SEXUAL HARASSMENT: THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT: THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED.
By:
ANAM ALI KHAN,
BUSHRA ARFEEN,
SUMAIRA DILDAR AND
RAO RAZA HASHIM
dr.raorazahashim@gmail.com
Abstract
Since the beginning of the time, the stereotyping that is associated with both the genders has been setting the basis for the power dynamics between them. While men are considered to be strong, powerful and masculine, characteristics like weak and fragile define women and based on the attributes that elucidate the conduct of each gender, even in the 21st century, the weak continues to suffer at the hands of the powerful. Even though the modern times have normalized the presence of females at work places, the weakness and vulnerability associated with their gender leads to their exploitation at the hands of the male colleagues. Coming from a stronger position and having instilled the culture of hyper masculinity in their mindsets and conduct, these men harass women and the lack of attention given to this grave issue leaves females unheard and unprotected. Sexual harassment continues to be practiced in all parts of the world despite the existence of the laws against it and while many cases go unreported and the culture of silence being widely practiced, the ones that are reported either create further issues at the workplace for the women or they are simply swept under the rug. The research explores the practice of the sexual harassment at workplaces by exploring the socio-cultural and the organizational models and evaluates the cases of harassment in the light of those models. The study also examines the consequences of harassment that prove to be detrimental for both the victim and the organization.
Introduction
Development beyond borders, growth and innovation are some of the widely known characteristics of the 21st century as by far, this century has proven to more modern and civilized as compared to the earlier ones. However, the rising inequality is yet another reality of this century because despite all the growth and development, equality is still absent. As a matter of fact, these inequalities are not just based on race, color or wealth; they are also socially constructed and are so deeply embedded into the structure of the societies that they act as the defining factor of the societal dynamics. Ironically, even the most advanced century of all times has failed to eradicate this flawed social construction of identities that has led to stereotyping which in turn defines the roles and status of a section of society, regardless of its strength and capabilities (Castillo-Mayen & Montes-Berges, 2014). It is because of this very reason that women in all parts of the world continue to be labeled as fragile and weak which puts them in a vulnerable position, hence, the powerful gender continues to exercise its power over the weaker one. One of the ways in which men exert control and demonstrate their power is harassment which is rapidly gaining momentum especially at the workplaces because since the beginning of the time, with the aid of the stereotyping, men have been claiming the ownership of the public sphere. The politics between the genders is entirely based on power dynamics and harassment is actually a show of power as claimed by Michael Crichton whoexpresses that harassment is associated with power. According to Crichton, it works when power is unduly exercised by the superior over the subordinate (Crichton, n.d.).
Sexual harassment is not limited to any specific part of the world, it not just occurs in the under developed part of the world but also in the part of the world that claims to be advanced and civilized. Even in the countries like the United States, this issue has been widely prevalent and is so common that it occurs in every other field. From Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, to James Toback, a Hollywood film director and even Mark Halperin, a political commentator as well as, Alex Kozinski, a United States federal judge, all these men have been accused of abusing women by projecting the power that is provided to them through gender stereotyping (Editor, 2017). To understand the gravity of the issue, it is pertinent to define sexual harassment in order to get a better idea of what falls under the ambit of the practice. In that case, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Report 2016 presents sexual harassment as an “unwelcome or offensive conduct in the workplace that: (a) is based on sex (including sexual orientation, pregnancy, and gender identity), race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, and/or genetic information; and (b) is detrimental to an employee’s work performance, professional advancement, and/or mental health. This includes, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, undue attention, physical assaults or threats, unwelcome touching or contact, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, constant or unwelcome questions about an individual’s identity, and offensive objects or pictures” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2017). Here, it should be taken into consideration that the individuals who are a victim of the acts stated in the definition belong to the weaker section of the society and women are one of the prominent weak group.
Now that the basic idea of harassment is established and it is also clear that it frequently occurs in all parts of the world, it is significant to explore the factors that are primarily responsible for its occurrence and in that case, there are two theories that provide an insight of the issue. The first being the socio-cultural and the second, the organizational theory. Both these theories set the framework for the study and provide the basis for the argument. In addition, it is also important to assess the cases and evaluate them in the light of the discussed models. The research further argues that the victims go through depression and other mental issues and that also leaves a huge impact on their jobs. Moreover, the organization also suffers the consequences of the act and hence, the study proposes certain ways to deal with the issue.
The Theoretical Perspective
The Socio-Cultural Model: A Driving Force Behind Harassment
One of the most prominent theories that explain the phenomenon of harassment is the socio-cultural theory. The theory presented by MacKinnon in 1979 proposes that “sexual harassment” is an act of discrimination because it subjugates women. The roots of the subjugation originate from the social differences as well as the inequalities between the gender and these inequalities result in discrimination which proves to be detrimental for the weaker gender. The fact is that women occupy a lower position in comparison with men and are vulnerable which leads to them becoming a victim of sexual harassment. This in turn contributes as well as reinforces the alreadyexisting subordination of women who are harassed only because of their gender. There is a broad acceptance of Mackinnon’s socio-cultural model of sexual harassment and it is accepted that harassment is linked with the concepts of male dominance and superiority and thus, it is sexist in nature (Matchen & DeSouza, 2000). It works to preserve male dominationand discourages women from working, reinforcing the idea that they belong to the private sphere while the public sphere is owned by the men. Ironically, men usually consider that their behavior justified at the workplace and claim it is the women who are actually blame their own self for becoming victim to sexual harassment at workplace (Connell, 1987 & 1992). The reality is that it is the system that gives privilege to a singular and exclusive vision of “adult masculinity” over women and the theory further explains that sexual harassment singles a specific gender with a special treatment different from the other gender (Scot, 1999). Moreover, harassment limits the opportunity available to a woman in comparison with a man who is not faced with fulfilling sexual conditions at workplace. Therefore, it creates two different set of conditions/ employment standards. It violates the principal of equality and is tantamount to disparate treatment of workers on basis of sex.
In simple words, the socio-cultural model presented by MacKinnon highlights that the cultural norms act as the driving force behind the prevalence of the practice of sexual harassment. This theory makes it clear that the act is in reality, deeply embedded within the social fabric of the society because it is the society that provides power to the men, leaving the women in a weaker position. These men then demonstrate their power not only in the private sphere but also in the public sphere which happens to be “owned” by them.
The Organizational Model: An Extension of the Socio-Cultural Factors
Another significant model that happens to provide a plausible explanation for the occurrence of the act of harassment is the organizational theory which claims that sexual harassment at workplace occurs due to organizational factors i.e. inequalities of status and power inside an organization (Gruber, 1992). These inequalities put women in an even vulnerable position and accelerate the chances of them being a victim of harassment. As a matter of fact, sexual harassment is viewed within patterns of power, discriminations, and privilege as already explained by the socio-cultural model, however, this theory proves to be an extension of that model as it deals with the organizational inequalities that result from the socio-cultural norms of discrimination. (McLaughlin et al., 2012). Within an organization, there are employees who are powerful and wield authority and then on the other hand, there are those who are powerless comparatively and subordinate. Here, it should be noted that the power and the powerlessness results originates from the socio-cultural factors and is accepted which why the powerful demonstrates power and the hierarchies operate within organizations (Lips, 1991). This also occurs because women are generally considered passive and receptive besides being family oriented but on the other hand, men are taken as powerful, goal oriented and also aggressive. These differences and the stereotyping which already exists in the society leads into the organizations where employees of either gender are working which reinforces the idea that the organizational model hails from its socio-cultural counterpart.
According to Pina et al., (2009), organizational theory is not gender specific since if a male in a position of authority can harass a woman who is a subordinate than it is equally possible that a woman holding a position of authority might also abuse her position and harass an employee which is a logical argument. However, what needs to be taken into consideration is that the females are not socially and culturally in a position of power which denotes that even if they are in a position of power in an organization, the element of weakness will still be present which reduces, if not cancels out their chances of being a harasser.Since the power lies with the men so, they constantly reinforce this by its demonstration, however, it also needs to be noted that organizational theory is not just about the difference of power, but it also takes into account other factors such as gender and its associated occupations, ethics and norms of an organization, its climate which allows a peculiar behavior, and also the policies adopted at a workplace. This means that the culture of the organization has a prominent role to play in the acts like harassment and taking into account the fact that these organizations are a smaller part of the larger society, it is clear that the norms of the society prevail.
Cases of Harassment: A Supplementation of the Theoretical Models
Now that the theoretical models have laid down the foundation of the argument, it is now important to look at the sexual harassment cases that have occurred and analyze them, keeping in view the theoretical foundation.
To begin with the discussion, the case of Louis C.K, a famous American comedian must be considered. The famous comedian was accused by five women to have sexually harassed them by asking them to perform lewd acts. These victims were his fellow colleagues, who felt abused and feared repercussions/backlash for their career for disclosures. One of these victims was a young victim who stated that she acceded to his demands due to workplace culture at the time, and he had abused his power. Another victim felt ashamed having failed to avoid it; she felt angry and betrayed by the comedian since she never expected such a behavior. Later, the New York Times, 2017, published a statement of Louis C.K., wherein admitting his inappropriate conduct, he confessed to have acted inappropriately and irresponsibly and used ‘power of admiration’ he had over the victims(Editor, 2017). This case is a clear example of the fact that power dynamics have a very critical role to play in the offence of harassment and as per the socio-cultural model, the comedian, demonstrated this power over the women because they were in a weak and vulnerable position.
Another case in this regard are the experiences of women staffers who were sexually harassed at the hands of United States congressmen in their offices. The victims were leered upon, commented sexually, asked to twirl, and even a victim’s dress was tugged open. When she resisted, the harasser remarked, “Why are you holding back?” As a favor, one victim was immediately granted a bonus of $1250 but another victim was made to sit and work in the office of her harasser and no one was able to do anything to stop it (Alcindor & Rogers, 2017). A critical point in this case is that while the harasser makes a conscious decision to harass a woman, he still remains in the decision-making position. After committing the offense, it is still the harasser who decides how the victim is treated and hence, while in one of the cases, she was given a bonus, in the other, she was forcefully made to work with her violator. Ironically, the fact remains that power dynamics continue to work in the favor of the men and the role of the victim and the offender is decided on the basis of their gender.
The culture of sexual harassment is not just prevalent in the United States but also in other parts of the world and the fact is that this practice has been a part of the culture since the beginning of the time. This statement is backed by the case of sexual harassment in France that came to surface in 1905 when women in the country complained against their factory overseer who wanted to satisfy his sexual urges. These women actually protested against an old custom of middleages when it was common to demand sexual satisfaction from young female workers employed by feudal or other bosses. It needs to be noted that there are legal and cultural barriers which prevent women from reporting such incidents, and there is a ‘culture of silence’ which has persisted since long which is why the majority of the cases go unreported. Furthermore, the well ingrained concepts in French society about relative power between male/female and sexuality are very similar to the concepts that are embedded in the societies of the other parts of the world (Rubin, 2017). Thus, it proves that the theoretical models that have been discussed in the earlier section of the paper also apply to this very case and once again, it is evident that there is use and abuse of power on the basis of genders. As a consequence, it remains a norm in French society to allow the harasser to continue his job and these harassers continue to get off the hook. An evidence of this statement is the fact that 93% of the complaints are not even addressed due to the poor institutional support and only 40% of the complainants were punished for reporting the case (Rubin, 2017).
It is not surprising that the victims were punished for the act that violated them and not the offenders who were actually responsible for the offense. These factories and other workplaces are a part of the society and the practices that are prevalent in the society at large are replicated at these workplaces and that yet again validates the socio-cultural as well as the organizational theory, proving that the power dynamics drivers behind the act of harassment.
The critics of the organizational model argued that if women are in a position of authority, they will also be involved in sexual harassment and as a counter argument, it was claimed that despite being in an authoritative position, there will be a presence of an element of weakness. That claim is strengthened by a case where a policewoman selected to an elite branch was made target of sexual jokes and lewd gestures besides being called a ‘dirty whore’, at workplace. She left her job eventually and her case is being investigated. The interior ministry, however, defended its position justifying that in a predominantly masculine work environment lacking privacy, such behavior should be expected (Rubin, 2017). This case is a demonstration of the fact that despite being in a strong position at work, women continue to be victimized at the hands of the men who belong to the same social setting. Ironically, even if those women are the protectors of the law themselves, they are still violated.
Even the societies that seem protected are different in reality because the strength vested in men is universal in nature and so, societies like Sweden that seem to be cold on surface are no different than the American or the French societies when it comes to behavior with women. Sweden remains a traditional society when it comes to sexual norms, and it is considered a woman’s responsibility to protect herself from men. The Swedish system does not offer much protection to victims like the other systems that have already been discussed and hence, very few harassers actually get fired from work due to job protection, and it is considered employer’s responsibility to handle such problematic employee. Thus, it is not surprising that the victims mostly observe silence and even if they manage to take a stand, they are too weak and vulnerable to come out in the open which is primarily why the petitions of Swedish women have been made collectively and anonymous largely (Nordberg, 2017).
These cases have built a strong case that proves how sexual harassment has been deeply embedded within the structure of the society and thus, the mindsets. However, what needs to be highlighted here is that like any other act, this offense too has severe consequences that are multi-faceted.
The Costs
From the argument above, it is established that sexual harassment is widely prevalent in all parts of the world and the cases reveal that the majority of the victims silently suffer and even those who report the case, they further suffer at the hands of the harasser. Hence, as a result, there are certain costs that the victims pay after they experience sexual harassment. The first and foremost cost that the victims have to bear is in the form of the mental and physical health that deteriorates because of the stress that the victim goes through. Exploratory research on the subject suggests that sexual harassment can result in depression and one of the studies also reveals that one in ten women also reflects the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after she experiences harassment; these effects can last for several years after the incident(Dansky and Kilpatrick, 1997). Moreover, harassment can also reduce the opportunities of women because once violated, these victims hesitate in participating in various activities as their focus shifts from work to avoiding the perpetrator. In addition, the majority of these women are forced to leave their jobs after they are harassed at work and harassment and job change share a strong relationship. This statement is backed by the fact that within two years of job change, eight out of ten victims changed their jobs (National Academy of Sciences, 2018).
As a matter of the fact, it is not only the victim that has to bear the cost of sexual harassment but also the organization where the offense was committed. The very first costs that are imposed on the organization if the victim decides to file the case are the legal costs and the highest costs that these organizations definitely pay are in the form of the employee turnover which greatly increases as the majority of the victims of harassment change jobs. Now, since replacing an employee is very costly as a meta-analysis of case studies of the cost of employee turnover estimated average costs of 16 to 20 percent of an employee’s annual salary, rising to up to 213 percent of salary for experienced managerial and professional staff (Boushey and Glynn, 2012). Adding further, the employees that are a victim of sexual harassment are also not regular and this statement is backed by 2010 National Health Interview Survey that points out that the employees who had been harassed were 1.7 times more likely to have taken at least two week off from work. Lastly and most importantly, since these victims experience depression and stress because of the trauma that results from sexual harassment, they lose motivation to work and that not only negatively impacts the individual performance but also the team performance. The evidence of this claim is the study where 27 teams at a food services organization were studied. The members of the teams had been harassed and that resulted in decreased productivity of about $ 22, 5008 per person in a team who had faced sexual harassment. (Willness et al, 2007).
Conclusion and Recommendations
In reality, sexual harassment is an issue within an issue as the issue major are the stereotypes that exist in the society that create an inequality in the power dynamics which validates the power given to men that is used and abused time and again. Since an inequality exists on a greater level, it is not at all surprising that the practice continues at workplaces where the women are treated no different than any other section of the society. From the argument above, it is clear that the men in the society have been practicing sexual harassment since the beginning of the time and it occurs in all parts of the world, no matter how advanced or civilized they seem.
These perpetrators, interestingly, also have a way of justifying the violations that they commit and not only that but those victims are further wronged at the hands of the same harassers when they make an effort to raise a voice against the injustices. Realistically speaking, an issue that is prevalent since centuries cannot be eradicated overnight, however, certain steps can be taken that will aid in gradually giving a start to the process of putting an end to the culture of harassment at workplace.
As a part of these steps that need to be taken in order to eliminate the practice of harassment at the workplace, firstly and most importantly, in the curriculums taught at the school, the stereotyping that begins with the stories narrated to the children need to be changed so that the concept of unequal power is eliminated from the young minds. Secondly, there is a need to raise awareness in the societies about the concepts of personal space and equality between the genders so that the ignorance associated with the issue reduces. Moreover, the organizations need to have clear and comprehensive policies against harassment and they need to be strictly implemented with regular trainings of the employees not only to create and awareness regarding their rights but also to inform them about the consequences of the offense. Adding further, the government needs to take the issue seriously and should take up the responsibility of investigating these cases itself by making a committee and designating officials to carry out the task so that an unbiased party is involved in punishing the offender. Also, the punishment of the offense should be severe so that it acts as a deterring factor in preventing such incidents from occurring. Lastly, there needs to be a separate authority to deal with the sexual harassment cases so that all complaints are effectively registered and no complaint is lightly taken as this will not only serve justice but also provide the victims with the confidence to take a stand.
References
Alcindor Y., & Rogers K., (2017). The New York Times International Edition. Congress struggles to confront harassment.
Boushey, H., & Glynn, S. 2012. “There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees.” Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.
Castillo-Mayen, R., & Montes-Berges, B. (2014). Analysis of current gender Stereotypes. Annals of Psychology, 3(3), 1044–1045. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Lenevo/Downloads/English-version.pdf
Connell, R. W. 1987. Gender and Power: Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press
Crichton, M. (n.d.). Harassment Sayings and Harassment Quotes: Wise Old Sayings. Retrieved from https://www.wiseoldsayings.com/harassment-quotes/
Dansky, S., & Kilpatrick, D. 1997. “Effects of Sexual Harassment.” In Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment, edited by W. O’Donohue, 152–74. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Editor. (2017). The New York Times. Louis C.K. Responds to Accusations: ‘These stories are true’.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program status report for fiscal year (FY) 2016. (2017). Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 40. Retrieved from https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201701_cfpb_FY-2016_MD-715_annual-report.pdf
Gruber, J. E. (1992). A typology of personal and environmental sexual harassment: Research and policy implications for the 1990s. Sex Roles, 26, 447−464.
Lips, H. (1991). Women, men and power. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co. Lucero, M. A., Allen, R. E., & Middleton, K. L. (2006). Sexual harassers: Behaviors, motives and change over time. Sex Roles, 55, 331−343.
Matchen, J., & DeSouza, E. (2000). The sexual harassment of faculty members by students. Sex Roles, 42(3–4), 295−306
McLaughlin, H., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2012). Sexual harassment, workplace authority, and the paradox of power. American sociological review, 77(4), 625-647.
National Academy of Sciences. 2018. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Nordberg, J. (2017). The New York Times International Edition. #MeToo in the land of gender equality.
Pina, A., Gannon, T. A., & Saunders, B. (2009). Aggression and Violent Behavior. An overview of the literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory, and treatment issues, 14(2), 126-138
Rubin A.J. (2017). The New York Times International Edition. France’s extra hurdles on sexual harassment.
Scott, J. (1999). UCLA Women’s LJ .Pragmatism, Feminist Theory, and the Reconceptualization of Sexual Harassment., 10, 203
Willness, C., Steel, P., & Lee, K. 2007. “A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Workplace Sexual Harassment.” Personnel Psychology 60(1): 127–62.
By:
ANAM ALI KHAN,
BUSHRA ARFEEN,
SUMAIRA DILDAR AND
RAO RAZA HASHIM
dr.raorazahashim@gmail.com
Abstract
Since the beginning of the time, the stereotyping that is associated with both the genders has been setting the basis for the power dynamics between them. While men are considered to be strong, powerful and masculine, characteristics like weak and fragile define women and based on the attributes that elucidate the conduct of each gender, even in the 21st century, the weak continues to suffer at the hands of the powerful. Even though the modern times have normalized the presence of females at work places, the weakness and vulnerability associated with their gender leads to their exploitation at the hands of the male colleagues. Coming from a stronger position and having instilled the culture of hyper masculinity in their mindsets and conduct, these men harass women and the lack of attention given to this grave issue leaves females unheard and unprotected. Sexual harassment continues to be practiced in all parts of the world despite the existence of the laws against it and while many cases go unreported and the culture of silence being widely practiced, the ones that are reported either create further issues at the workplace for the women or they are simply swept under the rug. The research explores the practice of the sexual harassment at workplaces by exploring the socio-cultural and the organizational models and evaluates the cases of harassment in the light of those models. The study also examines the consequences of harassment that prove to be detrimental for both the victim and the organization.
Introduction
Development beyond borders, growth and innovation are some of the widely known characteristics of the 21st century as by far, this century has proven to more modern and civilized as compared to the earlier ones. However, the rising inequality is yet another reality of this century because despite all the growth and development, equality is still absent. As a matter of fact, these inequalities are not just based on race, color or wealth; they are also socially constructed and are so deeply embedded into the structure of the societies that they act as the defining factor of the societal dynamics. Ironically, even the most advanced century of all times has failed to eradicate this flawed social construction of identities that has led to stereotyping which in turn defines the roles and status of a section of society, regardless of its strength and capabilities (Castillo-Mayen & Montes-Berges, 2014). It is because of this very reason that women in all parts of the world continue to be labeled as fragile and weak which puts them in a vulnerable position, hence, the powerful gender continues to exercise its power over the weaker one. One of the ways in which men exert control and demonstrate their power is harassment which is rapidly gaining momentum especially at the workplaces because since the beginning of the time, with the aid of the stereotyping, men have been claiming the ownership of the public sphere. The politics between the genders is entirely based on power dynamics and harassment is actually a show of power as claimed by Michael Crichton whoexpresses that harassment is associated with power. According to Crichton, it works when power is unduly exercised by the superior over the subordinate (Crichton, n.d.).
Sexual harassment is not limited to any specific part of the world, it not just occurs in the under developed part of the world but also in the part of the world that claims to be advanced and civilized. Even in the countries like the United States, this issue has been widely prevalent and is so common that it occurs in every other field. From Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, to James Toback, a Hollywood film director and even Mark Halperin, a political commentator as well as, Alex Kozinski, a United States federal judge, all these men have been accused of abusing women by projecting the power that is provided to them through gender stereotyping (Editor, 2017). To understand the gravity of the issue, it is pertinent to define sexual harassment in order to get a better idea of what falls under the ambit of the practice. In that case, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Report 2016 presents sexual harassment as an “unwelcome or offensive conduct in the workplace that: (a) is based on sex (including sexual orientation, pregnancy, and gender identity), race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, and/or genetic information; and (b) is detrimental to an employee’s work performance, professional advancement, and/or mental health. This includes, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, undue attention, physical assaults or threats, unwelcome touching or contact, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, constant or unwelcome questions about an individual’s identity, and offensive objects or pictures” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2017). Here, it should be taken into consideration that the individuals who are a victim of the acts stated in the definition belong to the weaker section of the society and women are one of the prominent weak group.
