurant Industry (PDF, 40 pages) This report by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United et al. documents the gender inequality in the restaurant work. It highlights discrimination and violence many workers experience while working. More than one in ten surveyed workers reported they or a co-worker had experienced sexual harassment while working in a restaurant.

The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry (PDF, 40 pages) This report by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and Forward Together documents the sexual harassment experiences of restaurant workers and reports how sexual harassment is fueled by sub-minimum wage and tipped employment. Finally, the report provides policy recommendations to create safer and more equitable workplaces.

Reality Check: Seventeen Million Reasons Low-Wage Workers Need Strong Protections from Harassment (PDF, 28 pages) This document by the National Women’s Law Center reports on the realities of sexual harassment experiences of low wage workers and provides suggestions for protections against harassment.

The impact of workplace sexual harassment on immigrant workers

The following resources can help prevent and respond to the unique needs of immigrant workers who experience sexual assault, harassment and abuse in the workplace.

Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (PDF, 95 pages) This report by Human Rights Watch discusses the sexual abuse, harassment, and assault experiences of immigrant farmworkers in the United States. The report suggests that these experiences are common among farmworking women, reporting is limited, and that an advocate’s presence may increase reporting of these crimes.

Rape on the Night Shift (webpage) by Frontline (PBS), Univision, The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) at UC Berkeley, and EQED. This investigative report follows up the story on Rape in the Fields and covers the sexual abuse of immigrant women who work on the night shift cleaning offices, malls and businesses. Watch the full length documentary . Materials are also available in Spanish .

Rape in the Fields (webpage) by Frontline, the Center for Investigative Reporting, Investigative Reporting Program, & Documentales Univision. This special report includes investigative reporting articles and a 53-minute film on the sexual assault, harassment, and abuse against farmworking women. Resources for agricultural workers are available. Some materials are available in Spanish .

Injustice On Our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry (PDF, 68 p.) This report by the Southern Poverty Law Center documents interviews of undocumented farmworkers. Female farmworkers are vulnerable to sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. This report discusses the economic challenges, workplace exploitation, sexual harassment, and abuse women experience while working in the fields.

Sexual Harassment in the Informal Economy: Farmworkers and Domestic Workers (PDF 56 pages) This paper by UN Women focuses on sexual harassment experienced by workers in the informal economy with a focus on farmworkers and domestic workers, who are often unrecognized without social or legal protections making them particularly vulnerable.

Sexual Violence Against Farmworkers: A Guidebook for Social Service Providers (PDF 68 p.) This guide by California Rural Legal Assistance, Esperanza, Lideres Campesinas, and Victim Rights Law Center provides information to advocates on how farmworkers are impacted by sexual assault, harassment, and abuse and how to best serve their unique needs. A guidebook for legal providers and criminal justice professionals are also available.

The role and responsibility of employers

Workplace sexual harassment is one of the most widespread and pervasive problems in U.S. society. Employers have a role and a responsibility to keep their employees safe. Employers could be held liable for sexual harassment and assault that happens in the workplace. Sexual harassment, assault, and abuse do not have to occur at work or be perpetrated by a coworker to impact a survivor’s employment (National Sexual Violence Resource Center [NSVRC], 2013). Survivors may miss days of work, experience decreased productivity at work, or be forced to quit their job because of violence they have experienced.

Using research and best practices, we can create healthier workplace cultures where the work environment promotes the safety and well-being of all employees.Below are resources for employers and people working with employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

The following findings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace demonstrate the steps necessary for employers to move toward prevention. The report Key Findings of the Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace (PDF, 20 pages) by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center covers the key findings of the EEOC's study:

• Workplace harassment is still a persistent problem and often goes unreported because victims fear negative reactions such as disbelief, blame, and retaliation.
• It benefits workplaces to prevent and respond to sexual harassment since it is costly. In direct costs, for example, an estimated settlement in 2012 was over $356 million and the largest sexual harassment jury award was $168 million. It is also costly indirectly through employee absenteeism and turnover of both victims of the harassment and bystanders who witness the sexual harassment.
• Change starts at the top. Employers should foster a culture where sexual harassment is not tolerated and respect is promoted. Examples of steps that can be taken include – assessing their workplace, conducting climate surveys, devoting resources to prevention efforts, and holding people accountable who commit sexual harassment.
• Organizations should have a stated comprehensive policy against harassment that outlines what behaviors will not be accepted and the procedure for reporting and responding to harassment as confidentially as possible. A reporting system should include multiple ways to report harassment. Disciplinary action for harassment should be proportionate to the offense as “zero tolerate” one sized-fits all policies tend to backfire.
• Training must change by moving beyond just compliance training to a holistic effort to prevent and respond to harassment. New and different approaches to training should be explored – including workplace respect and civility training and bystander intervention training.

Resources for employers on preventing workplace sexual harassment

STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence : (PDF, 48 p.) This technical package by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides strategies on the best available evidence to help communities and states prevent sexual violence and reduce its consequences. See the section “Create Protective Environments” for information on establishing and consistently applying workplace policies.

Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center (webpage) by Futures Without Violence . This website provides many resources and interactive tools for employers . Employers can download a workplace toolkit , read a guide for supervisors , learn more about supervising during the pandemic , and download a model workplace policy .

Guidance for Agency-Specific Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Policies (PDF, 38 pages) This document by the United States Office of Personnel Management provides federal agencies with direction on responding to violence in the workplace.

An Employer, Union & Service Provider’s Guide to Ending Street Harassment (PDF, 25 pages) This guide by Debjani Roy of Hollaback! explains how street harassment impacts the workplace and provides information for employers on what they can do to help. Listen to a podcast with the author.

Encourage, Support Act! Bystander Approaches to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (PDF, 29 pages) This document by the Australian Human Rights Commission illustrates how the bystander approach can be utilized in a workplace setting to prevent workplace sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.

Sexual Violence & the Workplace: Employer’s Guide to Prevention (PDF, 16 pages) When sexual assault, harassment, or abuse occurs in the workplace, it can create a climate of fear and reduce productivity and wellness of the entire staff. The purpose of this guide by NSVRC is to provide employers with information that may help facilitate their engagement in creating a comprehensive violence prevention and response plan in collaboration with community-based rape crisis centers.

Davis, R., Parks, L. F., & Cohen, L. (2006). Sexual violence and the spectrum of prevention: Towards a community solution. Retrieved from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center: http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/Publications_NSVRC_Booklets_Sexual-Violence-and-the-Spectrum-of-Prevention_Towards-a-Community-Solution_0.pdf

Feldblum, C. R., & Lipnic, V. A. (2016 ). Select task force on the study of harassment in the workplace: Report of the co-chairs of the EEOC . Retrieved from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/task_force/harassment/upload/report.pdf

Kearl, H., Johns, N. E., & Raj, A. (2019). Measuring #metoo: A national study on sexual harassment and assault . Available from Stop Street Harassment: http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2019-MeToo-National-Sexual-Harassment-and-Assault-Report.pdf

National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2013). Sexual violence & the workplace: Overview . Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2013-04/publications_nsvrc_overview_sexual-violence-workplace.pdf

Puente, M., & Kelly, C. (2018, February 23). The 94 percent: How common is sexual misconduct in Hollywood? USA Today . Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/20/how-common-sexual-misconduct-hollywood/1083964001/

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Sexual harassment . Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm

Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018)

Chapter: 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations, 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Preventing and effectively addressing sexual harassment of women in colleges and universities is a significant challenge, but we are optimistic that academic institutions can meet that challenge—if they demonstrate the will to do so. This is because the research shows what will work to prevent sexual harassment and why it will work. A systemwide change to the culture and climate in our nation’s colleges and universities can stop the pattern of harassing behavior from impacting the next generation of women entering science, engineering, and medicine.

Changing the current culture and climate requires addressing all forms of sexual harassment, not just the most egregious cases; moving beyond legal compliance; supporting targets when they come forward; improving transparency and accountability; diffusing the power structure between faculty and trainees; and revising organizational systems and structures to value diversity, inclusion, and respect. Leaders at every level within academia will be needed to initiate these changes and to establish and maintain the culture and norms. However, to succeed in making these changes, all members of our nation’s college campuses—students, faculty, staff, and administrators—will need to assume responsibility for promoting a civil and respectful environment. It is everyone’s responsibility to stop sexual harassment.

In this spirit of optimism, we offer the following compilation of the report’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 2: sexual harassment research.

• Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that consists of three types of harassing behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender); (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances, which can include assault); and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity). The distinctions between the types of harassment are important, particularly because many people do not realize that gender harassment is a form of sexual harassment.
• Sexually harassing behavior can be either direct (targeted at an individual) or ambient (a general level of sexual harassment in an environment) and is harmful in both cases. It is considered illegal when it creates a hostile environment (gender harassment or unwanted sexual attention that is “severe or pervasive” enough to alter the conditions of employment, interfere with one’s work performance, or impede one’s ability to get an education) or when it is quid pro quo sexual harassment (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity).
• There are reliable scientific methods for determining the prevalence of sexual harassment. To measure the incidence of sexual harassment, surveys should follow the best practices that have emerged from the science of sexual harassment. This includes use of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, the most widely used and well-validated instrument available for measuring sexual harassment; assessment of specific behaviors without requiring the respondent to label the behaviors “sexual harassment”; focus on first-hand experience or observation of behavior (rather than rumor or hearsay); and focus on the recent past (1–2 years, to avoid problems of memory decay). Relying on the number of official reports of sexual harassment made to an organization is not an accurate method for determining the prevalence.
• Some surveys underreport the incidence of sexual harassment because they have not followed standard and valid practices for survey research and sexual harassment research.
• While properly conducted surveys are the best methods for estimating the prevalence of sexual harassment, other salient aspects of sexual harassment and its consequences can be examined using other research methods , such as behavioral laboratory experiments, interviews, case studies, ethnographies, and legal research. Such studies can provide information about the presence and nature of sexually harassing behavior in an organization, how it develops and continues (and influences the organizational climate), and how it attenuates or amplifies outcomes from sexual harassment.
• Women experience sexual harassment more often than men do.
• Gender harassment (e.g., behaviors that communicate that women do not belong or do not merit respect) is by far the most common type of sexual harassment. When an environment is pervaded by gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion become more likely to occur—in part because unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion are almost never experienced by women without simultaneously experiencing gender harassment.
• Men are more likely than women to commit sexual harassment.
• Coworkers and peers more often commit sexual harassment than do superiors.
• Sexually harassing behaviors are not typically isolated incidents; rather, they are a series or pattern of sometimes escalating incidents and behaviors.
• Women of color experience more harassment (sexual, racial/ethnic, or combination of the two) than white women, white men, and men of color do. Women of color often experience sexual harassment that includes racial harassment.
• Sexual- and gender-minority people experience more sexual harassment than heterosexual women do.
• The two characteristics of environments most associated with higher rates of sexual harassment are (a) male-dominated gender ratios and leadership and (b) an organizational climate that communicates tolerance of sexual harassment (e.g., leadership that fails to take complaints seriously, fails to sanction perpetrators, or fails to protect complainants from retaliation).
• Organizational climate is, by far, the greatest predictor of the occurrence of sexual harassment, and ameliorating it can prevent people from sexually harassing others. A person more likely to engage in harassing behaviors is significantly less likely to do so in an environment that does not support harassing behaviors and/or has strong, clear, transparent consequences for these behaviors.

Chapter 3: Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine

• Male-dominated environment , with men in positions of power and authority.
• Organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior (e.g., failing to take complaints seriously, failing to sanction perpetrators, or failing to protect complainants from retaliation).
• Hierarchical and dependent relationships between faculty and their trainees (e.g., students, postdoctoral fellows, residents).
• Isolating environments (e.g., labs, field sites, and hospitals) in which faculty and trainees spend considerable time.
• Greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia.
• Women students in academic medicine experience more frequent gender harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff than women students in science and engineering.
• Women students/trainees encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff and also by other students/trainees.
• Women faculty encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by other faculty/staff and also by students/trainees.
• Women students, trainees, and faculty in academic medical centers experience sexual harassment by patients and patients’ families in addition to the harassment they experience from colleagues and those in leadership positions.

Chapter 4: Outcomes of Sexual Harassment

• When women experience sexual harassment in the workplace, the professional outcomes include declines in job satisfaction; withdrawal from their organization (i.e., distancing themselves from the work either physically or mentally without actually quitting, having thoughts or

intentions of leaving their job, and actually leaving their job); declines in organizational commitment (i.e., feeling disillusioned or angry with the organization); increases in job stress; and declines in productivity or performance.

• When students experience sexual harassment, the educational outcomes include declines in motivation to attend class, greater truancy, dropping classes, paying less attention in class, receiving lower grades, changing advisors, changing majors, and transferring to another educational institution, or dropping out.
• Gender harassment has adverse effects. Gender harassment that is severe or occurs frequently over a period of time can result in the same level of negative professional and psychological outcomes as isolated instances of sexual coercion. Gender harassment, often considered a “lesser,” more inconsequential form of sexual harassment, cannot be dismissed when present in an organization.
• The greater the frequency, intensity, and duration of sexually harassing behaviors, the more women report symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety, and generally negative effects on psychological well-being.
• The more women are sexually harassed in an environment, the more they think about leaving, and end up leaving as a result of the sexual harassment.
• The more power a perpetrator has over the target, the greater the impacts and negative consequences experienced by the target.
• For women of color, preliminary research shows that when the sexual harassment occurs simultaneously with other types of harassment (i.e., racial harassment), the experiences can have more severe consequences for them.
• Sexual harassment has adverse effects that affect not only the targets of harassment but also bystanders, coworkers, workgroups, and entire organizations.
• Women cope with sexual harassment in a variety of ways, most often by ignoring or appeasing the harasser and seeking social support.
• The least common response for women is to formally report the sexually harassing experience. For many, this is due to an accurate perception that they may experience retaliation or other negative outcomes associated with their personal and professional lives.
• The dependence on advisors and mentors for career advancement.
• The system of meritocracy that does not account for the declines in productivity and morale as a result of sexual harassment.
• The “macho” culture in some fields.
• The informal communication network , in which rumors and accusations are spread within and across specialized programs and fields.
• The cumulative effect of sexual harassment is significant damage to research integrity and a costly loss of talent in academic science, engineering, and medicine. Women faculty in science, engineering, and medicine who experience sexual harassment report three common professional outcomes: stepping down from leadership opportunities to avoid the perpetrator, leaving their institution, and leaving their field altogether.

Chapter 5: Existing Legal and Policy Mechanisms for Addressing Sexual Harassment

• An overly legalistic approach to the problem of sexual harassment is likely to misjudge the true nature and scope of the problem. Sexual harassment law and policy development has focused narrowly on the sexualized and coercive forms of sexual harassment, not on the gender harassment type that research has identified as much more prevalent and at times equally harmful.
• Much of the sexual harassment that women experience and that damages women and their careers in science, engineering, and medicine does not meet the legal criteria of illegal discrimination under current law.
• Private entities, such as companies and private universities, are legally allowed to keep their internal policies and procedures—and their research on those policies and procedures—confidential, thereby limiting the research that can be done on effective policies for preventing and handling sexual harassment.
• Various legal policies, and the interpretation of such policies, enable academic institutions to maintain secrecy and/or confidentiality regarding outcomes of sexual harassment investigations, arbitration, and settlement agreements. Colleagues may also hesitate to warn one another about sexual harassment concerns in the hiring or promotion context out of fear of legal repercussions (i.e., being sued for defamation and/or discrimination). This lack of transparency in the adjudication process within organizations can cover up sexual harassment perpetrated by repeat or serial harassers. This creates additional barriers to researchers

and others studying harassment claims and outcomes, and is also a barrier to determining the effectiveness of policies and procedures.

• Title IX, Title VII, and case law reflect the inaccurate assumption that a target of sexual harassment will promptly report the harassment without worrying about retaliation. Effectively addressing sexual harassment through the law, institutional policies or procedures, or cultural change requires taking into account that targets of sexual harassment are unlikely to report harassment and often face retaliation for reporting (despite this being illegal).
• Fears of legal liability may prevent institutions from being willing to effectively evaluate training for its measurable impact on reducing harassment. Educating employees via sexual harassment training is commonly implemented as a central component of demonstrating to courts that institutions have “exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior.” However, research has not demonstrated that such training prevents sexual harassment. Thus, if institutions evaluated their training programs, they would likely find them to be ineffective, which, in turn, could raise fears within institutions of their risk for liability because they would then knowingly not be exercising reasonable care.
• Holding individuals and institutions responsible for sexual harassment and demonstrating that sexual harassment is a serious issue requires U.S. federal funding agencies to be aware when principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and grant personnel have violated sexual harassment policies. It is unclear whether and how federal agencies will take action beyond the requirements of Title IX and Title VII to ensure that federal grants, composed of taxpayers’ dollars, are not supporting research, academic institutions, or programs in which sexual harassment is ongoing and not being addressed. Federal science agencies usually indicate (e.g., in requests for proposals or other announcements) that they have a “no-tolerance” policy for sexual harassment. In general, federal agencies rely on the grantee institutions to investigate and follow through on Title IX violations. By not assessing and addressing the role of institutions and professional organizations in enabling individual sexual harassers, federal agencies may be perpetuating the problem of sexual harassment.
• To address the effect sexual harassment has on the integrity of research, parts of the federal government and several professional societies are beginning to focus more broadly on policies about research integrity and on codes of ethics rather than on the narrow definition of research misconduct. A powerful incentive for change may be missed if sexual harassment is not considered equally important as research misconduct, in terms of its effect on the integrity of research.

Chapter 6: Changing the Culture and Climate in Higher Education

• A systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education is required to prevent and effectively address all three forms of sexual harassment. Despite significant attention in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that current policies, procedures, and approaches have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment. It is time to consider approaches that address the systems, cultures, and climates that enable sexual harassment to perpetuate.
• Strong and effective leaders at all levels in the organization are required to make the systemwide changes to climate and culture in higher education. The leadership of the organization—at every level—plays a significant role in establishing and maintaining an organization’s culture and norms. However, leaders in academic institutions rarely have leadership training to thoughtfully address culture and climate issues, and the leadership training that exists is often of poor quality.
• Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for enhancing gender diversity in hiring practices.
• Focusing evaluation and reward structures on cooperation and collegiality rather than solely on individual-level teaching and research performance metrics could have a significant impact on improving the environment in academia.
• Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for raising levels of interpersonal civility and respect in workgroups and teams.
• An organization that is committed to improving organizational climate must address issues of bias in academia. Training to reduce personal bias can cause larger-scale changes in departmental behaviors in an academic setting.
• Skills-based training that centers on bystander intervention promotes a culture of support, not one of silence. By calling out negative behaviors on the spot, all members of an academic community are helping to create a culture where abusive behavior is seen as an aberration, not as the norm.
• Reducing hierarchical power structures and diffusing power more broadly among faculty and trainees can reduce the risk of sexual ha

rassment. Departments and institutions could take the following approaches for diffusing power:

• Make use of egalitarian leadership styles that recognize that people at all levels of experience and expertise have important insights to offer.
• Adopt mentoring networks or committee-based advising that allows for a diversity of potential pathways for advice, funding, support, and informal reporting of harassment.
• Develop ways the research funding can be provided to the trainee rather than just the principal investigator.
• Take on the responsibility for preserving the potential work of the research team and trainees by redistributing the funding if a principal investigator cannot continue the work because he/she has created a climate that fosters sexual harassment and guaranteeing funding to trainees if the institution or a funder pulls funding from the principal investigator because of sexual harassment.
• Orienting students, trainees, faculty, and staff, at all levels, to the academic institution’s culture and its policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment can be an important piece of establishing a climate that demonstrates sexual harassment is not tolerated and targets will be supported.
• Institutions could build systems of response that empower targets by providing alternative and less formal means of accessing support services, recording information, and reporting incidents without fear of retaliation.
• Supporting student targets also includes helping them to manage their education and training over the long term.
• Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements isolate sexual harassment targets by limiting their ability to speak with others about their experiences and can serve to shield perpetrators who have harassed people repeatedly.
• Key components of clear anti-harassment policies are that they are quickly and easily digested (i.e., using one-page flyers or infographics and not in legally dense language) and that they clearly state that people will be held accountable for violating the policy.
• A range of progressive/escalating disciplinary consequences (such as counseling, changes in work responsibilities, reductions in pay/benefits, and suspension or dismissal) that corresponds to the severity and frequency of the misconduct has the potential of correcting behavior before it escalates and without significantly disrupting an academic program.
• In an effort to change behavior and improve the climate, it may also be appropriate for institutions to undertake some rehabilitation-focused measures, even though these may not be sanctions per se.
• For the people in an institution to understand that the institution does not tolerate sexual harassment, it must show that it does investigate and then hold perpetrators accountable in a reasonable timeframe. Institutions can anonymize the basic information and provide regular reports that convey how many reports are being investigated and what the outcomes are from the investigation.
• An approach for improving transparency and demonstrating that the institution takes sexual harassment seriously is to encourage internal review of its policies, procedures, and interventions for addressing sexual harassment, and to have interactive dialogues with members of their campus community (especially expert researchers on these topics) around ways to improve the culture and climate and change behavior.
• Cater training to specific populations; in academia this would include students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, faculty, and those in leadership.
• Attend to the institutional motivation for training , which can impact the effectiveness of the training; for instance, compliance-based approaches have limited positive impact.
• Conduct training using live qualified trainers and offer trainees specific examples of inappropriate conduct. We note that a great deal of sexual harassment training today is offered via an online mini-course or the viewing of a short video.
• Describe standards of behavior clearly and accessibly (e.g., avoiding legal and technical terms).
• To the extent that the training literature provides broad guidelines for creating impactful training that can change climate and behavior, they include the following:
• Establish standards of behavior rather than solely seek to influence attitudes and beliefs. Clear communication of behavioral expectations, and teaching of behavioral skills, is essential.
• Conduct training in adherence to best standards , including appropriate pre-training needs assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness.
• Creating a climate that prevents sexual harassment requires measuring the climate in relation to sexual harassment, diversity, and respect, and assessing progress in reducing sexual harassment.
• Efforts to incentivize systemwide changes, such as Athena SWAN, 1 are crucial to motivating organizations and departments within organizations to make the necessary changes.
• Enacting new codes of conduct and new rules related specifically to conference attendance.
• Including sexual harassment in codes of ethics and investigating reports of sexual harassment. (This is a new responsibility for professional societies, and these organizations are considering how to take into consideration the law, home institutions, due process, and careful reporting when dealing with reports of sexual harassment.)
• Requiring members to acknowledge, in writing, the professional society’s rules and codes of conduct relating to sexual harassment during conference registration and during membership sign-up and renewal.
• Supporting and designing programs that prevent harassment and provide skills to intervene when someone is being harassed.
• Strengthening statements on sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination in professional societies’ codes of conduct, with a few defining it as research misconduct.
• Factoring in harassment-related professional misconduct into scientific award decisions.
• Professional societies have the potential to be powerful drivers of change through their capacity to help educate, train, codify, and reinforce cultural expectations for their respective scientific, engineering, and medical communities. Some professional societies have taken action to prevent and respond to sexual harassment among their membership. Although each professional society has taken a slightly different approach to addressing sexual harassment, there are some shared approaches, including the following:

___________________

1 Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network). See https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equalitycharters/athena-swan/ .

• There are many promising approaches to changing the culture and climate in academia; however, further research assessing the effects and values of the following approaches is needed to identify best practices:
• Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically how they prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This includes informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
• Mechanisms for target-led resolution options and mechanisms by which the target has a role in deciding what happens to the perpetrator, including restorative justice practices.
• Mechanisms for protecting targets from retaliation.
• Rehabilitation-focused measures for disciplining perpetrators.
• Incentive systems for encouraging leaders in higher education to address the issues of sexual harassment on campus.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1: Create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments.

• Academic institutions and their leaders should take explicit steps to achieve greater gender and racial equity in hiring and promotions, and thus improve the representation of women at every level.
• Academic institutions and their leaders should take steps to foster greater cooperation, respectful work behavior, and professionalism at the faculty, staff, and student/trainee levels, and should evaluate faculty and staff on these criteria in hiring and promotion.
• Academic institutions should combine anti-harassment efforts with civility-promotion programs.
• Academic institutions should cater their training to specific populations (in academia these should include students/trainees, staff, faculty, and those in leadership) and should follow best practices in designing training programs. Training should be viewed as the means of providing the skills needed by all members of the academic community, each of whom has a role to play in building a positive organizational climate focused on safety and respect, and not simply as a method of ensuring compliance with laws.
• Academic institutions should utilize training approaches that develop skills among participants to interrupt and intervene when inappropriate behavior occurs. These training programs should be evaluated to deter

mine whether they are effective and what aspects of the training are most important to changing culture.

• Anti–sexual harassment training programs should focus on changing behavior, not on changing beliefs. Programs should focus on clearly communicating behavioral expectations, specifying consequences for failing to meet these expectations, and identifying the mechanisms to be utilized when these expectations are not met. Training programs should not be based on the avoidance of legal liability.

RECOMMENDATION 2: Address the most common form of sexual harassment: gender harassment.

Leaders in academic institutions and research and training sites should pay increased attention to and enact policies that cover gender harassment as a means of addressing the most common form of sexual harassment and of preventing other types of sexually harassing behavior.

RECOMMENDATION 3: Move beyond legal compliance to address culture and climate.

Academic institutions, research and training sites, and federal agencies should move beyond interventions or policies that represent basic legal compliance and that rely solely on formal reports made by targets. Sexual harassment needs to be addressed as a significant culture and climate issue that requires institutional leaders to engage with and listen to students and other campus community members.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Improve transparency and accountability.

• Academic institutions need to develop—and readily share—clear, accessible, and consistent policies on sexual harassment and standards of behavior. They should include a range of clearly stated, appropriate, and escalating disciplinary consequences for perpetrators found to have violated sexual harassment policy and/or law. The disciplinary actions taken should correspond to the severity and frequency of the harassment. The disciplinary actions should not be something that is often considered a benefit for faculty, such as a reduction in teaching load or time away from campus service responsibilities. Decisions regarding disciplinary actions, if indicated or required, should be made in a fair and timely way following an investigative process that is fair to all sides. 2
• Academic institutions should be as transparent as possible about how they are handling reports of sexual harassment. This requires balancing issues of confidentiality with issues of transparency. Annual reports,

2 Further detail on processes and guidance for how to fairly and appropriately investigate and adjudicate these issues are not provided because they are complex issues that were beyond the scope of this study.

that provide information on (1) how many and what type of policy violations have been reported (both informally and formally), (2) how many reports are currently under investigation, and (3) how many have been adjudicated, along with general descriptions of any disciplinary actions taken, should be shared with the entire academic community: students, trainees, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and funders. At the very least, the results of the investigation and any disciplinary action should be shared with the target(s) and/or the person(s) who reported the behavior.

• Academic institutions should be accountable for the climate within their organization. In particular, they should utilize climate surveys to further investigate and address systemic sexual harassment, particularly when surveys indicate specific schools or facilities have high rates of harassment or chronically fail to reduce rates of sexual harassment.
• Academic institutions should consider sexual harassment equally important as research misconduct in terms of its effect on the integrity of research. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 5: Diffuse the hierarchical and dependent relationship between trainees and faculty.

Academic institutions should consider power-diffusion mechanisms (i.e., mentoring networks or committee-based advising and departmental funding rather than funding only from a principal investigator) to reduce the risk of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 6: Provide support for the target.

Academic institutions should convey that reporting sexual harassment is an honorable and courageous action. Regardless of a target filing a formal report, academic institutions should provide means of accessing support services (social services, health care, legal, career/professional). They should provide alternative and less formal means of recording information about the experience and reporting the experience if the target is not comfortable filing a formal report. Academic institutions should develop approaches to prevent the target from experiencing or fearing retaliation in academic settings.

RECOMMENDATION 7: Strive for strong and diverse leadership.

• College and university presidents, provosts, deans, department chairs, and program directors must make the reduction and prevention of sexual

harassment an explicit goal of their tenure. They should publicly state that the reduction and prevention of sexual harassment will be among their highest priorities, and they should engage students, faculty, and staff (and, where appropriate, the local community) in their efforts.

• Academic institutions should support and facilitate leaders at every level (university, school/college, department, lab) in developing skills in leadership, conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation, and de-escalation, and should ensure a clear understanding of policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment issues. Additionally, these skills development programs should be customized to each level of leadership.
• Leadership training programs for those in academia should include training on how to recognize and handle sexual harassment issues, and how to take explicit steps to create a culture and climate to reduce and prevent sexual harassment—and not just protect the institution against liability.

RECOMMENDATION 8: Measure progress.

Academic institutions should work with researchers to evaluate and assess their efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment, and to create effective policies, procedures, and training programs. They should not rely on formal reports by targets for an understanding of sexual harassment on their campus.

• When organizations study sexual harassment, they should follow the valid methodologies established by social science research on sexual harassment and should consult subject-matter experts. Surveys that attempt to ascertain the prevalence and types of harassment experienced by individuals should adopt the following practices: ensure confidentiality, use validated behavioral instruments such as the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, and avoid specifically using the term “sexual harassment” in any survey or questionnaire.
• Academic institutions should also conduct more wide-ranging assessments using measures in addition to campus climate surveys, for example, ethnography, focus groups, and exit interviews. These methods are especially important in smaller organizational units where surveys, which require more participants to yield meaningful data, might not be useful.
• Organizations studying sexual harassment in their environments should take into consideration the particular experiences of people of color and sexual- and gender-minority people, and they should utilize methods that allow them to disaggregate their data by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity to reveal the different experiences across populations.
• The results of climate surveys should be shared publicly to encourage transparency and accountability and to demonstrate to the campus community that the institution takes the issue seriously. One option would be for academic institutions to collaborate in developing a central repository for reporting their climate data, which could also improve the ability for research to be conducted on the effectiveness of institutional approaches.
• Federal agencies and foundations should commit resources to develop a tool similar to ARC3, the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative, to understand and track the climate for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Incentivize change.

• Academic institutions should work to apply for awards from the emerging STEM Equity Achievement (SEA Change) program. 3 Federal agencies and private foundations should encourage and support academic institutions working to achieve SEA Change awards.
• Accreditation bodies should consider efforts to create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments when evaluating institutions or departments.
• Federal agencies should incentivize efforts to reduce sexual harassment in academia by requiring evaluations of the research environment, funding research and evaluation of training for students and faculty (including bystander intervention), supporting the development and evaluation of leadership training for faculty, and funding research on effective policies and procedures.

RECOMMENDATION 10: Encourage involvement of professional societies and other organizations.

• Professional societies should accelerate their efforts to be viewed as organizations that are helping to create culture changes that reduce or prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment. They should provide support and guidance for members who have been targets of sexual harassment. They should use their influence to address sexual harassment in the scientific, medical, and engineering communities they represent and promote a professional culture of civility and respect. The efforts of the American Geophysical Union are especially exemplary and should be considered as a model for other professional societies to follow.
• Other organizations that facilitate the research and training of people in science, engineering, and medicine, such as collaborative field sites (i.e., national labs and observatories), should establish standards of behavior

3 See https://www.aaas.org/news/sea-change-program-aims-transform-diversity-efforts-stem .

and set policies, procedures, and practices similar to those recommended for academic institutions and following the examples of professional societies. They should hold people accountable for their behaviors while at their facility regardless of the person’s institutional affiliation (just as some professional societies are doing).

RECOMMENDATION 11: Initiate legislative action.

State legislatures and Congress should consider new and additional legislation with the following goals:

• Better protecting sexual harassment claimants from retaliation.
• Prohibiting confidentiality in settlement agreements that currently enable harassers to move to another institution and conceal past adjudications.
• Banning mandatory arbitration clauses for discrimination claims.
• Allowing lawsuits to be filed against alleged harassers directly (instead of or in addition to their academic employers).
• Requiring institutions receiving federal funds to publicly disclose results from campus climate surveys and/or the number of sexual harassment reports made to campuses.
• Requesting the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health devote research funds to doing a follow-up analysis on the topic of sexual harassment in science, engineering, and medicine in 3 to 5 years to determine (1) whether research has shown that the prevalence of sexual harassment has decreased, (2) whether progress has been made on implementing these recommendations, and (3) where to focus future efforts.

RECOMMENDATION 12: Address the failures to meaningfully enforce Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination.

• Judges, academic institutions (including faculty, staff, and leaders in academia), and administrative agencies should rely on scientific evidence about the behavior of targets and perpetrators of sexual harassment when assessing both institutional compliance with the law and the merits of individual claims.
• Federal judges should take into account demonstrated effectiveness of anti-harassment policies and practices such as trainings, and not just their existence , for use of an affirmative defense against a sexual harassment claim under Title VII.

RECOMMENDATION 13: Increase federal agency action and collaboration.

Federal agencies should do the following:

• Increase support for research and evaluation of the effectiveness of policies, procedures, and training on sexual harassment.
• Attend to sexual harassment with at least the same level of attention and resources as devoted to research misconduct. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.
• Require institutions to report to federal agencies when individuals on grants have been found to have violated sexual harassment policies or have been put on administrative leave related to sexual harassment, as the National Science Foundation has proposed doing. Agencies should also hold accountable the perpetrator and the institution by using a range of disciplinary actions that limit the negative effects on other grant personnel who were either the target of the harassing behavior or innocent bystanders.
• Reward and incentivize colleges and universities for implementing policies, programs, and strategies that research shows are most likely to and are succeeding in reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 14: Conduct necessary research.

Funders should support the following research:

• The sexual harassment experiences of women in underrepresented and/or vulnerable groups, including women of color, disabled women, immigrant women, sexual- and gender-minority women, postdoctoral trainees, and others.
• Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically their ability to prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, to alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and to reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This should include research on informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment and diversity training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
• Approaches for mitigating the negative impacts and outcomes that targets experience.
• The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment within specific fields in

science, engineering, and medicine and that follows good practices for sexual harassment surveys.

• The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment perpetrated by students on faculty.
• The amount of sexual harassment that serial harassers are responsible for.
• The prevalence and effect of ambient harassment in the academic setting.
• The connections between consensual relationships and sexual harassment.
• Psychological characteristics that increase the risk of perpetrating different forms of sexually harassing behaviors.

RECOMMENDATION 15: Make the entire academic community responsible for reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

All members of our nation’s college campuses—students, trainees, faculty, staff, and administrators—as well as members of research and training sites should assume responsibility for promoting civil and respectful education, training, and work environments, and stepping up and confronting those whose behaviors and actions create sexually harassing environments.

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Over the last few decades, research, activity, and funding has been devoted to improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. In recent years the diversity of those participating in these fields, particularly the participation of women, has improved and there are significantly more women entering careers and studying science, engineering, and medicine than ever before. However, as women increasingly enter these fields they face biases and barriers and it is not surprising that sexual harassment is one of these barriers.

Over thirty years the incidence of sexual harassment in different industries has held steady, yet now more women are in the workforce and in academia, and in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine (as students and faculty) and so more women are experiencing sexual harassment as they work and learn. Over the last several years, revelations of the sexual harassment experienced by women in the workplace and in academic settings have raised urgent questions about the specific impact of this discriminatory behavior on women and the extent to which it is limiting their careers.

Sexual Harassment of Women explores the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. This report reviews the research on the extent to which women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine are victimized by sexual harassment and examines the existing information on the extent to which sexual harassment in academia negatively impacts the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women pursuing scientific, engineering, technical, and medical careers. It also identifies and analyzes the policies, strategies and practices that have been the most successful in preventing and addressing sexual harassment in these settings.

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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

How it works

Sexual harassment in the workplace has been a significant issue that many organizations around the world are grappling with. There have been numerous court cases regarding such issues. Notably, the issue is considered the newest form of gender discrimination in the workplace. In fact, many companies have had to pay substantial amounts of money to victims of sexual assault. Veterans Affairs Clinic (VA) is also one of such organizations, and the organization has revealed several issues about sexual harassment (Stockwell, 2017). In one of these cases, a female employee reported sexual harassment, which is regarded as an aspect of a hostile work environment.

Th e following section shows a study of general causes for sexual harassment, and the results of the interview in Veterans Affairs Clinic, and a possible solution. Research for general causes of sexual harassment in workplace Although all organizations are required to have a diverse workforce, and the claims for any discrimination are increasing globally (United Nations Human Rights Office Of The High Commissioner, n.d), it is still far from equality for men and women.

