Abstract
In this article, we discuss the relationships between discrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling, arguing that many of the factors that preclude women from occupying executive and managerial positions also foster sexual harassment. We suggest that measures designed to increase numbers of women in higher level positions will reduce sexual harassment. We first define and discuss discrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling, relationships between each, and relevant legislation. We next discuss the relationships between gender and sexual harassment, emphasizing the influence of gender inequality on sexual harassment. We then present recommendations for organizations seeking to reduce sexual harassment, emphasizing the role that women executives may play in such efforts and, importantly, the recursive effects of such efforts on increasing the numbers of women in higher level positions in organizations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahamson, E.: 1996, ‘Management Fashion’, Academy of Management Review 21, 254–285.
Antal, A. and D. Izraeli: 1993, ‘A Global Comparison of Women in Management: Women Managers in their Homelands and as Expatriates', in E. Fagenson (ed.), Women in Management (Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA), pp. 52–96.
Barak, A.: 1997, ‘Cross-cultural Perspectives on Sexual Harassment', in W. O'Donohue (ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA), pp. 263–300.
Baugh, S. G.: 1997, ‘On the Persistence of Sexual Harassment’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 899–908.
Benson, K.: 1984, ‘Comment on Crocker's "An Analysis of University Definitions of Sexual Harassment"’, Signs 9, 516–519.
Blakely, G. L., E. H. Blakely and R. H. Moorman: 1995, ‘The Relationship between Gender, Personal Experience, and Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace’, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 8, 263–274.
Blau, F., M. Ferber and A. E. Winkler: 1998, The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, 3rd edition (Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ).
Bose, C. E. and R. B. Whaley: 2001, ‘Sex Segregation in the U.S. Labor Force', in D. Vannoy (ed.), Gender Mosaics: Social Perspectives (Original Readings)(Roxbury Publishing, Los Angeles, CA), pp. 228–248.
Buhler, P. M.: 1999, ‘The Manager's Role in Preventing Sexual Harassment’, Supervision 60(4), 16–18.
Burda, D.: 1996, ‘ACHE Survey Response Spurs Expedited Sexual Harassment Policy’, Modern Healthcare 26(42), 2–3.
Burgess, D. and E. Borgida: 1997, Sexual Harassment: An Experimental Test of Sex-role Spillover Theory’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21, 63–75.
Burke, R. J. and C. A. McKeen: 1992, ‘Social-sexual Behaviors at Work: Experiences of Managerial and Professional Women’, Women in Management Review 7(3), 22–30.
Burke, R. J. and C. A. McKeen: 1996, ‘Do Women at the Top Make a Difference? Gender Proportions and the Experiences of Managerial and Professional Women’, Human Relations 49, 1093–1104.
Cain, G.: 1986, ‘The Economic Analysis of Labor Market Discrimination: A Survey', in O. Ashenfelter and R. Layard (eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics (Elsevier Science Publishers, B. V., Amsterdam), pp. 693–785.
Can, T.: 1995, ‘The Existence of Sexual Harassment in China’, Chinese Education and Society 28, 6–15.
Clarkson, K. W., R. L. Miller, G. A. Jentz and F. B. Cross: 1995, West's Business Law: Text, Cases, Legal, Regulatory, and International Environment (6th ed.) (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN).
Conte, A.: 1997, ‘Legal Theories of Sexual Harassment', in W. O'Donohue (ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA), pp. 50–83.
Corne v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc., 390 F. Supp. 161 (D. Arz. 1975), vacated, 562 F.2d 55 (9th Cir. 1977).
Dekker, I. and J. Barling: 1998, ‘Personal and Organizational Predictors of Workplace Sexual Harassment of Women by Men’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 31, 7–18.
Dimaggio, P. J. and W. W. Powell: 1983, ‘The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields’, American Sociological Review 48, 147–160.
Dipboye, R. L.: 1985, ‘Some Neglected Variables in Research on Discrimination in Appraisals’, Academy of Management Review 10, 116–127.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: 1980, ‘Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex’, Federal Register 45, 74676–74677.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: 2000, 'Sexual harassment charges EEOC & FEPAs Combined: FY 1992-FY 2000', [On-line]. Available: http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/harass.html.
