Changing Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workforce, 1987-94

• NCJ Number: 215532
• Journal: Law & Policy Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 368-394
• Author(s): J. Mitchell Pickerill; Robert A. Jackson; Meredith A. Newman
• Date Published: July 2006
• Length: 27 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using data from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's 1987 and 1994 surveys, this study examined differences over time in Federal workers' perceptions of what types of behavior constituted sexual harassment in the workplace.

Abstract

Federal workers' perceptions of quid pro quo behavior as sexual harassment (workplace rewards or punishments based on an employee's sexual response to the supervisor) changed only slightly between 1987 and 1994; however, the proportion of workers who viewed harassment as behavior contributing to a hostile work environment increased significantly over this period. Workers who viewed persistent sexual teasing and sexual gestures as harassment increased to the level of statistical significance. Women were much more likely than men to view sexual behavior in the workplace as sexual harassment; however, the likelihood of perceiving sexual harassment as behavior that created a hostile work environment increased for both men and women. For both men and women, the availability of training in the nature and prevention of sexual harassment exerted a statistically significant influence on their perceptions of sexual harassment in the workplace. The authors conclude that it is reasonable to believe that legal and intellectual developments over the period examined led to changes in workplace policies and training regarding the nature of sexual harassment, which in turn influenced workers perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment. The study used the raw data files from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's 1987 and 1994 random sample surveys of the Federal workforce. The first six questions of each survey asked respondents whether certain types of behavior by supervisors and co-workers constitute sexual harassment. Respondents could answer "Definitely yes," "Probably yes," "Don't know," "Probably not," or "Definitely not." 6 tables, 16 notes, and 61 references