Now that the basic idea of harassment is established and it is also clear that it frequently occurs in all parts of the world, it is significant to explore the factors that are primarily responsible for its occurrence and in that case, there are two theories that provide an insight of the issue. The first being the socio-cultural and the second, the organizational theory. Both these theories set the framework for the study and provide the basis for the argument. In addition, it is also important to assess the cases and evaluate them in the light of the discussed models. The research further argues that the victims go through depression and other mental issues and that also leaves a huge impact on their jobs. Moreover, the organization also suffers the consequences of the act and hence, the study proposes certain ways to deal with the issue.
The Theoretical Perspective
The Socio-Cultural Model: A Driving Force Behind Harassment
One of the most prominent theories that explain the phenomenon of harassment is the socio-cultural theory. The theory presented by MacKinnon in 1979 proposes that “sexual harassment” is an act of discrimination because it subjugates women. The roots of the subjugation originate from the social differences as well as the inequalities between the gender and these inequalities result in discrimination which proves to be detrimental for the weaker gender. The fact is that women occupy a lower position in comparison with men and are vulnerable which leads to them becoming a victim of sexual harassment. This in turn contributes as well as reinforces the alreadyexisting subordination of women who are harassed only because of their gender. There is a broad acceptance of Mackinnon’s socio-cultural model of sexual harassment and it is accepted that harassment is linked with the concepts of male dominance and superiority and thus, it is sexist in nature (Matchen & DeSouza, 2000). It works to preserve male dominationand discourages women from working, reinforcing the idea that they belong to the private sphere while the public sphere is owned by the men. Ironically, men usually consider that their behavior justified at the workplace and claim it is the women who are actually blame their own self for becoming victim to sexual harassment at workplace (Connell, 1987 & 1992). The reality is that it is the system that gives privilege to a singular and exclusive vision of “adult masculinity” over women and the theory further explains that sexual harassment singles a specific gender with a special treatment different from the other gender (Scot, 1999). Moreover, harassment limits the opportunity available to a woman in comparison with a man who is not faced with fulfilling sexual conditions at workplace. Therefore, it creates two different set of conditions/ employment standards. It violates the principal of equality and is tantamount to disparate treatment of workers on basis of sex.
In simple words, the socio-cultural model presented by MacKinnon highlights that the cultural norms act as the driving force behind the prevalence of the practice of sexual harassment. This theory makes it clear that the act is in reality, deeply embedded within the social fabric of the society because it is the society that provides power to the men, leaving the women in a weaker position. These men then demonstrate their power not only in the private sphere but also in the public sphere which happens to be “owned” by them.
The Organizational Model: An Extension of the Socio-Cultural Factors
Another significant model that happens to provide a plausible explanation for the occurrence of the act of harassment is the organizational theory which claims that sexual harassment at workplace occurs due to organizational factors i.e. inequalities of status and power inside an organization (Gruber, 1992). These inequalities put women in an even vulnerable position and accelerate the chances of them being a victim of harassment. As a matter of fact, sexual harassment is viewed within patterns of power, discriminations, and privilege as already explained by the socio-cultural model, however, this theory proves to be an extension of that model as it deals with the organizational inequalities that result from the socio-cultural norms of discrimination. (McLaughlin et al., 2012). Within an organization, there are employees who are powerful and wield authority and then on the other hand, there are those who are powerless comparatively and subordinate. Here, it should be noted that the power and the powerlessness results originates from the socio-cultural factors and is accepted which why the powerful demonstrates power and the hierarchies operate within organizations (Lips, 1991). This also occurs because women are generally considered passive and receptive besides being family oriented but on the other hand, men are taken as powerful, goal oriented and also aggressive. These differences and the stereotyping which already exists in the society leads into the organizations where employees of either gender are working which reinforces the idea that the organizational model hails from its socio-cultural counterpart.
According to Pina et al., (2009), organizational theory is not gender specific since if a male in a position of authority can harass a woman who is a subordinate than it is equally possible that a woman holding a position of authority might also abuse her position and harass an employee which is a logical argument. However, what needs to be taken into consideration is that the females are not socially and culturally in a position of power which denotes that even if they are in a position of power in an organization, the element of weakness will still be present which reduces, if not cancels out their chances of being a harasser.Since the power lies with the men so, they constantly reinforce this by its demonstration, however, it also needs to be noted that organizational theory is not just about the difference of power, but it also takes into account other factors such as gender and its associated occupations, ethics and norms of an organization, its climate which allows a peculiar behavior, and also the policies adopted at a workplace. This means that the culture of the organization has a prominent role to play in the acts like harassment and taking into account the fact that these organizations are a smaller part of the larger society, it is clear that the norms of the society prevail.
Cases of Harassment: A Supplementation of the Theoretical Models
Now that the theoretical models have laid down the foundation of the argument, it is now important to look at the sexual harassment cases that have occurred and analyze them, keeping in view the theoretical foundation.
To begin with the discussion, the case of Louis C.K, a famous American comedian must be considered. The famous comedian was accused by five women to have sexually harassed them by asking them to perform lewd acts. These victims were his fellow colleagues, who felt abused and feared repercussions/backlash for their career for disclosures. One of these victims was a young victim who stated that she acceded to his demands due to workplace culture at the time, and he had abused his power. Another victim felt ashamed having failed to avoid it; she felt angry and betrayed by the comedian since she never expected such a behavior. Later, the New York Times, 2017, published a statement of Louis C.K., wherein admitting his inappropriate conduct, he confessed to have acted inappropriately and irresponsibly and used ‘power of admiration’ he had over the victims(Editor, 2017). This case is a clear example of the fact that power dynamics have a very critical role to play in the offence of harassment and as per the socio-cultural model, the comedian, demonstrated this power over the women because they were in a weak and vulnerable position.
Another case in this regard are the experiences of women staffers who were sexually harassed at the hands of United States congressmen in their offices. The victims were leered upon, commented sexually, asked to twirl, and even a victim’s dress was tugged open. When she resisted, the harasser remarked, “Why are you holding back?” As a favor, one victim was immediately granted a bonus of $1250 but another victim was made to sit and work in the office of her harasser and no one was able to do anything to stop it (Alcindor & Rogers, 2017). A critical point in this case is that while the harasser makes a conscious decision to harass a woman, he still remains in the decision-making position. After committing the offense, it is still the harasser who decides how the victim is treated and hence, while in one of the cases, she was given a bonus, in the other, she was forcefully made to work with her violator. Ironically, the fact remains that power dynamics continue to work in the favor of the men and the role of the victim and the offender is decided on the basis of their gender.
The culture of sexual harassment is not just prevalent in the United States but also in other parts of the world and the fact is that this practice has been a part of the culture since the beginning of the time. This statement is backed by the case of sexual harassment in France that came to surface in 1905 when women in the country complained against their factory overseer who wanted to satisfy his sexual urges. These women actually protested against an old custom of middleages when it was common to demand sexual satisfaction from young female workers employed by feudal or other bosses. It needs to be noted that there are legal and cultural barriers which prevent women from reporting such incidents, and there is a ‘culture of silence’ which has persisted since long which is why the majority of the cases go unreported. Furthermore, the well ingrained concepts in French society about relative power between male/female and sexuality are very similar to the concepts that are embedded in the societies of the other parts of the world (Rubin, 2017). Thus, it proves that the theoretical models that have been discussed in the earlier section of the paper also apply to this very case and once again, it is evident that there is use and abuse of power on the basis of genders. As a consequence, it remains a norm in French society to allow the harasser to continue his job and these harassers continue to get off the hook. An evidence of this statement is the fact that 93% of the complaints are not even addressed due to the poor institutional support and only 40% of the complainants were punished for reporting the case (Rubin, 2017).
It is not surprising that the victims were punished for the act that violated them and not the offenders who were actually responsible for the offense. These factories and other workplaces are a part of the society and the practices that are prevalent in the society at large are replicated at these workplaces and that yet again validates the socio-cultural as well as the organizational theory, proving that the power dynamics drivers behind the act of harassment.
The critics of the organizational model argued that if women are in a position of authority, they will also be involved in sexual harassment and as a counter argument, it was claimed that despite being in an authoritative position, there will be a presence of an element of weakness. That claim is strengthened by a case where a policewoman selected to an elite branch was made target of sexual jokes and lewd gestures besides being called a ‘dirty whore’, at workplace. She left her job eventually and her case is being investigated. The interior ministry, however, defended its position justifying that in a predominantly masculine work environment lacking privacy, such behavior should be expected (Rubin, 2017). This case is a demonstration of the fact that despite being in a strong position at work, women continue to be victimized at the hands of the men who belong to the same social setting. Ironically, even if those women are the protectors of the law themselves, they are still violated.
Even the societies that seem protected are different in reality because the strength vested in men is universal in nature and so, societies like Sweden that seem to be cold on surface are no different than the American or the French societies when it comes to behavior with women. Sweden remains a traditional society when it comes to sexual norms, and it is considered a woman’s responsibility to protect herself from men. The Swedish system does not offer much protection to victims like the other systems that have already been discussed and hence, very few harassers actually get fired from work due to job protection, and it is considered employer’s responsibility to handle such problematic employee. Thus, it is not surprising that the victims mostly observe silence and even if they manage to take a stand, they are too weak and vulnerable to come out in the open which is primarily why the petitions of Swedish women have been made collectively and anonymous largely (Nordberg, 2017).
These cases have built a strong case that proves how sexual harassment has been deeply embedded within the structure of the society and thus, the mindsets. However, what needs to be highlighted here is that like any other act, this offense too has severe consequences that are multi-faceted.
The Costs
From the argument above, it is established that sexual harassment is widely prevalent in all parts of the world and the cases reveal that the majority of the victims silently suffer and even those who report the case, they further suffer at the hands of the harasser. Hence, as a result, there are certain costs that the victims pay after they experience sexual harassment. The first and foremost cost that the victims have to bear is in the form of the mental and physical health that deteriorates because of the stress that the victim goes through. Exploratory research on the subject suggests that sexual harassment can result in depression and one of the studies also reveals that one in ten women also reflects the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after she experiences harassment; these effects can last for several years after the incident(Dansky and Kilpatrick, 1997). Moreover, harassment can also reduce the opportunities of women because once violated, these victims hesitate in participating in various activities as their focus shifts from work to avoiding the perpetrator. In addition, the majority of these women are forced to leave their jobs after they are harassed at work and harassment and job change share a strong relationship. This statement is backed by the fact that within two years of job change, eight out of ten victims changed their jobs (National Academy of Sciences, 2018).
As a matter of the fact, it is not only the victim that has to bear the cost of sexual harassment but also the organization where the offense was committed. The very first costs that are imposed on the organization if the victim decides to file the case are the legal costs and the highest costs that these organizations definitely pay are in the form of the employee turnover which greatly increases as the majority of the victims of harassment change jobs. Now, since replacing an employee is very costly as a meta-analysis of case studies of the cost of employee turnover estimated average costs of 16 to 20 percent of an employee’s annual salary, rising to up to 213 percent of salary for experienced managerial and professional staff (Boushey and Glynn, 2012). Adding further, the employees that are a victim of sexual harassment are also not regular and this statement is backed by 2010 National Health Interview Survey that points out that the employees who had been harassed were 1.7 times more likely to have taken at least two week off from work. Lastly and most importantly, since these victims experience depression and stress because of the trauma that results from sexual harassment, they lose motivation to work and that not only negatively impacts the individual performance but also the team performance. The evidence of this claim is the study where 27 teams at a food services organization were studied. The members of the teams had been harassed and that resulted in decreased productivity of about $ 22, 5008 per person in a team who had faced sexual harassment. (Willness et al, 2007).
Conclusion and Recommendations
In reality, sexual harassment is an issue within an issue as the issue major are the stereotypes that exist in the society that create an inequality in the power dynamics which validates the power given to men that is used and abused time and again. Since an inequality exists on a greater level, it is not at all surprising that the practice continues at workplaces where the women are treated no different than any other section of the society. From the argument above, it is clear that the men in the society have been practicing sexual harassment since the beginning of the time and it occurs in all parts of the world, no matter how advanced or civilized they seem.
These perpetrators, interestingly, also have a way of justifying the violations that they commit and not only that but those victims are further wronged at the hands of the same harassers when they make an effort to raise a voice against the injustices. Realistically speaking, an issue that is prevalent since centuries cannot be eradicated overnight, however, certain steps can be taken that will aid in gradually giving a start to the process of putting an end to the culture of harassment at workplace.
As a part of these steps that need to be taken in order to eliminate the practice of harassment at the workplace, firstly and most importantly, in the curriculums taught at the school, the stereotyping that begins with the stories narrated to the children need to be changed so that the concept of unequal power is eliminated from the young minds. Secondly, there is a need to raise awareness in the societies about the concepts of personal space and equality between the genders so that the ignorance associated with the issue reduces. Moreover, the organizations need to have clear and comprehensive policies against harassment and they need to be strictly implemented with regular trainings of the employees not only to create and awareness regarding their rights but also to inform them about the consequences of the offense. Adding further, the government needs to take the issue seriously and should take up the responsibility of investigating these cases itself by making a committee and designating officials to carry out the task so that an unbiased party is involved in punishing the offender. Also, the punishment of the offense should be severe so that it acts as a deterring factor in preventing such incidents from occurring. Lastly, there needs to be a separate authority to deal with the sexual harassment cases so that all complaints are effectively registered and no complaint is lightly taken as this will not only serve justice but also provide the victims with the confidence to take a stand.
References
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