Fain, T. C. and D. L. Anderton: 1987, ‘Sexual Harassment: Organizational Context and Diffuse Status’, Sex Roles 5(6), 291–311.
Fagenson, E. A. and J. J. Jackson: 1993, ‘The Status of Women Managers in the United States’, International Studies of Management and Organizations 23, 93–112.
Federal Glass Ceiling Commission: 1997, ‘The Glass Ceiling', in D. Dunn (ed.), Workplace/Women's Place: an Anthology (Roxbury Publishing, Los Angeles, CA), pp. 226–233.
Fitzgerald, L. F., C. L. Hulin and R. Drasgow: 1995, ‘The Antecedents and Consequences of Sexual Harassment in Organizations: An Integrated Model', in G. P. Keita and J. J. Hurrell, Jr. (eds.), Job Stress in a Changing Workforce: Investigating Gender, Diversity, and Family Issues (American Psychological Association, Washington, DC), pp. 55–73.
Fortune: July 10, 2000, 'America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities', pp. 190–200.
Galen, M. J., J. Weber and A. Cuneo: 1991, ‘Out of the Shadows, the Thomas Hearings Force Business to Confront an Ugly Reality’, Business Week (October 28), 30–31.
Gelfand, M. J., L. F. Fitzgerald and F. Drasgow: 1995, ‘The Structure of Sexual Harassment: A Confirmatory Analysis Across Cultures and Settings’, Journal of Vocational Behavior 47, 164–177.
Gilligan, C.: 1982, In a Different Voice (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Grauerholz, E.: 1989, ‘Sexual Harassment of Women Professors by Students: Exploring the Dynamics of Power, Authority, and Gender in a University Setting’, Sex Roles 21, 789–801.
Gruber, J. E.: 1997. ‘An Epidemiology of Sexual Harassment: Evidence from North America and Europe', in W. O'Donohue (ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment (Allyn and Bacon, Boston), pp. 84–98.
Gruber, J. E.: 1998, ‘The Impact of Male Work Environments and Organizational Policies on Women's Experiences of Sexual Harassment’, Gender and Society 12, 301–320.
Gruber, J. E. and L. Bjorn: 1982, ‘Blue-collar Blues: The Sexual Harassment of Women Autoworkers’, Work and Occupations 93, 271–298.
Grundmann, E. O., W. O'Donohue and S. H. Peterson: 1997, ‘The Prevention of Sexual Harassment', in W. O'Donohue (ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment (Allyn and Bacon: Boston), pp. 175–184.
Gutek, B. A.: 1985, Sex and the Workplace ( Jossey-Bass, San Francisco).
Gutek, B. A. and M. P. Koss, 1993, ‘Changed Women and Changed Organizations: Consequences of and Coping with Sexual Harassment’, Journal of Vocational Behavior 42, 28–48.
Gutek, B. A. and B. Morasch: 1982, ‘Sex Ratios, Sex-role Spillover, and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work’, Journal of Social Issues 38, 55–74.
Helgesen, S.: 1990, The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leading (Doubleday, Garden City, NY).
Hulin, C. L., L. F. Fitzgerald and F. Drasgow: 1997, ‘Organizational Influences on Sexual Harassment', in M. S. Stockdale (ed.), Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Vol. 5 (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA), pp. 127–150.
Kemp, A.: 1994, Women's Work: Degraded and Devalued (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Keyton, J.: 1996, ‘Sexual Harassment: A Multidisciplinary Synthesis and Critique', in B. R. Burleson (ed.), Communication Yearbook, Vol. 19 (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA), pp. 92–155.
Kim, Marlene: 2000, ‘Women Paid Low Wages: Who They Are and Where They Work’, Monthly Labor Review 123(9), 26–30.
Konrad, A. M. and A. Gutek: 1986, ‘Impact of Work Experiences on Attitudes Toward Sexual Harassment’, Adminstrative Science Quarterly 31, 422–438.
