Male/Female Differences in Perceptions of
Sexual Harassment
One of your male co-workers has a revealing photograph of a female on his desk at work.
You ask him to remove the picture because it makes you feel uncomfortable. He does not
remove the picture. Do you think this is a form of sexual harassment? According to
Bertha Brooks, a speaker on the subject of sexual harassment, this scenario exhibits a
form of sexual harassment. For many people sexual harassment implies different
behaviors; there are people who believe this scenario would be far from any type of
harassment.
This study investigates the different perceptions of how men and women define sexual
harassment. It may be a simple look, slight touch, or a verbal comment. Whatever the
situation, there will be a variance in the degrees, as to what men and women constitute
as being sexual harassment. "Psychological texts on sexual harassment outline various
forms of behavior ranging from quid pro quo demands for sexual services to hostile jokes
and sexual innuendo" (American Psychological Association, 1981, 1991).
"Sexual joking, touching, and patting may be considered unwelcome sexual
attention to some, but not others" (Gutek, Morasch, and Cohen, 1983). Women more often
than men conclude that these forms of sexual harassment are serious and offending.
Is there a difference between what men perceive as sexual harassment and what women
consider sexual harassment? The purpose of this study is to determine if in fact there
is a difference. According to earlier research, men and women would perceive and define
sexual harassment differently (Ellison v. Brady, 1989). "The findings that women define
sexual harassment more broadly and inclusive than men is reliable" (Ellison v. Brady).
"A significant difference between the sexes shows up both in surveys of working people
and in scenario studies; fifty-nine percent of men rated sexual touching as sexual
harassment whereas eighty-four percent of women" (Dunwoody-Miller and Gutek, 1985).
This study was conducted on a small northeast public college campus by four experimental
psychology students. Before the actual research was done, twenty males and twenty
females were pre-tested to see if the questionnaire, that was to be used for the actual
research was a valid measure; one that would prove differences in perceptions between
males and females beliefs on sexual harassment. After the data was collected, the
researchers moved forward because they found differences between men and women. A total
of one hundred subjects were then randomly chosen to participate in this study. They
were given a questionnaire where they had to rate sexual harassment on a scale when given
different scenarios.
Previous research has uncovered gender-based differences in a variety of sexual
harassment related issues. For example, "females are much more likely than males to
report that they experienced some form of unwelcome sexual attention" (United States
Merit Systems Protection Board, 1980, 1988). Moreover, females consistently define more
social-sexual behaviors as sexual harassment than do males; Females believe that sexual
harassment is a more frequent occurrence (Ronrod & Gutek, 1986).
The terrain of events called "sexual harassment" by some women and called "normal" or
"acceptable" by men is vast. Women generally state that the subtle forms of sexual
harassment are just as serious than the more extreme and obvious forms. Men and women
often perceive sexual harassment situations differently (Gutek, 1985). As a result of
our research the hypothesis of this study was: Men and women will not always agree on
what constitutes sexual harassment. Women will perceive milder forms of harassment more
than men.
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