Abstract
Workplace sexual harassment is particularly widespread in industries with many low-wage jobs where Hispanic women are likely to work. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Hispanic women in low-income jobs to identify workplace sexual harassment situations, support seeking actions, barriers to report, and forms of retaliation. A qualitative research design with one-on-one structured interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the experiences of Hispanic women in low-wage jobs regarding workplace sexual harassment situations and potential contributing factors. Second, a conceptual framework is proposed to integrate the reported organizational factors and social vulnerabilities that interact, eroding the individual’s ability to cope effectively with workplace sexual harassment. These include organizational resources for preventing and reporting, community and family resources for support, and health effects attributed to sexual harassment. Workplace sexual harassment was described by participants as escalating over time from dating invitations, sex-related comments, unwanted physical contact to explicit sexual propositions. Temporary workers reported being very often subject to explicit quid pro quo propositions. While these patterns might not differ from those reported by other groups, work organization factors overlap with individual and social characteristics of Hispanic women in low-income jobs revealing a complicated picture that requires a systems approach to achieve meaningful change for this vulnerable population.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of members of the Asociación de Mujeres Internacionales (AMIM) of the Massachusetts Coalition for Safety and Health (MassCOSH) in conducting the interviews. We thank the Advisory Committee Members for their contribution on this study.
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This study was funded by a pilot grant from the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW), which is supported by Grant Number 1 U19 OH008857 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The contents of this document are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH.
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All authors contributed equally to the study conception, design, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Luz S. Marin and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Marín, L.S., Barreto, M., Montano, M. et al. Workplace Sexual Harassment and Vulnerabilities among Low-Wage Hispanic Women. Occup Health Sci 5, 391–414 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-021-00093-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-021-00093-6