Sexual Harassment at Work in the United States

Abstract

Using nationally representative data from the 1992 U.S. National Health and Social Life Survey, this study queried the prevalence and risk factors of lifetime workplace sexual harassment among both women and men. Among those aged 18-60 reporting ever having worked, 41% of women (CI, 37-44) reported any workplace harassment over their lifetime, with men's harassment prevalence significantly lower, at 32% (CI, 29-35). In the youngest age groups (those in their 20s or younger), there was no statistically significant difference between women's and men's harassment prevalence. Multivariate analysis of risk factors suggested that, in contrast to much of the harassment literature, among both genders workplace harassment seemed to have at least as much to do with a system of "routine activities" mechanisms-a victim's conscious or unconscious sexual signaling, more exposure to potential harassers, and a perpetrator's lower cost of harassment-as with unobserved differences in power between victim and perpetrator. Strikingly, both women's and men's harassment was strongly linked to markers of sexualization, whether early developmental factors or behavioral patterns in adulthood-a mechanism insufficiently emphasized in the harassment literature.

Risk factors and outcomes of chronic sexual harassment during the transition to college: Examination of a two-part growth mixture model

“…While relations between gender and SH have been mixed in the previous literature (Berdahl and Moore, 2006; Das, 2009; Hand and Sanchez, 2000; Kalof et al, 2001; McGinley et al, 2011; McMaster et al, 2002; Petersen and Hyde, 2009a,b; Rospenda et al, 2000; Wei and Chen, 2012), this study suggests that collegiate women are at a heightened risk for being a member of the Chronic Class . Notably, whereas being male directly predicted future substance use, being female was also related to future substance use indirectly, via chronic SH experiences.…”

“…Research on SH and gender has been mixed. While several studies have reported that women experience greater mean levels of SH than men (Berdahl and Moore, 2006; Das, 2009; Hand and Sanchez, 2000; Kalof et al, 2001; Lott et al, 1982; Reilly et al, 1986), others have reported more nuanced (McGinley et al, 2011), nonsignificant (Rospenda et al, 2000), or reversed (McMaster et al, 2002; Petersen and Hyde, 2009a,b; Wei and Chen, 2012) links between gender and SH. Still, studies have shown that some women are especially stressed or prone to self-blame by this form of victimization, which may have implications on their mental health (Goldstein et al, 2007; Lott et al, 1982; Petersen and Hyde, 2013a, 2013b; Till, 1980; Yoon et al, 2010), although few studies have attempted to understand these relations longitudinally in a young adult collegiate sample.…”

Duration of Sexual Harassment and Generalized Harassment in the Workplace Over Ten Years: Effects on Deleterious Drinking Outcomes

“…This set of complex findings reflects inconsistent findings in the race and harassment literature as aforementioned. 10,44-46 Notably, individuals from certain racial/ethnic groups may see some types of harassment (e.g., sexual) as “normal”, and may report fewer harassment experiences than their white counterparts, 36,41,44,60 or no difference at all. 61,62 Differential labeling of personal sexual harassment experiences as a function of race/ethnicity may thus explain this set of findings.…”

Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power

“…We also include indicators of educational attainment (mean = 14.7 years) and self-reported household income. De Coster et al (1999:29) find that more educated females, who challenge the “economic and status resources traditionally monopolized by males,” are more likely to report harassment (see also, Das 2009). …”