Korabik, K.: 1992, ‘Women Hold Up Half the Sky: The Status of Managerial Women in China', in W. Wedley (ed.), Advances in Chinese Industrial Studies, Vol. 3 (JAI Press, Greenwich, CT), pp 197–211.
Korabik, K.: 1993, ‘Managerial Women in the People's Republic of China’, International Studies of Management in Organization 23(4), 47–64.
Lee, R. D., Jr. and P. S. Greenlaw: 2000, ‘Employer Liability for Employee Sexual Harassment: A Judicial Policy-making Study’, Public Administration Review 60(2), 123–133.
Maatman, G. L., Jr.: 2000, ‘Harassment, Discrimination Laws Go Global’, National Underwriter 104(37), 34–35.
Maier, M.: 1997, ‘Gender Equity, Organizational Transformation, and Challenger’, Journal of Business Ethics 16(9), 943–962.
Mansfield, P. K., P. B. Koch, J. Henderson, J. R. Vicary, M. Cohn and E. W. Young: 1991, ‘The Job Climate for Women in Traditionally Male Bluecollar Occupations’, Sex Roles 25, 63–79.
Martin, S.: 1989, ‘Sexual Harassment: The Link Joining Gender Stratification, Sexuality, and Women's Economic Status', in J. Freeman (ed.), Women: A Feminist Perspective, 4th ed. (Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View, CA), pp. 57–75.
McKinney, K.: 1990, ‘Sexual Harassment of University Faculty by Colleagues and Students’, Sex Roles 23, 431–470.
McKinney, K.: 1992, ‘Contrapower Sexual Harassment: The Effects of Student Sex and Type of Behavior or Faculty Perceptions’, Sex Roles 27, 1–17.
Miller, L. L.: 1997, ‘Not Just Weapons of the Weak: Gender Harassment as a Form of Protest for Army Men’, Social Pscyhology Quarterly 60, 32–51.
Morrison, A. M. and M. A. von Glinow: 1990, ‘Women and Minorities in Management’, American Psychologist 45, 200–208.
Muli, K.: 1995, ‘Help Me Balance the Load': Gender Discrimination in Kenya', in J. Peters and A. Wolper (ed.), Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives (Routledge, London), pp. 78–81.
Munson, L. J., C. Hulin and F. Drasgow: 2000, ‘Longitudinal Analysis of Dispositional Influences and Sexual Harassment: Effects on Job and Psychological Outcomes’, Personnel Psychology 53, 21–46.
Nieva, V. F. and B. A. Gutek: 1981, Women and Work A Psychological Perspective (Praeger, New York).
O'Donohue, W.: 1997, ‘Introduction', in W. O'Donohue (ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment (Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA), pp. 1–5.
O'Farrell, B. and S. L. Harlan: 1982, ‘Craftworkers and Clerks: The Effects of Male Coworker Hostility on Women's Satisfaction with Nontraditional Jobs’, Social Problems 29, 252–264.
O'Hare, E. A. and W. O'Donohue: 1998, ‘Sexual Harassment: Identifying Risk Factors’, Archives of Sexual Behavior 27, 561–580.
O'Leary-Kelly, A. M., R. L, Paetzold and R. W. Griffin: 2000, ‘Sexual Harassment as Aggressive Behavior: An Actor Based Perspective’, The Academy of Management Review 25, 372–388.
Paetzold, R. L. and A. M. O'Leary-Kelly: 1996, ‘The Implications of U.S. Supreme Court and Circuit Court Decisions for Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment Cases', in M. S. Stockdale (ed.) Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Vol. 5 (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA), pp. 85–104.
Piotrkowski, C. S.: 1998, ‘Gender Harassment, Job Satisfaction, and Distress Among Employed White and Minority Women’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 3, 33–43.
Pryor, J. B., E. R. DeSouza, J. Fitness, C. Hutz, M. Kumpf, K. Lubbert, O. Pesonen and M. Erber: 1997, ‘Gender Differences in the Interpretation of Social-sexual Behavior: A Cross-cultural Perspective on Sexual Harassment’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 28, 509–534.