The cause of sexual harassment in the workplace has two aspects. One is the character of male and female, and the other one is related to the work environment. Although people’s characters are different and unique, gender in general, could influence their personality. Gender, gender perceptions, gender identity, and stereotypical gender roles all could play a part in personality and social interactions. Therefore, gender stereotypes can play a role in the organization. What an organization requires could depend on gender role perceptions and stereotypes, and as a result, certain situations could cause sexual harassment, and it would continue unaddressed, and unresolved by management in the workplace. According to Niederle and Vesterlund (2007), men tend to be more competitive than women, and they are willing to show that they are strong. This character trait possibly causes sexual harassment to women in the workplace. According to Connley (2017), sexual harassment tends to happen when a man is willing to be dominant in a workplace. Female workers are currently increasing, and the competition can be intense. Male workers try to protect their status, and that can lead to possible abuse and sexual harassment for female workers. On the other hand, women tend to avoid competitive situation (Niederle & Vesterlund, 2007). Also, even if they suffer from sexual harassment in the workplace, they tend to be hesitant to report the issue (Johnson, Kirk, & Keplinger, 2016). They can be afraid that there is a possibility that they might cause a hostile work environment by reporting the issue (Johnson, Kirk, & Keplinger, 2016). In this way, each gender character would make sexual harassment easier in a work environment, and difficult to open the issue. Another aspect that can cause sexual harassment in a work environment is corporate culture and employee’s behavior. Last year, sexual harassment at Uber was revealed by former employee, Susan Fowler. She explained the situation in her blog, and showed the causes of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The corporate culture made employees behave unethically. Fowler (2017) explained the corporate environment in Uber was obviously an excessively performance-based system. Employees who achieved high performance could do whatever they wanted, and the other employees accepted that behavior even though it was unethical. Moreover, Fowler (2017) pointed out that the Human Resources department did not work appropriately. The department should have investigated the issue when she reported it. The department explained to her that the issue was the first time her superior had committed sexual harassment. The Human Resources department tried to encourage Fowler to put up with the issue. However, her superior actually had worked on sexual harassment several times before the issue happened. In other words, he was a habitual offender. Also, there were many women employees who suffered from sexual harassment in the company, and most of them did not report their issues. This is because they had already known that sexual harassment was not going to stop in the workplace even if they reported it to the Human Resources department. The information by the interview in VA The interview was conducted in the VA to ask two employees about their work environment. One was a man, the other one was a woman. The questionnaires were based on the primary research involving the character for gender, work environment, individual behavior, and the Human Resources department.

The first question was about the opinion of the work environment. Both the man and the woman answered that they hope to work there until retirement because the VA is a large, federal organization. Therefore, they think their future is secure. Although they feel high job satisfaction for their workplace, the opinion for work environment was different for them. The woman answered the work environment that most women workers prioritize is job satisfaction more than promotion and salary. On the other hand, the man answered that most men workers strive for promotion, and he feels his work environment is intense and competitive. Therefore, he thinks there are some men employees, who are willing to dominate their own territory. The second question was about sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Although the man did not see and hear his co-workers who experienced sexual harassment in the work place, the woman had heard from a female co-worker, who felt as if she suffered from gender discrimination by her male superior. However, they have never reported and complained about their workplace. Because, they are afraid the situation might become a hostile work environment if they reported. Also, the male employee answered that even if he heard about a sexual harassment issue, he would hesitate to report the issue because he has a similar. The third question was about relationship with the Human Resources department. Both the man and woman answered that they usually do not get involved with the department, and they do not know about how the department works. They answered even if sexual harassment happens in the VA, the Human Resources department would not work to resolve the issue. In other words, both employees do not have confidence in the department.

The solution There are few common elements in both the primary research and interview about sexual harassment in the workplace. Some workers in the VA tend to be hesitant to get involved with any issues, and feel fear for reporting. They are just willing to focus on their work. The situation is shown that the employees tend to be selfish. The key point to resolve the situation is the Human Resources department. The department should be there to work for employees and it should improve the environment so that all employee can feel high job satisfaction. Therefore, the Human Resources department should form positive relationships with all departments in the work place. There are three ways that the department can form positive relationships with employees. First, the Human Resources department should have training and seminars to all departments for stopping sexual harassment and gender discrimination. It will show employees that the department is working to resolve the issue. Also, the department should make the time to interview with employees. If it does not have enough time to see all employees, it should make the time to see managers in each department at least. Moreover, the department can take a survey anonymously. This encourages employees to tell the truth about how they think about the workplace. Through the ways, the organization should know deeply about each work environment within it. 

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Essay on Sexual Harassment

500 words essay on sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behaviour which is offensive, humiliating and intimidating. Further, it is against the law to sexually harass anyone. Over the years, sexual harassment has taken a lot of time to be recognized as a real issue. Nonetheless, it is a start that can protect people from this harassment. The essay on sexual harassment will take you through the details.

Sexual Harassment and Its Impacts

Sexual harassment comes in many forms and not just a single one. It includes when someone tries to touch, grab or make other physical contacts with you without your consent. Further, it also includes passing comments which have a sexual meaning.

After that, it is also when someone asks you for sexual favours. Leering and staring continuously also counts as one. You are being sexually harassed when the perpetrator displays rude and offensive material so that others can see it.

Another form is making sexual gestures towards you and cracking sexual jokes or comments towards you. It is also not acceptable for someone to question you about your sexual life or insult you with sexual comments.

Further, making an obscene phone call or indecently exposing oneself also counts as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can impact a person severely. It may stress out the victim and they may suffer from anxiety or depression.

Moreover, it can also cause them to withdraw from social situations. After that, the victim also starts to lose confidence and self-esteem. There may also be physical symptoms like headaches, sleep problems and being not able to concentrate or be productive.

What Can We Do

No one in this world deserves to go through sexual harassment, whether man or woman. We all have the right to live freely without being harassed, bullied or discriminated against. It is the reason why sexual harassment is illegal.

To begin with, the person may try talking to the offender and convey their message regarding their unwanted behaviour. Further, it is also essential to stay informed about this issue. Make sure to learn about the policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment in your workplace, school or university.

Further, try to document everything to help you remember the name of the offenders and the incidents. Similarly, make sure to save any evidence you get which will help with your complaint. For instance, keeping the text messages, emails, photos or more.

Most importantly, always try to get external information and advice from people who will help you if you decide to file a lawsuit. Likewise, never deal with it on your own and share it with someone you trust to lighten your load.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Sexual Harassment

To conclude, sexual harassment is a very real issue that went unnoticed for a long period of time, but not anymore. It is essential for all of us to take measures to prevent it from happening as it damages the life of the victim severely. Thus, make sure you help out those who are suffering from sexual harassment and make the perpetrator accountable.

FAQ of Essay on Sexual Harassment

Question 1: What are the effects of sexual harassment?

Answer 1: Sexual harassment has major effects on the victim like suffering from significant psychological effects which include anxiety, depression , headaches, sleep disorders, lowered self-esteem, sexual dysfunction and more.

Question 2: How do you tell if someone is sexually harassing you?

Answer 2: It is essential to notice the signs if you feel someone is sexually harassing you. The most important sign is if you feel uncomfortable and experience any unwanted physical contact. If your ‘no’ does not have an impact and you’re being subjected to sexual jokes, you are being sexually harassed.

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The New York Times

The upshot | readers shared their harassment stories. experts weigh in..

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Readers Shared Their Harassment Stories. Experts Weigh In.

By THE NEW YORK TIMES MARCH 16, 2018

Surveys show that at least half of women, and many men, have experienced sexual harassment at work. But many are unsure how to respond. We invited our readers to share their questions and stories about responding to harassment. Here are 11 of them, along with feedback from experts in combating harassment that could apply to many people’s situations. Related Article

Fatima Goss Graves

Shannon Rawski

Fran Sepler

Robert Eckstein

Gillian Thomas

Saying something in public.

When I was a single mom at a new teaching job, the principal literally put his hand on my knee while sitting next to me in a meeting. A few days later, as we were talking in the main office, I said in a pretty loud voice, “I think we would work better together if you did not touch me.” It felt great and that was the end of it.

Good for you! There’s another advantage of speaking out in front of others: If they’ve experienced something similar, and they hear you, they may be more compelled to address it as well. This is how coalitions get built.

Addressing harassment directly, before it escalates, can be an effective strategy. I’m so glad that you felt able to set boundaries, and that it worked. I’m not surprised it felt great!

Saying something in private

I was groped under a table at an academic conference. He had already given me unwanted sexual attention for a few years. I told the president of the association, who said, “You wouldn’t believe how many women he’s run off over the years.” I emailed the harasser and said, “If you ever do that to me or any other woman, I won’t hesitate to call the police.” He never came to another conference.

Serial harassers in academia are a real problem. Congratulations for being direct and assertive. Now, perhaps it is time to ask the president of the association what the association is doing or will do to protect others in the future. Many conferences now have codes of conduct and avenues for reporting in the moment.

You did your part by confronting the harasser and informing the president of the association about what happened. Too bad the president didn’t. The power dynamics in academia are pronounced, and unfortunately many institutions fail to hold “superstars” accountable — a problem that is ultimately a loss for academia, as too many women leave their discipline or the field altogether in response.

Responding physically

When I was 21 and working in a restaurant, my male boss kept tickling me. I told him to stop. He thought that was funny. I said, “I will punch you if you do that again.” He took that as a joke and tickled me again, and I punched him as hard as I could on his shoulder. (My dad had taught all his daughters how to box and defend themselves.) I said, “I warned you.” He never bothered me again.

When inappropriate sexual behaviors are framed as playful, they are often perceived as more permissible in the workplace. While punching someone at work is never advisable and could be considered assault, making a clear statement that your boss’s behavior is not a joke and you prefer to keep things professional at work will help snap him out of “play mode” and decrease unwanted behaviors.

When teaching students bystander techniques, we always steer them away from interventions that involve violence; it could have unintended consequences. That being said, many people report that self-defense training has helped them to be more assertive in these situations. It can be a valuable prevention component.

Reporting to a boss

As I escorted a videography vendor around the school campus where I worked, he said to me, “I would call you pretty, but that would be inappropriate.” I had no idea what to say. I probably could have said, “Then why did you say it?” But in the moment, I was so stunned, uncomfortable and taken aback. He later made other ambiguous comments that made me uncomfortable until I reported him to my boss, who was a woman, and he was let go immediately. If my boss had been a man, I don’t know that I would have told him because I wouldn’t have expected a man to take me seriously.

Male bosses can be allies, too! Many men want to stop sexual harassment in the workplace and may be more effective at getting other men to change their behavior. Don’t let stereotypes about sexual harassment prevent you from reporting to a male boss. If you’re nervous about how a male boss might respond to a report of sexual harassment, you could always report directly to H.R.

What if there’s no H.R.?

I have been working at a marketing company for two years. My boss, the marketing director, has come in to my office at least five times and touched his penis through his pants. At first I thought he was scratching himself, but I have noticed that when we are in meetings with other men, he does not do it. It is very deliberate and he always gets in a position in which I can see him doing it. This company has no H.R. department. In the past, when an intern filed a case against my boss for racist comments, the intern was paid off and fired. I don’t know what to do. I actually like my job and what I do.

It’s shocking how many companies decide to do without H.R. It’s especially common in smaller workplaces. Talk to a manager you trust, who can be an ally. Talk to your female co-workers. Are they experiencing the same behavior? Lodging a complaint as a group would help give weight to the complaint. As for your boss’s behavior, if your internal complaint goes nowhere, you may have no other option but to get legal help. You also can file a charge (without a lawyer) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — or, if your employer has fewer than 15 employees, with the relevant city or state agency.

What if I report it and nothing happens?

I was forced to work with a new post-doc. I told my boss that I did not like him because he was rude. He said to be more friendly to him, so when he invited me to a movie, I went. He was a bit overly friendly and touchy-feely before. After the movie he told me he really liked me and wished he wasn’t married. I told him it was only professional. He grabbed me and tried to kiss me. I reported him. When he offered to quit, my boss asked him not to. They said I had no witnesses or proof. I worked with him for another year. I experienced panic attacks, anxiety and severe depression afterward. Did I really do the right thing?

Women who complain about disrespect are often coached to be “nicer” or “more friendly.” This is not O.K. or helpful. In higher education, there are often multiple resources available to help, such as Title IX coordinators, ombuds or advocates. It is not too late to get support and help.

Your employer really let you down here. Don’t blame yourself for not doing more; your boss told you loud and clear there was no point. The law requires that an employer take reasonable steps to remedy harassment of which it “knew or should have known,” and yours did nothing. Who knows how many other women were going through the same thing as you — or still are? Do not delay in seeking legal counsel; statutes of limitations can be as short as 180 days in some states.

What if it seems too subtle to report?

At the dinner following the interview for my current job, a member of the search committee put his hand on my leg under the dinner table. He cultivated a habit of hugging me hello and hanging on a little too long. Then one day his hand brushed my bottom (accidentally?) after a hug. I depend on this person to advance in my position. This is my dream job. His behavior is subtle and can be explained away; I couldn't prove anything to anyone. Eventually I told him about the existence of an anonymously authored list of men who harass women in my field, as a passive-aggressive bid to get him to back off. That has helped — no awkward hugs since then — but he is extremely popular and I can’t avoid him. Should I have done more?

Subtle forms of inappropriate sexual behavior may seem difficult to deal with because no one likes to have an awkward conversation, but not having the conversation can prolong the unwanted behavior. The key is to treat this like any other conflict management situation. Remain calm; directly state how you prefer to be treated in the workplace, such as no more hugging or physical touching; and ask that the other person respect your preferences. Most reasonable people will comply, but if things don’t change or get worse, make a formal report.

Your response was quite creative and seemed to be effective. In situations like this, it may be helpful to talk to co-workers whom you trust to see if they have had similar experiences. If the accuser is subtle in his harassment, he may have other victims who are also conflicted about saying something. You may have allies that you don’t know about, and this could be helpful if you choose to make a more formal report.

What if the harasser is a customer or client?

The idea in the service industry that you must always please the customer is such a harmful one. At 16, I was working at a frozen yogurt store. My co-worker had stepped out. An older and bigger man walked in and for several minutes leered over the counter, making comments about my body and comparing it to his ex-girlfriend’s. I kept smiling and trying to bring him back to talking about frozen yogurt. I felt like it was my job to be nice to him. He tried to walk behind the counter. I had my finger on the panic button, but my co-worker walked back in and the man left. I wish that all service industry jobs told employees that threatening customers should be rebuked and refused service.

Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from customer harassment, but that’s frequently trumped by the principle in the service industry that “the customer is always right.” That makes it very hard for workers to confront customers or ask their employers to take action. That this happened to a 16-year-old is a reminder that too many of our first jobs are accompanied by harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a website and resources for young workers.

Every worker in the service and hospitality industry must be told by management that their health and safety is more important than a sale or a customer. Every worker in service and hospitality must know that they are empowered to say: “I’m sorry, but it’s unacceptable to treat me this way. I am happy to have my manager come and talk to you about that if you like.” You never have to smile at someone who is scaring or demeaning you.

Should I avoid him?

My male boss told me, in front of my team that reports to me, that I looked particularly pretty that day. Caught off guard, I said, “Thank you” and moved on with the meeting. I wish I had said, “Thank you, but that’s not appropriate,” partly to set a good example for younger female team members. But I was too surprised and didn’t want to start a fight with my boss in front of my team. Afterward, I talked to a few friends outside my small company, and their recommendation was to limit my future one-on-one meetings and other time with my boss as much as I could, which I did. Did I do the right thing? What could I have done better?

It’s natural to want to avoid someone who makes you uncomfortable. But when it’s your boss, keeping your distance only penalizes you, depriving you of opportunities for mentoring and professional growth. It’s not too late to tell him in private that his comment bothered you. How he responds to your feedback is the real test. If he persists in making such comments, that’s the signal to elevate the issue.

Avoiding your boss is likely to backfire. To set an example for your team, have a meeting with your boss in which you very specifically discuss the comment. You could say: “When you comment on my appearance, it takes away from my professionalism and accomplishments. It is uncomfortable for me and sets a bad example for our teammates. I’d appreciate it if, in the future, you reserved your compliments for my professional work.”

What can witnesses do?

While a graduate teaching assistant (T.A.), I was talking with a female undergraduate student in the graduate T.A. office about theories of human communication. One of the theories is called “social penetration.” A male grad student a few desks behind us began whispering, “Penetration, penetration,” his volume rising with each repetition of the word. The undergraduate blushed bright pink. I simply said: “Ryan, STOP. That is not appropriate.” Then I went on talking with the undergrad as if nothing had happened. Later I told Ryan that his behavior was completely inappropriate and that if I ever heard of him engaging in such behavior again, I would report him.

This is the exact type of intervention we encourage when we do bystander trainings. You effectively called the behavior out in the moment and you followed up afterward to provide a deeper context. For anyone reading this: Do not underestimate the impact this can have on the people who witness it and the long-term health of a workplace.

It’s so important for those in positions of power to take visible action to shut down harassing conduct. Shutting that guy down sent both him and the female undergrad — and anyone else within earshot — a strong message about standards and consequences, and that’s a win for everyone.

What if I get fired for reporting?

I worked for a well-known pipeline company and I witnessed a supervisor referring to a subordinate named Tatiana as “TaTa.” He continued to do so after she reminded him of her correct name. I reported the incident to H.R. and I was fired two weeks later.

If, in fact, you were fired for reporting this, that is retaliation and is as serious as being harassed yourself. You could file a complaint with the E.E.O.C. or a state or local human rights commission. You do not need an attorney to do so, but consulting with a local plaintiff-side lawyer is also a good idea — they often offer their initial consultation for free and work on contingency arrangements.

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Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Research Paper

Introduction, impact of sexual harassment in the place of work, ethical theories.

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual behaviors or advances. In a workplace, sexual favors or related behavior is also considered sexual harassment. The use of sexual words as well as physical advances of a similar nature, qualifies as sexual harassment.

According to Snyder, Scherer & Fisher (2012), sexual harassment is considered as oral, physical and sexual behavior expressed by a person. In a workplace, sexual harassment ranges from one employee to another or from a superior to a junior worker. In most cases, sexual harassment in the workplace is used as a form of intimidation based on the victim’s gender.

There are instances when sexual harassment is conducted through employment decisions. In addition, any sexual conduct that interferes with an individual’s work performance due to intimidation or creates a hostile working environment is considered sexual harassment (Snyder, Scherer & Fisher, 2012).

For any behavior to be considered sexual harassment, the victim must not consent to the unwanted advances. From a legal perspective, subjection of the worker victim to sexual behavior is termed as an unwelcome behavior. In most cases, unwelcome behavior with sexual connotations ranges from a request for a date, comment or a joke.

There are several forms of sexual harassment. For example, attempted rape, assault, gestures, kissing, unwanted letters and gifts are considered unwanted sexual advances. Sexual harassment in the form of verbal behavior includes whistling, sexual jokes, comments and fantasies.

Non-verbal acts of sexual harassment include staring at someone, stalking and suggestive sexual gestures. On the other hand, sexual harassment is considered physical when the victim is subjected to touching, massaging, hugging or rubbing oneself against another person.

According to Keyton & Menzie (2007), any behavior that obstructs an employee’s movement and ability to perform usual task can be categorized as sexual harassment. For example, body contact, physical assault, pictures, sexual posters and drawings can hinder an employee’s ability to perform optimally (Keynes & Menzie, 2007).

The extent of sexual harassment in the workplace is a global employment issue. In this context, sexual harassment is perceived and practiced differently around the world (Tudor, 2010). However, the concept of sexual harassment has been termed an ethical issue where perpetrators forego moral principles and standards.

Nonetheless, sexual harassment is also conducted as a way of intimidating and obtaining the affluence in the workplace. There are instances, where sexual harassment is used as a way of obtaining physical pleasure. In this case, victims of sexual harassment are used as sex objects by the perpetrators.

