Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sexual Harassment at Work in the United States

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antecol, H., & Cobb-Clark, D. (2001). Men, women, and sexual harassment in the U.S. military. Gender Issues, 19, 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armour, S. (2004, September 17). More men say they are sexually harassed at work. USA Today, p. 1B.

  • Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., & Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development, 62, 647–670.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berdahl, J. L., Magley, V. J., & Waldo, C. R. (1996). The sexual harassment of men? Exploring the concept with theory and data. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 527–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, C., & Schlaffer, E. (1997). “The man in the street”: Why he harasses. In L. Richardson, V. Taylor, & N. Whittier (Eds.), Feminist frontiers IV (pp. 395–398). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C., & Laumann, E. O. (1997). Sexual contact between children and adults: A life course perspective. American Sociological Review, 62, 540–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C., & Laumann, E. O. (2003). The social context of adaptation to childhood sexual maltreatment: A life course perspective. In J. Bancroft (Ed.), Sexual development in childhood (pp. 383–404). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carey, M. (1994). Gender and power: Boys will be boys and so will girls. Irish Journal of Sociology, 4, 105–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cholewinski, J. T., & Burge, J. M. (1990). Sexual harassment of nursing students. Nursing Scholarship, 22, 106–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R. V., & Felson, M. (1993). Introduction: Criminology, routine activity, and rational choice. In C. V. Felson & M. Felson (Eds.), Routine activity and rational choice: Advances in criminological theory (Vol. 5, pp. 1–13). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

  • Cleveland, J. N., & Kerst, M. E. (1993). Sexual harassment and perceptions of power: An under-articulated relationship. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 49–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L. E., Kluegel, J. R., & Land, K. C. (1981). Social inequality and predatory criminal victimization: An exposition and test of a formal theory. American Sociological Review, 46, 505–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Coster, S., Estes, S. B., & Mueller, C. W. (1999). Routine activities and sexual harassment in the workplace. Work and Occupations, 26, 21–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeSouza, E., & Solberg, J. (2004). Women’s and men’s reactions to man-to-man sexual harassment: Does the sexual orientation of the victim matter? Sex Roles, 50, 623–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiVasto, P. V., Kaufman, A., Rosner, L., Jackson, R., Christy, J., Pearson, S., et al. (1984). The prevalence of sexually stressful events among females in the general population. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 13, 59–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellingson, S., Laumann, E. O., Paik, A., & Mahay, J. (2004). The theory of sex markets. In E. O. Laumann, S. Ellingson, J. Mahay, A. Paik, & Y. Youm (Eds.), The sexual organization of the city (pp. 3–39). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R. K., & Turner, H. A. (2007). Polyvictimization and trauma in a national longitudinal cohort. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 149–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finnis, S. J., & Robbins, I. (1994). Sexual harassment of nurses: An occupational hazard. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 3, 87–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, S. T., & Glick, P. (1995). Ambivalence and stereotypes cause sexual harassment: A theory with implications for organizational change. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 97–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, L. F., Drasgow, F., & Magley, V. J. (1999). Sexual harassment in the armed forces: A test of an integrated model. Military Psychology, 11, 329–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, L. F., & Shullman, S. L. (1993). Sexual harassment: A research analysis and agenda for the 1990s. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 5–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1997). Hostile and benevolent sexism: Measuring ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 119–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grieco, A. (1987). Scope and nature of sexual harassment in nursing. Journal of Sex Research, 23, 261–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. (1995, February 26). Now look who’s taunting. New look who’s suing. New York Times, pp. 1, 6, Section 4.

  • Gruber, J. E. (1998). The impact of male work environments and organizational policies on women’s experiences of sexual harassment. Gender and Society, 12, 301–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J. E., & Bjorn, L. (1982). Blue collar blues: The sexual harassment of women autoworkers. Work and Occupations, 9, 271–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutek, B. A. (1985). Sex and the workplace: The impact of sexual behavior and harassment on women, men and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harned, M. S., Ormerod, A. J., Palmieri, P. A., Collinsworth, L. L., & Reed, M. (2002). Sexual assault and other types of sexual harassment by workplace personnel: A comparison of antecedents and consequences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 174–188.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, K. D., & Tadic, V. (1998). ‘Something to deal with’: Customer sexual harassment and women’s retail service work in Canada. Gender, Work and Organization, 5, 207–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaRocca, M. A., & Kromrey, J. D. (1999). The perception of sexual harassment in higher education: Impact of gender and attractiveness. Sex Roles, 40, 921–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawlor, J. (1994, January 17). Women gain power, means to abuse it. USA Today, pp. 1–2.

