Sexual Harassment in the Workplace | 08/14/2009 9:15 am

Women Supervisors Bigger Targets of Sexual Harassment Than Those in Lower Positions

Surprising research defies traditional belief that lower-rung women are more vulnerable and susceptible to harassment.

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Women in higher positions at work may get a bigger paycheck than women on the lower rungs of the professional ladder, but there’s a price to pay for being on top.

New research detailing who faces sexual harassment in the workplace shows that female supervisors are more likely to be targeted than women in lower positions, according to HealthDay News. That’s surprising, since it has traditionally been thought that women in the lower ranks were more vulnerable and susceptible to such poor treatment. Harassment could come in the form of offensive material, discussions of sex, staring or leering, invasion of personal space, questions about one’s private life or unwanted touching.

"You assume people with less power are less likely to tell on people with more power, because they are more dependent on keeping the job," said university sociologist Heather McLaughlin, who authored the study. "But we found women who had more workplace power, who did supervise others, were more likely to be sexually harassed."

Nearly half of women supervisors surveyed from various professions reported sexual harassment in the workplace, whereas only one-third of non-supervisor women were harassed. McLaughlin said this leads us to believe that males in the workplace may use harassment as an "equalizer" of power. The findings were to be announced at the American Sociological Association meeting this week.

The ASA also recently announced new research from the University of Ohio that found that although a college education has helped women narrow the wage gap with men, their college major is a big factor in determining just how big that gap is once they enter the workforce.

To our wOw audience: Have you — either as a female supervisor or in another position — ever faced sexual harassment in the workplace? What was it and how do you think it can be eliminated?

5 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

The sexual harassment that I encountered throughout my many positions in various jobs were just men sniffing around––lots of sexual innuendos ––they just wanted to be taken seriously as an attractive partner in the sack. I never encountered anything crude. As uncomfortable as some of them made me, and those were far and few between, I managed to remain intact and remain on friendly terms. These were the days when there was no such thing as the term "sexual harassment" and you learned to deal with it. If I were in such a position today, I’d be much more aggressive in my metier. If men are using this harassment as an "equalizer" then perhaps it would be prudent to address that question with said harasser.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 08/14/2009 10:19 am

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Sexual harassment to the core is about power. So it would stand to reason women of authority may experience it more but I would argue as a woman who is in management, we don’t tolerate it as much as a woman who is a subordinate would.

The most overt experience I ever had regarding sexual harassment was when I was working as a Legislative Assistant (filling in for one of my sisters) and a certain Alderman who was well known for having an alcohol problem, came stumbling into my office. He rambled on about this and that. I got up and opened the door to make sure if anything happened, others walking down the hall would see and hear.

The next thing I knew he started telling me how beautiful he thought I was, I just smiled nervously and politely as I continued typing. Then out of the blue I turned to see him standing next to my desk with his pants unzipped and his penis out. Before I could turn my "professional Belinda" persona off and turn my "Oh no he didn’t!" persona on, in walked another Alderman who happened to be one of his closest friends. He asked him "what the hell are you doing _______" at which point the drunk said "I was about to take a piss"

The sober Alderman asked that I not discuss what happened with anyone as he escorted the drunk from my office. That particular alderman by the way was indicted on criminal charges (corruption I believe) and sent to prison years later. And to this day the only people I have ever talked about this with have been my sisters and now you.

By Belinda Joy on 08/14/2009 10:24 am

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I have only been harassed as an entry level employee… a manager at the office supply store i was working at hauled me up in his office and shoved his tongue down my throat. I forcibly told him to stop and pushed him away. I went on vacation the next day and came back a week later. I was written up for not stocking my shelves properly…. um while I was GONE….. Needless to say I quit right then and there.

As a manager I have never experienced it. Of course I believe it all has to do with the type of company you work for. The current company I work for now is very progressive and has many women in places of executive leadership. Compare this to an office supply chain with little or no supervision…..

By aud b on 08/14/2009 10:37 am

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Too ugly to recall. But it was everywhere. Rather than fellow teammembers, men treated women on their level as competitors and yikes were we resented! Their "passes" could be crude and humiliating. And if their boss mentored one of the women, lots of whispers and dirty rumors, and lots of silent sneaky passive resistant undermining … oh yuk. Like I said, too ugly to recall.

By rocky rocky on 08/14/2009 11:51 am

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In 30 years of working with mostly men, I have never experienced sexual harrassment where they came on to me "sexually," and in my youth, I was pretty, slender and usually married. However, I have always been told I give off a cold exterior while at work. (At play, I’m quite different.) So I’m sure that’s why. What I experienced is that male supervisors seem to have a tendency to look down on their female employees with gender putdowns while a female supervisor might have more compassion when problems occur…sometimes.

One example was when our 45 year old unmarried CEO started checking credit ratings after I was hired (we were a very small 8-person oil company). I told him that my credit rating wasn’t good because of my last divorce. He laughed and said he thought women got rich in their divorces, which explained to me why he didn’t marry his long-time girlfriend. Eventually, I lost my job, this CEO said he wanted someone with an accounting degree. Later I used that, and other actions, hiring the male intern and not the female intern who created the internship program (I’d been told we needed 2 interns, then the CEO changed that to one intern) into an EEOC complaint (as well as not paying me overtime for six months) which we settled in my favor (half a year’s salary). This happened in 2008.

Another example, was a wholesale florist company whose customers were primarly women, but the employees were primarily men. One year, just months apart, this male-dominated company fired the few women in the company, about four. The reason was males were given preference to the women, better hours, better pay. When the women protested, they were fired, the company said for insubordination, which really meant, they were not allowed to speak up for our rights. As it was not my lawsuit, I helped give testimony of the inequality. The company lost. This happened in 1998.

So this gender inequality by men has not stopped in the workforce. It is a form of sexual harrasment based on gender. Because we are women, we still aren’t allowed the same opportunities as men while on the same job. But I suppose it’s getting better.

By Laura Ward on 08/14/2009 3:31 pm