Reskin, B.: 1997, ‘Sex Segregation in the Workplace', in D. Dunn (ed.), Workplace/Women's Place (Roxbury Publishing, Los Angeles, CA), pp. 69–73.
Rice, F.: 1994, ‘How to Make Diversity Pay’, Fortune, August 8.
Riger, S.: 1991, ‘Gender Dilemmas in Sexual Harassment Policies and Procedures’, American Psychologist 46(5), 497–505.
Rigg, C. and J. Sparrow: 1994, ‘Gender, Diversity, and Working Styles’, Women in Management Review 9(1), 9–16.
Robertson, C., C. E. Dyer and D. Campbell: 1988, ‘Campus Harassment: Sexual Harassment Policies and Procedures at Institutions of Higher Learning’, Signs 13(4), 792–812.
Roos, P. A. and M. L. Gatta: 2001, ‘The Gender Gap in Earnings', in G. Powell (ed.), Handbook of Gender and Work (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA), pp. 95–123.
Rosener, J. B.: 1990, ‘Ways Women Lead’, Harvard Business Review 68(6), 119–126.
Sandoff, R.: 1992, ‘Sexual Harassment: The Inside Story (Working Woman Survey)’, Working Woman ( June), 47–78.
Schneider, K. T., S. Swan and L. F. Fitzgerald, 1997, ‘Job-related and Psychological Effects of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Empirical Evidence from Two Organizations’, Journal of Applied Psychology 82, 401–415.
Shaffer, M. A., J. R. W. Joplin, M. P. Bell, T. Lau and C. Oguz: 2000, ‘Gender Discrimination and Jobrelated Outcomes: A Cross-cultural Comparison of Working Women in the United States and China’, Journal of Vocational Behavior 57(4), 395–427.
Smith, S. M.: 2000, Women at Work: Leadership for the Next Century (Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ).
Stanford, J. H., B. R. Oates and D. Flores: 1995, ‘Women's Leadership Styles: A Heuristic Analysis’, Women in Management Review 10(2), 9–16.
Tangri, S., M. Burt and L. Johnson: 1982, ‘Sexual Harassment at Work: Three Explanatory Models’, Journal of Social Issues 38(4), 33–54.
Thacker, R. A. and S. F. Gohmann: 1993, ‘Male/Female Differences in Perception and Effect of Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment: 'Reasonable' Assumptions?’, Public Personnel Management 22, 461–471.
Thomas, D. A.: 1989, ‘Mentoring and Irrationality: The Role of Racial Taboos’, Human Resource Management 28, 279–290.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board: 1981, Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace: Is It a Problem?(U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC).
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board: 1988, Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace: An Update (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC).
Wall Street Journal: 1998, 'Pay Gap between Men and Women Begins to Narrow Again After a Pause', June 10, B6A.
Weaver, G. R., L. K. Treviño and P. L. Cochran: 1999, ‘Integrated and Decoupled Corporate Social Performance: Management Commitments, External Pressures, and Corporate Ethics Practices’, Academy of Management Journal 42, 539–552.
Wells, D. L. and B. J. Kracher: 1993, ‘Justice, Sexual Harassment, and the Reasonable Victim Standard’, Journal of Business Ethics 12, 423–431.
Welsh, S.: 1999, ‘Gender and Sexual Harassment’, Annual Review of Sociology 25, 169–190.
Wiener, R. and L. Hurt: 2000, ‘How Do People Evaluate Social Sexual Conduct at Work? A Psycholegal Model’, Journal of Applied Psychology 85, 75–85.
Williams, C., R. Brown, P. Lees-Haley and J. Price: 1997, ‘An Attributional (Causal Dimensional) Analysis of Perceptions of Sexual Harassment’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 25, 1169–1183.
Yoder, J. D. and P. Aniakudo: 1996, ‘When Pranks become Harassment: The Case of African American Women Firefighters’, Sex Roles 35, 253–270.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bell, M.P., Mclaughlin, M.E. & Sequeira, J.M. Discrimination, Harassment, and the Glass Ceiling: Women Executives as Change Agents. Journal of Business Ethics 37, 65–76 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014730102063
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014730102063