  • Laumann, E. O., Browning, C., Rijt, A. V. D., & Gatzeva, M. (2003). Sexual contact between children and adults: A life-course perspective with special reference to men. In J. Bancroft (Ed.), Sexual development in childhood (pp. 293–327). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

  • Mansfield, P. K., Koch, P. B., Henderson, J., Vicary, J. R., Cohn, M., & Young, E. W. (1991). The job climate for women in traditionally male blue-collar occupations. Sex Roles, 25, 63–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martindale, S. (1991). Sexual harassment in the military: 1988. Sociological Practice Review, 2, 200–216.

  • Moffit, T. E., Caspi, A., Belsky, J., & Silva, P. A. (1992). Childhood experience and the onset of menarche: A test of a sociobiological model. Child Development, 63, 47–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, C. W., De Coster, S., & Estes, S. B. (2001). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Work and Occupations, 28, 411–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell, C. E., & Korabik, K. (2000). Sexual harassment: The relationship of personal vulnerability, work context, perpetrator status, and type of harassment outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 299–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan, S. (1994). Men, too, are sexually harassed. Chinese Education and Society, 27, 37–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parish, W. L., Das, A., & Laumann, E. O. (2006). Sexual harassment of women in urban China. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 411–425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, I., Bender, M. P., & Finnis, S. J. (1997). Sexual harassment in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 163–169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheets, V. L., & Braver, S. L. (1999). Organizational status and perceived sexual harassment: Detecting the mediators of a null effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1159–1171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shupe, E. I., Cortina, L. M., Ramos, A., Fitzgerald, L. F., & Salisbury, J. (2002). The incidence and outcomes of sexual harassment among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women: A comparison across levels of cultural affiliation. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 298–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svedin, C. G., & Priebe, G. (2007). Selling sex in a population-based study of high school seniors in Sweden: Demographic and psychosocial correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 21–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tangri, S. S., Burt, M. R., & Johnson, L. B. (1982). Sexual harassment at work: Three explanatory models. Journal of Social Issues, 38, 33–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Udry, J. R. (1988). Biological predispositions and social control in adolescent sexual behavior. American Sociological Review, 53, 709–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2004). Sexual harassment as a gendered expression of power. American Sociological Review, 69, 64–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1981). Sexual harassment in the federal workplace: Is it a problem? Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1988). Sexual harassment in the federal government: An update. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1995). Sexual harassment in the federal government: Trends, progress, continuing challenges. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaux, A. (1993). Paradigmatic assumptions in sexual harassment research: Being guided without being misled. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 116–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldo, C. R., Berdahl, J. L., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1998). Are men sexually harassed? If so, by whom? Law and Human Behavior, 22, 59–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waldner, L. K., Vanden-Goad, L., & Sikka, A. (1999). Sexual coercion in India: An exploratory analysis using demographic variables. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28, 523–538.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walshok, M. L. (1987). Blue collar women: Pioneers on the male frontier. Garden City, NY: Anchor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wayne, J. H. (2000). Disentangling the power base of sexual harassment: Comparing gender, age, and position power. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57, 301–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, S., Carr, J., MacQuarrie, B., & Huntley, A. (2006). “I’m not thinking of it as sexual harassment”: Understanding harassment across race and citizenship. Gender and Society, 20, 87–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. L., Giuffre, P. A., & Dellinger, K. (1999). Sexuality in the workplace: Organizational control, sexual harassment, and the pursuit of pleasure. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, F., & Thompson, P. (2001). Sexual harassment as an exercise in power. Gender, Work and Organizations, 8, 61–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyatt, G. E., & Riederle, M. (1995). The prevalence and context of sexual harassment among African American and white American women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 309–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yount, K. R. (1991). Ladies, flirts, and tomboys: Strategies for managing sexual harassment in an underground coal mine. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 19, 396–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due, first, to William Parish, Edward Laumann, the Editor, and anonymous reviewers for their generous and helpful comments on successive drafts of this article. In addition, I am grateful to Xiaotian Zhang, Yanni Hao, and Sanyu Mojola for their insights.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Aniruddha Das

Authors
  1. Aniruddha Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aniruddha Das.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Das, A. Sexual Harassment at Work in the United States. Arch Sex Behav 38, 909–921 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9354-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9354-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation