8.4c Workplace Harassment

Another part of the glass ceiling is sex- and gender-based harassment. Harassment consists of actions, words, or both directed toward an individual to make the person feel unsafe or distressed. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2022) legally defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”

In a national longitudinal survey of 522 participants, researchers found that women in workplace roles with more authority, such as supervisors, were more likely to face workplace sexual harassment compared to women in roles with less authority (McLaughlin et al., 2012). These scholars also conducted qualitative interviews with 33 survey participants to understand the relationship between authority, gender, and sexual harassment (McLaughlin et al., 2017). They found that supervisors, co-workers, subordinates, customers, and clients who instigate sexual harassment do so to keep women “in their place” in the workplace. As a result, women who are sexually harassed are more likely to change their jobs than women who do not experience harassment. Job changes to escape sexual harassment result in pay cuts and lost wages that follow women over their careers.

Photo 8.14

Unwelcome Physical Touch Is a Form of Sexual Harassment

Businessman sexually harass… [Photograph]. Prostock-studio via Canva Pro.

Since the 1990s, reported sexual harassment of White women has declined, but for African American women, it has remained stable. Further, sexual harassment towards African American women is often racialized sexual harassment, meaning it also includes racism (Buchanan & Ormerod, 2002). Cassino and Besen-Cassino (2019) argue that this trend supports the notion that sexual harassment is about power in the workplace.

A related phenomenon is gender harassment. Gender harassment includes remarks, slurs, and other put-downs based on sex or gender (Cortina & Areguin, 2021). Cortina and Areguin (2020) find that the most prevalent form of sexual harassment is gender harassment. Rather than focusing on sexual activity, this behavior looks to diminish and exclude people based on their gender.

Despite significant increases in women’s employment, educational gains among women, and legal protections for women, women are still disadvantaged in the workplace. Work organizations are still designed around men as ideal workers contributing to continued gender stratification. Moreover, men of color do not experience the same advantages as White men, and White women experience advantages over African American women, suggesting that work organizations are also racialized (see Chapter 9). Factors such as the glass ceiling, sexual harassment, and gender harassment reduce women’s power and authority in the workplace, advantaging men. As a result, men are more likely to reach the highest leadership positions and receive greater economic rewards.