Disentangling the Power Bases of Sexual Harassment: Comparing Gender, Age, and Position Power

To better understand the effects of organizational and sociocultural power on decisions in a sexual harassment case, harasser gender (male/female), position power (supervisor, subordinate, and coworker), harasser age (older/younger), and target age (older/younger) were manipulated. Participants read...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of vocational behavior Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 301 - 325
Main Author Wayne, Julie Holliday
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 01.12.2000
Subjects
Age
Age Differences
College Students
Employment Level
Organizational Structure
Power Structure
Sex Differences
Sex Role
Sexual Harassment
Sociocultural Factors
Superior Subordinate Relationship
Supervisors
Work Environment
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Summary:To better understand the effects of organizational and sociocultural power on decisions in a sexual harassment case, harasser gender (male/female), position power (supervisor, subordinate, and coworker), harasser age (older/younger), and target age (older/younger) were manipulated. Participants read a sexual harassment case and rated their verdicts, perceived unwelcomeness of the behavior, and the organization's responsibility. Subordinate-to-supervisor cases were rated more harshly than coworker cases. Behavior by older males and younger females was perceived as more welcome. Female mock jurors rated the organization as more responsible than did males, but males and females did not differ on verdict or unwelcomeness ratings. Findings for harasser gender were inconsistent. Results suggest more support for a role-discrepant model of sexual harassment (Pryor, 1985) than either the organizational or sociocultural model.
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ISSN:0001-8791
1095-9084
DOI:10.1006/jvbe.1999.1750