Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Sexual harassment is broadly defined as unwelcome verbal or physical sexual overtures that may be made a condition of employment or otherwise affect one's job or career and/or create a hostile or intimidating work environment. Sexual harassment is treatment based on gender , constitutes a form of stress for victims, is an impediment to equal opportunity, and thus is a human resource management issue. Most of the research focuses on three questions: (1) How common is it? (2) How do people define it? (3) What do theories such as social identity theory or sex‐role spillover contribute to our understanding it? In countries where research has been done, an estimated 25–50 percent of women have been sexually harassed sometime in their work life. Women who work in non‐traditional jobs are more likely than other women to be sexually harassed, in part because of the amount of contact they have with men in their work. While men can be and are harassed by both sexes, many fewer men than women are harassed. Although it is somewhat “subjective” in nature, research shows that most people agree that behavior like fondling and sexual overtures accompanied by job threats are sexual harassment. There is, however, disagreement about the less severe behavior. Many researchers have examined the factors such as gender that affect the definition of sexual harassment. Although the gender effect appears ... log in or subscribe to read full text