From a legal perspective, sexual harassment is evil and is discouraged all over the world. Although the implications of sexual harassment are universal in nature, policies and legal approaches on the topic are different among countries.

The impact of sexual harassment among employees is devastating from a psychological and social perspective. The vice violates the moral of conduct in the workplace and should attract a hefty punishment (Tudor, 2010).

The impact of sexual harassment in the workplace can be detrimental to the employee and the organization from a legal and financial perspective. In most cases, employees have the right to claim sexual harassment using the federal law on the same. In this context the use of Quid Pro Quo (QPQ) and hostile work environment under the Title VII of the federal law is considered.

Quid pro quo

The QPQ is considered when an employee or victim of sexual harassment quotes a person of authority to have requested or made sexual demands. In most cases, a senior person in the workplace demands sexual favors from the subordinates in order to be treated fairly (Mainiero & Jones, 2013a).

In other instances, employers or superiors intimidate junior employees with employment termination if no sexual favors are accorded. As indicated earlier, QPQ occurs when job benefits as promotion, salary increment and employee’s performance are in question. In addition, QPQ is applied when job termination is a result of rejection of sexual advances from the superiors (Mainiero & Jones, 2013a).

From a legal perspective, QPQ sexual harassment is termed as abuse of power. The law also classifies QPQ as a form of sex discrimination targeted at employees with less influence. Labor laws discourage the QPQ sexual harassment by terming it a violation of labor law and regulations. Violations of human rights through sexual harassment are legally banned under the law of tort.

The law allows the victims of sexual harassment to prove that the heinous act occurred with an objective to discriminate against an individual. However, this legal requirement is recommended once a case for sexual harassment is established by an employee or claimant. On the other hand, employers are held liable by the law for allowing sexual harassment to take place within the workplace.

The law acknowledges the fact that managers and senior personnel act directly on behalf of the employer. The impact of sexual harassment in the workplace results to unnecessary legal battles and financial compensations once the law establishes and confirms the case.

The law requires that victims of QPQ sexual harassment be compensated in terms of medical expenses. Additional compensations to the victim by the employer include the loss of enjoyment of life and future economic loss. Although the above remedies are not punitive, employers are subjected to heavy financial compensations that could have been avoided by the managers.

The law also applies punitive measures if the case of QPQ sexual harassment is determined to have been conducted on malice and recklessness. In such a case, a sexual harassment perpetrator and employer is subjected to criminal investigations and subsequent prison term (Mainiero & Jones, 2013a).

Hostile work environment

The second impact of sexual harassment is a hostile work environment (Mainiero & Jones, 2013b). A hostile work environment is caused by unwelcome advances and gender-elated abuse that is severe in nature as perceived by law. The law terms a workplace to be a hostile work environment once the conditions are deemed uncomfortable to the employee.

The law advises employees to seek legal justice if sexual harassment is subjected an employee of the same gender. An example of conduct that constitutes to hostile work environment is sexual favoritism directed to another employee. Although sexual favoritism may be consensual, the impact of allowing sexual affairs in the workplace is distractive and uninspiring among the employees.

A legal claim of a hostile workplace must establish that the victim was subjected to unwelcome sexual advances. In addition, the victim must prove that the harassment was sex-oriented and was severe to the extent of violating the conditions of employment. Finally, the victim must prove the employer’s liability by establishing the perpetrator-employer relationship.

The impact of a hostile working place is that employees are uncomfortable working in the setting and feel violated (Mainiero & Jones, 2013b). In this regard, the workplace’s public image is tinted. An employer’s liability to enforce ethical standards and policies in the workplace is a requirement in most countries around the world.

Employees’ performance and productivity in a hostile workplace are negatively affected by unwanted sexual behaviors. The challenge of an organization in dealing with other organizations and the community is strenuous due to sexual harassment cases (Mainiero & Jones, 2013b).

The psychological impact of sexual harassment on employees is devastating if legal and ethical interventions are not implemented on time. However, prolonged sexual harassment on employees causes both short and long-term psychological effects. Short-term effects include anger and dissatisfaction with the employment. The employee’s confidence at the workplace dwindles with time.

Sometimes, the employee develops withdrawal syndromes as he or she avoids the workplace by calling in sick frequently. The probability of a sexually harassed employee experiencing panic attacks, low interest and depression is high.

The long-term effects of sexually-harassed employee are panic attacks and depression. Ultimately, an employee may consider changing career if the sexual harassment is not detected. In most cases, prolonged sexual harassment renders an employee to take legal action.

Additional impacts

Sexual harassment is associated with hefty costs on companies and personnel. Employing organizations lose money due to reducing productivity and low employee morale. In addition, organizations lose valuable staff that resign and seek employment elsewhere due to constant sexual harassment. The cost of bad decisions by managers and superiors who permit and perpetrate sexual harassment is costly.

Since some of the sexual harassment cases are subjected to legal procedures, employers and organizations incur hefty legal costs. Majority of industrial courts around the world are known of requesting hefty compensation for the victims.

Moreover, victims of sexual harassment incur personal costs if the vice is not interfered by a prevention and protection program or legal procedures. Personal costs as a result of sexual harassment is defined in terms of distress, low confidence, slow career development and personal growth, poor productivity and lack of trust.

Deontology theory of ethics expects individuals to uphold the obligation of duty. The issue of sexual harassment has never been a moral duty or obligation in the workplace. Therefore, perpetrators of sexual harassment do not act directly on behalf of the employers’ directives. In any case, if the employer allows such actions by the respective managers or supervisors, he or she is held liable by the judicial system.

According to the deontology theory, both the employer and respective managers have a moral duty to protect the employees from harm and harassment. In this regard, fellow employees are bound by the moral duty to report about acts of sexual harassment committed to other workers, irrespective of the consequences and context surrounding the perceived actions.

The deontology theory is significant in establishing ethical and moral issues surrounding the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace (McDonald, 2012). As indicated earlier, sexual harassment in the workplace is approached differently by various countries. There are countries where penetrative sexual acts are considered immoral.

On the other hand, there are countries that do not have strict laws against non-penetrative sexual acts committed in the workplace. In such scenarios, the use of law to determine the obligation to duty as implied by the deontological theory is difficult. Therefore, there is a high prevalence of sexual harassment in countries with no laws against non-penetrative sexual acts in the workplace.

The universal moral duty according to the deontology theory is to treat other people as one would like others to do to him or her (Seaquist, 2012). Although the issue of sexual harassment may lack strict regulations in some countries, the moral obligation to provide a favorable working environment is vital. The application of deontological theory reveals loopholes surrounding the issue of sexual harassment.

In this context, the need to improve work ethics and moral standards in the workplace becomes paramount. It is the goal of an organization to achieve maximum productive from motivated employees who do not feel intimidated, distracted and violated of their rights.

Consequentialism

Consequentialism is a theory of ethics that suggests the moral judgment of an action is based on the consequences. Consequentialism theory upholds that the idea of morality is to spread happiness. Therefore, sexual harassment in the workplace does not cause happiness to everyone (Hunt, Davidson, Fielden & Hoel, 2010).

In any case, the consequences of hurting someone through sexual advances do not only affect the victim, but people in the surrounding. However, consequentialism disregards some actions whose consequence may not lead to everyone’s happiness. In this regard, sexual actions that do not affect the happiness of others in the workplace are considered moral by the consequentialist theory (Hershcovis & Barling, 2010).

Apparently, consequentialism follows a set of rules that enable actions to be considered right. Therefore, if there is set of rules in the workplace, frequent sexual harassment is rendered morally right by other employees. Nonetheless, it is necessary to establish a set of rules to control moral issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace is necessary.

As indicated earlier, laws related to sexual harassment in the workplace varies by jurisdiction (Ramakrishnan, 2011). The jurisdiction depends on the aspect of law quoted in respect to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sometimes, the jurisdiction of the law applied depends on the country. Sexual harassment in the workplace can be discussed under the federal law commonly referred as the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is part of the United States EEO laws that protect human rights for all. In this regard, the Civil Rights Act is categorical about discrimination of workers based on sex, age and race.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is categorical about employment practices in the United States. In this context, Title VII prohibits employers from practicing discrimination activities that are based on gender, race and color (Hagen II, 2011). In addition, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits same-sex harassment or activities that provide a hostile environment for such employees.

The federal EEO laws advocate equal pay among the employees irrespective of the gender. The Equal pay Act in Title VII implies that employees that are performing similar work must be paid the same remuneration.

The law prohibits an employer from discriminating women who perform the same work as the men irrespective of the effort and possible maternal leave. A violation of the law can lead to an industrial legal process initiated by the labor union or the discriminated employee.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act advises victims of sexual harassment to seek legal help through the labor or civil courts.

The issue of sexual harassment in the workplace is both immoral and illegal. The current labor laws have been reformed to protect human rights. Reviewing how employees suffer both psychologically and finically is necessary for understanding the negative impact of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Therefore, strengthening of labor unions that punish perpetrators of sexual harassment is critical in curtailing the vice. In order to reduce liability exposure emanating from sexual harassment in the workplace, it is important to establish a policy against the vice (Clinton, 2010). In this regard, the prevalence of the vice in the workplace should be taken seriously by the employer.

Raising awareness about the vice and how it should be prevented in the workplace is necessary. Raising awareness can be conducted through staff meetings, sexual training sessions and use of anti-sexual harassment posters and reading materials. Developing and implementing a sexual harassment policy that is consistent with the federal EEO laws is critical.

The anti-sexual harassment policy should aim at creating a favorable working environment, as well as, encouraging appropriate moral conduct by managers. Finally, the anti-sexual harassment policy should outline measures taken to handle Quid Pro Quo complaints.

Clinton, M. S. (2010). Sexual harassment in the workplace: Are human resource professionals victims? Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 14 (1), 33-49.

Hagen II, W. W. (2011). Dissection and Analysis of the Recent Cases on Employment Discrimination Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 23 (3), 171-186.

Hershcovis, M. S., & Barling, J. (2010). Comparing victim attributions and outcomes for workplace aggression and sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95 (5), 874.

Hunt, C. M., Davidson, M. J., Fielden, S. L., & Hoel, H. (2010). Reviewing sexual harassment in the workplace–an intervention model. Personnel Review, 39 (5), 655-673.

Keyton, J., & Menzie, K. (2007). Sexually harassing messages: Decoding workplace conversation. Communication Studies, 58 (1), 87-103.

Mainiero, L., & Jones, K. (2013a). Sexual harassment versus workplace romance: Social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 27 (3), 187-203.

Mainiero, L., & Jones, K. (2013b). Workplace romance 2.0: Developing a communication ethics model to address potential sexual harassment from inappropriate social media contacts between coworkers. Journal of business ethics, 114 (2), 367-379.

McDonald, P. (2012). Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on: A review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14 (1), 1-17.

Ramakrishnan, K. B. (2011). Inconsistent legal treatment of unwanted sexual advances: A study of the homosexual advance defense, street harassment, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Berkeley J. Gender L. & Just., 26 (2), 291-355.

Seaquist, G. (2012). Business law for managers . San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Snyder, J. A., Scherer, H. L., & Fisher, B. S. (2012). Social organization and social ties: Their effects on sexual harassment victimization in the workplace. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, 42 (1), 137-150.

Tudor, T. (2010). Global Issues of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Franklin Business & Law Journal, 1 (4), 51-57.

• Sexual Harassment Issue in Australia
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Consequentialism and Deontological Debate
• Coca Cola in Colombia Case
• The Equality Act 2010 and Individual Employment Rights
• The Use of Video Surveillance Cameras in the Workplace Should Be Abolished/Reaffirmed
• The Issue of Workplace Equity
• Summary: “Social networking v. the employment-at-will doctrine” by Catherine Crane
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, June 22). Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. https://ivypanda.com/essays/power-harassment-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/

"Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace." IvyPanda , 22 June 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/power-harassment-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace'. 22 June.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace." June 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/power-harassment-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/.

1. IvyPanda . "Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace." June 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/power-harassment-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace." June 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/power-harassment-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/.

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The White House says FDIC chairman to step down following report on agency’s toxic workplace culture

FILE - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board of Directors Chairman Martin Gruenberg, testifies during the House Committee on Financial Services hearing on oversight of prudential regulators, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, May 20, 2024, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

FILE - Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on improving rail safety in response to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2023. The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, May 20, 2024, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.” (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) — The White House said Monday that the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will step down, a departure that follows the release earlier this month of a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture.

The White House said Martin Gruenberg will step down once a successor is appointed and that President Joe Biden will name a replacement “soon.” The announcement came after the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee earlier Monday called for Gruenberg’s removal.

Biden expects the FDIC “to reflect the values of decency and integrity and to protect the rights and dignity of all employees,” Deputy Press Secretary Sam Michel said in a statement.

The FDIC is one of several U.S. banking system regulators. The Great Depression-era agency is best known for running the nation’s deposit insurance program, which insures Americans’ deposits up to $250,000 in case their bank fails.

Before Monday, no Democrats had called for Gruenberg’s ouster, although several came very close to doing so. But Sen. Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and who is facing a tough reelection campaign, issued a statement Monday calling for Gruenberg to step down, saying his leadership at the FDIC could no longer be trusted.

Gruenberg was grilled for two days last week on Capitol Hill in hearings largely focused on the FDIC’s workplace culture and the failures disclosed in the report prepared by an outside law firm.

“After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving further outreach from FDIC employees to the Banking and Housing Committee, I am left with one conclusion: there must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” Brown said in a statement.

Republicans have been calling for Gruenberg’s ouster for some time and criticized the White House for not calling for his immediate departure.

Gruenberg has held positions in various levels of leadership at the FDIC for nearly 20 years, and this was his second full term as FDIC chair. His long tenure at the agency made him largely responsible for the agency’s toxic work environment, according to the independent report outlining the problems at the agency.

The report released Tuesday by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton cites incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of employment regulations, based on more than 500 complaints from employees.

Complaints included a woman who said she was stalked by a coworker and continually harassed even after complaining about his behavior; a field office supervisor referring to gay men as “little girls;” and a female field examiner who described receiving a picture of an FDIC senior examiner’s private parts.

AP Treasury Department Reporter Fatima Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.

San Diego Unified school police chief, facing harassment allegations, will retire

Chief alfonso contreras will retire after serving just two years in the job; in december, officers sued him and the police department, accusing him of harassment.

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San Diego Unified School District’s police chief is retiring after just two years in the job, officials announced Friday, months after accusations surfaced that he sexually assaulted an officer, discriminated against others and allowed violations of employment law.

In December, 11 officers, roughly a third of the small department, sued Chief Alfonso Contreras and the district, alleging that he and other supervisors he is friends with had discriminated against them for years based on their race, disability, gender and sexual orientation.

The lawsuit also alleged Contreras sexually assaulted a female officer years ago.

Contreras, who has spent more than three decades with the department, has been on paid administrative leave since January, a district spokesperson said. Most of the allegations were first made public in August of last year.

“The District would like to thank Chief Contreras for all his efforts and contributions to provide a safe learning environment for our students, staff and communities for the past 32 years,” interim police Chief Donald Braun wrote in a memo to school police personnel Friday. “He has been a faithful steward to the District, and we value all his hard work. We wish him all the luck on his future endeavors.”

Contreras did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The officer plaintiffs attributed the harassment and abuse to what they referred to as a clique within the department that centered around Contreras and investigative Sergeant Jenifer Gruner. The plaintiffs say the two have been in a relationship for decades, creating a conflict of interest in the department and special privileges for Gruner.

Plaintiffs said members of the clique — which they said also includes Captain Ivan Picazo, Captain David Landman and Sergeant Robert Bonilla — have subjected officers to verbal abuse, mocked them for their medical conditions, made anti-gay and racist comments and denied them training, overtime pay and promotional opportunities. They also alleged that Gruner had committed time card fraud with her supervisor’s knowledge.

The lawsuit also names Superintendent Lamont Jackson as a defendant, in addition to Contreras, Gruner and the school police department.

The lawsuit alleges Jackson retaliated against one of the officer plaintiffs by intimidating his girlfriend, a teacher in the district. The lawsuit claimed Jackson came to her classroom, watched her teach and gave her an unwanted hug, even though they had never met before.

Jackson is under internal investigation for undisclosed reasons. It’s unclear if the lawsuit allegations are related.

Jackson has not responded to requests for comment.

Neither the plaintiffs’ attorney nor the school police union president, who is one of the plaintiffs, could be immediately reached for comment.

It’s not clear if the district has completed an investigation into the police allegations.

The next court event for the lawsuit, a case management conference, isn’t scheduled until November 2025.

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FDIC chairman Martin Gruenberg to resign following investigations into sexual harassment at the bank regulator

• The FDIC chairman, Martin Gruenberg, has said he'll resign following a report on poor workplace culture.
• An investigation found that the FDIC's culture was misogynistic and that wrongdoers weren't punished.
• President Joe Biden is set to nominate a new FDIC chair, whom the Senate would then vote on.

The chairman of a key US bank regulator has said he'll resign after an independent investigation found widespread sexual harassment and other issues at the agency, and politicians from both major parties criticized his leadership.

The independent report from earlier this month found the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had a "patriarchal," "misogynistic," and "insular" work culture. The report also probed the strong temper of the FDIC chairman, Martin Gruenberg.

The 71-year-old Democratic chairman has spent nearly a decade in the role under multiple presidential administrations.

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In an email to staff on Monday cited by The Wall Street Journal, Gruenberg said he'd resign once a successor had been found. Staying in office would prevent the FDIC vice chairman, Travis Hill, a Republican, from becoming the agency's acting chairman.

"In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed," Gruenberg said in the email, according to the Journal. He added that he'd continue to fulfill his responsibilities in the meantime, "including the transformation of the FDIC's workplace culture."

The White House said that President Joe Biden would soon nominate a new FDIC chairman and that it expected the Senate to move quickly to confirm the nominee.

At a hearing earlier this month, House of Representative members questioned the FDIC's ability to do its job as a bank regulator and stop bank failures if Gruenberg was yelling at employees who brought him bad news.

"I accept the findings of the reports, and as chairman, I take full responsibility to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment, discrimination, or other misconduct at the FDIC," Gruenberg said at the hearing.

Lawmakers from both major parties asked for him to step down during the hearing.

The 234-page summary of the monthslong investigation, led by the external law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, highlighted long-standing and recent issues at the agency. The report said that the FDIC had dismissed myriad harassment complaints and that wrongdoers had been moved around internally or promoted.

Investigators said they set up a hotline in mid-January and received more than 500 complaints — largely from current employees — about sexual harassment, discrimination, and other issues. The FDIC has about 6,000 employees.

The report characterized the FDIC's culture as "a 'good ol' boys' club where favoritism is common, wagons are circled around managers, and senior executives with well-known reputations for pursuing romantic relations with subordinates enjoy long careers without any apparent consequence."

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