MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2012

ISSN: 0003-1224; 0003-1224

DOI: 10.1177/0003122412451728 [doi]

PMCID: PMC3544188

PMID: 23329855

Abstract: Power is at the core of feminist theories of sexual harassment, though it has rarely been measured directly in terms of workplace authority. While popular characterizations portray male supervisors harassing female subordinates, power-threat theories suggest that women in authority may be more frequent targets. This article analyzes longitudinal survey data and qualitative interviews from the Youth Development Study (YDS) to test this idea and to delineate why and how supervisory authority, gender non-conformity, and workplace sex ratios affect harassment. Relative to non-supervisors, female supervisors are more likely to report harassing behaviors and to define their experiences as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can serve as an "equalizer" against women in power, motivated more by control and domination than by sexual desire. The interviews point to social isolation as a mechanism linking harassment to gender non-conformity and women's authority, particularly in male-dominated work settings.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: McLaughlin, Heather; Uggen, Christopher; Blackstone, Amy

Periodical (Full): American Sociological Review

Issue: 4

Volume: 77

Pages: 625-1271

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop