gender and sexual harassment essay

Essay on Sexual Harassment

500 words essay on sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behaviour which is offensive, humiliating and intimidating. Further, it is against the law to sexually harass anyone. Over the years, sexual harassment has taken a lot of time to be recognized as a real issue. Nonetheless, it is a start that can protect people from this harassment. The essay on sexual harassment will take you through the details.

Sexual Harassment and Its Impacts

Sexual harassment comes in many forms and not just a single one. It includes when someone tries to touch, grab or make other physical contacts with you without your consent. Further, it also includes passing comments which have a sexual meaning.

After that, it is also when someone asks you for sexual favours. Leering and staring continuously also counts as one. You are being sexually harassed when the perpetrator displays rude and offensive material so that others can see it.

Another form is making sexual gestures towards you and cracking sexual jokes or comments towards you. It is also not acceptable for someone to question you about your sexual life or insult you with sexual comments.

Further, making an obscene phone call or indecently exposing oneself also counts as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can impact a person severely. It may stress out the victim and they may suffer from anxiety or depression.

Moreover, it can also cause them to withdraw from social situations. After that, the victim also starts to lose confidence and self-esteem. There may also be physical symptoms like headaches, sleep problems and being not able to concentrate or be productive.

What Can We Do

No one in this world deserves to go through sexual harassment, whether man or woman. We all have the right to live freely without being harassed, bullied or discriminated against. It is the reason why sexual harassment is illegal.

To begin with, the person may try talking to the offender and convey their message regarding their unwanted behaviour. Further, it is also essential to stay informed about this issue. Make sure to learn about the policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment in your workplace, school or university.

Further, try to document everything to help you remember the name of the offenders and the incidents. Similarly, make sure to save any evidence you get which will help with your complaint. For instance, keeping the text messages, emails, photos or more.

Most importantly, always try to get external information and advice from people who will help you if you decide to file a lawsuit. Likewise, never deal with it on your own and share it with someone you trust to lighten your load.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Sexual Harassment

To conclude, sexual harassment is a very real issue that went unnoticed for a long period of time, but not anymore. It is essential for all of us to take measures to prevent it from happening as it damages the life of the victim severely. Thus, make sure you help out those who are suffering from sexual harassment and make the perpetrator accountable.

FAQ of Essay on Sexual Harassment

Question 1: What are the effects of sexual harassment?

Answer 1: Sexual harassment has major effects on the victim like suffering from significant psychological effects which include anxiety, depression , headaches, sleep disorders, lowered self-esteem, sexual dysfunction and more.

Question 2: How do you tell if someone is sexually harassing you?

Answer 2: It is essential to notice the signs if you feel someone is sexually harassing you. The most important sign is if you feel uncomfortable and experience any unwanted physical contact. If your ‘no’ does not have an impact and you’re being subjected to sexual jokes, you are being sexually harassed.

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Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018)

Chapter: 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations, 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Preventing and effectively addressing sexual harassment of women in colleges and universities is a significant challenge, but we are optimistic that academic institutions can meet that challenge—if they demonstrate the will to do so. This is because the research shows what will work to prevent sexual harassment and why it will work. A systemwide change to the culture and climate in our nation’s colleges and universities can stop the pattern of harassing behavior from impacting the next generation of women entering science, engineering, and medicine.

Changing the current culture and climate requires addressing all forms of sexual harassment, not just the most egregious cases; moving beyond legal compliance; supporting targets when they come forward; improving transparency and accountability; diffusing the power structure between faculty and trainees; and revising organizational systems and structures to value diversity, inclusion, and respect. Leaders at every level within academia will be needed to initiate these changes and to establish and maintain the culture and norms. However, to succeed in making these changes, all members of our nation’s college campuses—students, faculty, staff, and administrators—will need to assume responsibility for promoting a civil and respectful environment. It is everyone’s responsibility to stop sexual harassment.

In this spirit of optimism, we offer the following compilation of the report’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 2: sexual harassment research.

• Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that consists of three types of harassing behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender); (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances, which can include assault); and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity). The distinctions between the types of harassment are important, particularly because many people do not realize that gender harassment is a form of sexual harassment.
• Sexually harassing behavior can be either direct (targeted at an individual) or ambient (a general level of sexual harassment in an environment) and is harmful in both cases. It is considered illegal when it creates a hostile environment (gender harassment or unwanted sexual attention that is “severe or pervasive” enough to alter the conditions of employment, interfere with one’s work performance, or impede one’s ability to get an education) or when it is quid pro quo sexual harassment (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity).
• There are reliable scientific methods for determining the prevalence of sexual harassment. To measure the incidence of sexual harassment, surveys should follow the best practices that have emerged from the science of sexual harassment. This includes use of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, the most widely used and well-validated instrument available for measuring sexual harassment; assessment of specific behaviors without requiring the respondent to label the behaviors “sexual harassment”; focus on first-hand experience or observation of behavior (rather than rumor or hearsay); and focus on the recent past (1–2 years, to avoid problems of memory decay). Relying on the number of official reports of sexual harassment made to an organization is not an accurate method for determining the prevalence.
• Some surveys underreport the incidence of sexual harassment because they have not followed standard and valid practices for survey research and sexual harassment research.
• While properly conducted surveys are the best methods for estimating the prevalence of sexual harassment, other salient aspects of sexual harassment and its consequences can be examined using other research methods , such as behavioral laboratory experiments, interviews, case studies, ethnographies, and legal research. Such studies can provide information about the presence and nature of sexually harassing behavior in an organization, how it develops and continues (and influences the organizational climate), and how it attenuates or amplifies outcomes from sexual harassment.
• Women experience sexual harassment more often than men do.
• Gender harassment (e.g., behaviors that communicate that women do not belong or do not merit respect) is by far the most common type of sexual harassment. When an environment is pervaded by gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion become more likely to occur—in part because unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion are almost never experienced by women without simultaneously experiencing gender harassment.
• Men are more likely than women to commit sexual harassment.
• Coworkers and peers more often commit sexual harassment than do superiors.
• Sexually harassing behaviors are not typically isolated incidents; rather, they are a series or pattern of sometimes escalating incidents and behaviors.
• Women of color experience more harassment (sexual, racial/ethnic, or combination of the two) than white women, white men, and men of color do. Women of color often experience sexual harassment that includes racial harassment.
• Sexual- and gender-minority people experience more sexual harassment than heterosexual women do.
• The two characteristics of environments most associated with higher rates of sexual harassment are (a) male-dominated gender ratios and leadership and (b) an organizational climate that communicates tolerance of sexual harassment (e.g., leadership that fails to take complaints seriously, fails to sanction perpetrators, or fails to protect complainants from retaliation).
• Organizational climate is, by far, the greatest predictor of the occurrence of sexual harassment, and ameliorating it can prevent people from sexually harassing others. A person more likely to engage in harassing behaviors is significantly less likely to do so in an environment that does not support harassing behaviors and/or has strong, clear, transparent consequences for these behaviors.

Chapter 3: Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine

• Male-dominated environment , with men in positions of power and authority.
• Organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior (e.g., failing to take complaints seriously, failing to sanction perpetrators, or failing to protect complainants from retaliation).
• Hierarchical and dependent relationships between faculty and their trainees (e.g., students, postdoctoral fellows, residents).
• Isolating environments (e.g., labs, field sites, and hospitals) in which faculty and trainees spend considerable time.
• Greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia.
• Women students in academic medicine experience more frequent gender harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff than women students in science and engineering.
• Women students/trainees encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff and also by other students/trainees.
• Women faculty encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by other faculty/staff and also by students/trainees.
• Women students, trainees, and faculty in academic medical centers experience sexual harassment by patients and patients’ families in addition to the harassment they experience from colleagues and those in leadership positions.

Chapter 4: Outcomes of Sexual Harassment

• When women experience sexual harassment in the workplace, the professional outcomes include declines in job satisfaction; withdrawal from their organization (i.e., distancing themselves from the work either physically or mentally without actually quitting, having thoughts or

intentions of leaving their job, and actually leaving their job); declines in organizational commitment (i.e., feeling disillusioned or angry with the organization); increases in job stress; and declines in productivity or performance.

• When students experience sexual harassment, the educational outcomes include declines in motivation to attend class, greater truancy, dropping classes, paying less attention in class, receiving lower grades, changing advisors, changing majors, and transferring to another educational institution, or dropping out.
• Gender harassment has adverse effects. Gender harassment that is severe or occurs frequently over a period of time can result in the same level of negative professional and psychological outcomes as isolated instances of sexual coercion. Gender harassment, often considered a “lesser,” more inconsequential form of sexual harassment, cannot be dismissed when present in an organization.
• The greater the frequency, intensity, and duration of sexually harassing behaviors, the more women report symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety, and generally negative effects on psychological well-being.
• The more women are sexually harassed in an environment, the more they think about leaving, and end up leaving as a result of the sexual harassment.
• The more power a perpetrator has over the target, the greater the impacts and negative consequences experienced by the target.
• For women of color, preliminary research shows that when the sexual harassment occurs simultaneously with other types of harassment (i.e., racial harassment), the experiences can have more severe consequences for them.
• Sexual harassment has adverse effects that affect not only the targets of harassment but also bystanders, coworkers, workgroups, and entire organizations.
• Women cope with sexual harassment in a variety of ways, most often by ignoring or appeasing the harasser and seeking social support.
• The least common response for women is to formally report the sexually harassing experience. For many, this is due to an accurate perception that they may experience retaliation or other negative outcomes associated with their personal and professional lives.
• The dependence on advisors and mentors for career advancement.
• The system of meritocracy that does not account for the declines in productivity and morale as a result of sexual harassment.
• The “macho” culture in some fields.
• The informal communication network , in which rumors and accusations are spread within and across specialized programs and fields.
• The cumulative effect of sexual harassment is significant damage to research integrity and a costly loss of talent in academic science, engineering, and medicine. Women faculty in science, engineering, and medicine who experience sexual harassment report three common professional outcomes: stepping down from leadership opportunities to avoid the perpetrator, leaving their institution, and leaving their field altogether.

Chapter 5: Existing Legal and Policy Mechanisms for Addressing Sexual Harassment

• An overly legalistic approach to the problem of sexual harassment is likely to misjudge the true nature and scope of the problem. Sexual harassment law and policy development has focused narrowly on the sexualized and coercive forms of sexual harassment, not on the gender harassment type that research has identified as much more prevalent and at times equally harmful.
• Much of the sexual harassment that women experience and that damages women and their careers in science, engineering, and medicine does not meet the legal criteria of illegal discrimination under current law.
• Private entities, such as companies and private universities, are legally allowed to keep their internal policies and procedures—and their research on those policies and procedures—confidential, thereby limiting the research that can be done on effective policies for preventing and handling sexual harassment.
• Various legal policies, and the interpretation of such policies, enable academic institutions to maintain secrecy and/or confidentiality regarding outcomes of sexual harassment investigations, arbitration, and settlement agreements. Colleagues may also hesitate to warn one another about sexual harassment concerns in the hiring or promotion context out of fear of legal repercussions (i.e., being sued for defamation and/or discrimination). This lack of transparency in the adjudication process within organizations can cover up sexual harassment perpetrated by repeat or serial harassers. This creates additional barriers to researchers

and others studying harassment claims and outcomes, and is also a barrier to determining the effectiveness of policies and procedures.

• Title IX, Title VII, and case law reflect the inaccurate assumption that a target of sexual harassment will promptly report the harassment without worrying about retaliation. Effectively addressing sexual harassment through the law, institutional policies or procedures, or cultural change requires taking into account that targets of sexual harassment are unlikely to report harassment and often face retaliation for reporting (despite this being illegal).
• Fears of legal liability may prevent institutions from being willing to effectively evaluate training for its measurable impact on reducing harassment. Educating employees via sexual harassment training is commonly implemented as a central component of demonstrating to courts that institutions have “exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior.” However, research has not demonstrated that such training prevents sexual harassment. Thus, if institutions evaluated their training programs, they would likely find them to be ineffective, which, in turn, could raise fears within institutions of their risk for liability because they would then knowingly not be exercising reasonable care.
• Holding individuals and institutions responsible for sexual harassment and demonstrating that sexual harassment is a serious issue requires U.S. federal funding agencies to be aware when principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and grant personnel have violated sexual harassment policies. It is unclear whether and how federal agencies will take action beyond the requirements of Title IX and Title VII to ensure that federal grants, composed of taxpayers’ dollars, are not supporting research, academic institutions, or programs in which sexual harassment is ongoing and not being addressed. Federal science agencies usually indicate (e.g., in requests for proposals or other announcements) that they have a “no-tolerance” policy for sexual harassment. In general, federal agencies rely on the grantee institutions to investigate and follow through on Title IX violations. By not assessing and addressing the role of institutions and professional organizations in enabling individual sexual harassers, federal agencies may be perpetuating the problem of sexual harassment.
• To address the effect sexual harassment has on the integrity of research, parts of the federal government and several professional societies are beginning to focus more broadly on policies about research integrity and on codes of ethics rather than on the narrow definition of research misconduct. A powerful incentive for change may be missed if sexual harassment is not considered equally important as research misconduct, in terms of its effect on the integrity of research.

Chapter 6: Changing the Culture and Climate in Higher Education

• A systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education is required to prevent and effectively address all three forms of sexual harassment. Despite significant attention in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that current policies, procedures, and approaches have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment. It is time to consider approaches that address the systems, cultures, and climates that enable sexual harassment to perpetuate.
• Strong and effective leaders at all levels in the organization are required to make the systemwide changes to climate and culture in higher education. The leadership of the organization—at every level—plays a significant role in establishing and maintaining an organization’s culture and norms. However, leaders in academic institutions rarely have leadership training to thoughtfully address culture and climate issues, and the leadership training that exists is often of poor quality.
• Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for enhancing gender diversity in hiring practices.
• Focusing evaluation and reward structures on cooperation and collegiality rather than solely on individual-level teaching and research performance metrics could have a significant impact on improving the environment in academia.
• Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for raising levels of interpersonal civility and respect in workgroups and teams.
• An organization that is committed to improving organizational climate must address issues of bias in academia. Training to reduce personal bias can cause larger-scale changes in departmental behaviors in an academic setting.
• Skills-based training that centers on bystander intervention promotes a culture of support, not one of silence. By calling out negative behaviors on the spot, all members of an academic community are helping to create a culture where abusive behavior is seen as an aberration, not as the norm.
• Reducing hierarchical power structures and diffusing power more broadly among faculty and trainees can reduce the risk of sexual ha

rassment. Departments and institutions could take the following approaches for diffusing power:

• Make use of egalitarian leadership styles that recognize that people at all levels of experience and expertise have important insights to offer.
• Adopt mentoring networks or committee-based advising that allows for a diversity of potential pathways for advice, funding, support, and informal reporting of harassment.
• Develop ways the research funding can be provided to the trainee rather than just the principal investigator.
• Take on the responsibility for preserving the potential work of the research team and trainees by redistributing the funding if a principal investigator cannot continue the work because he/she has created a climate that fosters sexual harassment and guaranteeing funding to trainees if the institution or a funder pulls funding from the principal investigator because of sexual harassment.
• Orienting students, trainees, faculty, and staff, at all levels, to the academic institution’s culture and its policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment can be an important piece of establishing a climate that demonstrates sexual harassment is not tolerated and targets will be supported.
• Institutions could build systems of response that empower targets by providing alternative and less formal means of accessing support services, recording information, and reporting incidents without fear of retaliation.
• Supporting student targets also includes helping them to manage their education and training over the long term.
• Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements isolate sexual harassment targets by limiting their ability to speak with others about their experiences and can serve to shield perpetrators who have harassed people repeatedly.
• Key components of clear anti-harassment policies are that they are quickly and easily digested (i.e., using one-page flyers or infographics and not in legally dense language) and that they clearly state that people will be held accountable for violating the policy.
• A range of progressive/escalating disciplinary consequences (such as counseling, changes in work responsibilities, reductions in pay/benefits, and suspension or dismissal) that corresponds to the severity and frequency of the misconduct has the potential of correcting behavior before it escalates and without significantly disrupting an academic program.
• In an effort to change behavior and improve the climate, it may also be appropriate for institutions to undertake some rehabilitation-focused measures, even though these may not be sanctions per se.
• For the people in an institution to understand that the institution does not tolerate sexual harassment, it must show that it does investigate and then hold perpetrators accountable in a reasonable timeframe. Institutions can anonymize the basic information and provide regular reports that convey how many reports are being investigated and what the outcomes are from the investigation.
• An approach for improving transparency and demonstrating that the institution takes sexual harassment seriously is to encourage internal review of its policies, procedures, and interventions for addressing sexual harassment, and to have interactive dialogues with members of their campus community (especially expert researchers on these topics) around ways to improve the culture and climate and change behavior.
• Cater training to specific populations; in academia this would include students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, faculty, and those in leadership.
• Attend to the institutional motivation for training , which can impact the effectiveness of the training; for instance, compliance-based approaches have limited positive impact.
• Conduct training using live qualified trainers and offer trainees specific examples of inappropriate conduct. We note that a great deal of sexual harassment training today is offered via an online mini-course or the viewing of a short video.
• Describe standards of behavior clearly and accessibly (e.g., avoiding legal and technical terms).
• To the extent that the training literature provides broad guidelines for creating impactful training that can change climate and behavior, they include the following:
• Establish standards of behavior rather than solely seek to influence attitudes and beliefs. Clear communication of behavioral expectations, and teaching of behavioral skills, is essential.
• Conduct training in adherence to best standards , including appropriate pre-training needs assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness.
• Creating a climate that prevents sexual harassment requires measuring the climate in relation to sexual harassment, diversity, and respect, and assessing progress in reducing sexual harassment.
• Efforts to incentivize systemwide changes, such as Athena SWAN, 1 are crucial to motivating organizations and departments within organizations to make the necessary changes.
• Enacting new codes of conduct and new rules related specifically to conference attendance.
• Including sexual harassment in codes of ethics and investigating reports of sexual harassment. (This is a new responsibility for professional societies, and these organizations are considering how to take into consideration the law, home institutions, due process, and careful reporting when dealing with reports of sexual harassment.)
• Requiring members to acknowledge, in writing, the professional society’s rules and codes of conduct relating to sexual harassment during conference registration and during membership sign-up and renewal.
• Supporting and designing programs that prevent harassment and provide skills to intervene when someone is being harassed.
• Strengthening statements on sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination in professional societies’ codes of conduct, with a few defining it as research misconduct.
• Factoring in harassment-related professional misconduct into scientific award decisions.
• Professional societies have the potential to be powerful drivers of change through their capacity to help educate, train, codify, and reinforce cultural expectations for their respective scientific, engineering, and medical communities. Some professional societies have taken action to prevent and respond to sexual harassment among their membership. Although each professional society has taken a slightly different approach to addressing sexual harassment, there are some shared approaches, including the following:

___________________

1 Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network). See https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equalitycharters/athena-swan/ .

• There are many promising approaches to changing the culture and climate in academia; however, further research assessing the effects and values of the following approaches is needed to identify best practices:
• Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically how they prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This includes informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
• Mechanisms for target-led resolution options and mechanisms by which the target has a role in deciding what happens to the perpetrator, including restorative justice practices.
• Mechanisms for protecting targets from retaliation.
• Rehabilitation-focused measures for disciplining perpetrators.
• Incentive systems for encouraging leaders in higher education to address the issues of sexual harassment on campus.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1: Create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments.

• Academic institutions and their leaders should take explicit steps to achieve greater gender and racial equity in hiring and promotions, and thus improve the representation of women at every level.
• Academic institutions and their leaders should take steps to foster greater cooperation, respectful work behavior, and professionalism at the faculty, staff, and student/trainee levels, and should evaluate faculty and staff on these criteria in hiring and promotion.
• Academic institutions should combine anti-harassment efforts with civility-promotion programs.
• Academic institutions should cater their training to specific populations (in academia these should include students/trainees, staff, faculty, and those in leadership) and should follow best practices in designing training programs. Training should be viewed as the means of providing the skills needed by all members of the academic community, each of whom has a role to play in building a positive organizational climate focused on safety and respect, and not simply as a method of ensuring compliance with laws.
• Academic institutions should utilize training approaches that develop skills among participants to interrupt and intervene when inappropriate behavior occurs. These training programs should be evaluated to deter

mine whether they are effective and what aspects of the training are most important to changing culture.

• Anti–sexual harassment training programs should focus on changing behavior, not on changing beliefs. Programs should focus on clearly communicating behavioral expectations, specifying consequences for failing to meet these expectations, and identifying the mechanisms to be utilized when these expectations are not met. Training programs should not be based on the avoidance of legal liability.

RECOMMENDATION 2: Address the most common form of sexual harassment: gender harassment.

Leaders in academic institutions and research and training sites should pay increased attention to and enact policies that cover gender harassment as a means of addressing the most common form of sexual harassment and of preventing other types of sexually harassing behavior.

RECOMMENDATION 3: Move beyond legal compliance to address culture and climate.

Academic institutions, research and training sites, and federal agencies should move beyond interventions or policies that represent basic legal compliance and that rely solely on formal reports made by targets. Sexual harassment needs to be addressed as a significant culture and climate issue that requires institutional leaders to engage with and listen to students and other campus community members.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Improve transparency and accountability.

• Academic institutions need to develop—and readily share—clear, accessible, and consistent policies on sexual harassment and standards of behavior. They should include a range of clearly stated, appropriate, and escalating disciplinary consequences for perpetrators found to have violated sexual harassment policy and/or law. The disciplinary actions taken should correspond to the severity and frequency of the harassment. The disciplinary actions should not be something that is often considered a benefit for faculty, such as a reduction in teaching load or time away from campus service responsibilities. Decisions regarding disciplinary actions, if indicated or required, should be made in a fair and timely way following an investigative process that is fair to all sides. 2
• Academic institutions should be as transparent as possible about how they are handling reports of sexual harassment. This requires balancing issues of confidentiality with issues of transparency. Annual reports,

2 Further detail on processes and guidance for how to fairly and appropriately investigate and adjudicate these issues are not provided because they are complex issues that were beyond the scope of this study.

that provide information on (1) how many and what type of policy violations have been reported (both informally and formally), (2) how many reports are currently under investigation, and (3) how many have been adjudicated, along with general descriptions of any disciplinary actions taken, should be shared with the entire academic community: students, trainees, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and funders. At the very least, the results of the investigation and any disciplinary action should be shared with the target(s) and/or the person(s) who reported the behavior.

• Academic institutions should be accountable for the climate within their organization. In particular, they should utilize climate surveys to further investigate and address systemic sexual harassment, particularly when surveys indicate specific schools or facilities have high rates of harassment or chronically fail to reduce rates of sexual harassment.
• Academic institutions should consider sexual harassment equally important as research misconduct in terms of its effect on the integrity of research. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 5: Diffuse the hierarchical and dependent relationship between trainees and faculty.

Academic institutions should consider power-diffusion mechanisms (i.e., mentoring networks or committee-based advising and departmental funding rather than funding only from a principal investigator) to reduce the risk of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 6: Provide support for the target.

Academic institutions should convey that reporting sexual harassment is an honorable and courageous action. Regardless of a target filing a formal report, academic institutions should provide means of accessing support services (social services, health care, legal, career/professional). They should provide alternative and less formal means of recording information about the experience and reporting the experience if the target is not comfortable filing a formal report. Academic institutions should develop approaches to prevent the target from experiencing or fearing retaliation in academic settings.

RECOMMENDATION 7: Strive for strong and diverse leadership.

• College and university presidents, provosts, deans, department chairs, and program directors must make the reduction and prevention of sexual

harassment an explicit goal of their tenure. They should publicly state that the reduction and prevention of sexual harassment will be among their highest priorities, and they should engage students, faculty, and staff (and, where appropriate, the local community) in their efforts.

• Academic institutions should support and facilitate leaders at every level (university, school/college, department, lab) in developing skills in leadership, conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation, and de-escalation, and should ensure a clear understanding of policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment issues. Additionally, these skills development programs should be customized to each level of leadership.
• Leadership training programs for those in academia should include training on how to recognize and handle sexual harassment issues, and how to take explicit steps to create a culture and climate to reduce and prevent sexual harassment—and not just protect the institution against liability.

RECOMMENDATION 8: Measure progress.

Academic institutions should work with researchers to evaluate and assess their efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment, and to create effective policies, procedures, and training programs. They should not rely on formal reports by targets for an understanding of sexual harassment on their campus.

• When organizations study sexual harassment, they should follow the valid methodologies established by social science research on sexual harassment and should consult subject-matter experts. Surveys that attempt to ascertain the prevalence and types of harassment experienced by individuals should adopt the following practices: ensure confidentiality, use validated behavioral instruments such as the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, and avoid specifically using the term “sexual harassment” in any survey or questionnaire.
• Academic institutions should also conduct more wide-ranging assessments using measures in addition to campus climate surveys, for example, ethnography, focus groups, and exit interviews. These methods are especially important in smaller organizational units where surveys, which require more participants to yield meaningful data, might not be useful.
• Organizations studying sexual harassment in their environments should take into consideration the particular experiences of people of color and sexual- and gender-minority people, and they should utilize methods that allow them to disaggregate their data by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity to reveal the different experiences across populations.
• The results of climate surveys should be shared publicly to encourage transparency and accountability and to demonstrate to the campus community that the institution takes the issue seriously. One option would be for academic institutions to collaborate in developing a central repository for reporting their climate data, which could also improve the ability for research to be conducted on the effectiveness of institutional approaches.
• Federal agencies and foundations should commit resources to develop a tool similar to ARC3, the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative, to understand and track the climate for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Incentivize change.

• Academic institutions should work to apply for awards from the emerging STEM Equity Achievement (SEA Change) program. 3 Federal agencies and private foundations should encourage and support academic institutions working to achieve SEA Change awards.
• Accreditation bodies should consider efforts to create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments when evaluating institutions or departments.
• Federal agencies should incentivize efforts to reduce sexual harassment in academia by requiring evaluations of the research environment, funding research and evaluation of training for students and faculty (including bystander intervention), supporting the development and evaluation of leadership training for faculty, and funding research on effective policies and procedures.

RECOMMENDATION 10: Encourage involvement of professional societies and other organizations.

• Professional societies should accelerate their efforts to be viewed as organizations that are helping to create culture changes that reduce or prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment. They should provide support and guidance for members who have been targets of sexual harassment. They should use their influence to address sexual harassment in the scientific, medical, and engineering communities they represent and promote a professional culture of civility and respect. The efforts of the American Geophysical Union are especially exemplary and should be considered as a model for other professional societies to follow.
• Other organizations that facilitate the research and training of people in science, engineering, and medicine, such as collaborative field sites (i.e., national labs and observatories), should establish standards of behavior

3 See https://www.aaas.org/news/sea-change-program-aims-transform-diversity-efforts-stem .

and set policies, procedures, and practices similar to those recommended for academic institutions and following the examples of professional societies. They should hold people accountable for their behaviors while at their facility regardless of the person’s institutional affiliation (just as some professional societies are doing).

RECOMMENDATION 11: Initiate legislative action.

State legislatures and Congress should consider new and additional legislation with the following goals:

• Better protecting sexual harassment claimants from retaliation.
• Prohibiting confidentiality in settlement agreements that currently enable harassers to move to another institution and conceal past adjudications.
• Banning mandatory arbitration clauses for discrimination claims.
• Allowing lawsuits to be filed against alleged harassers directly (instead of or in addition to their academic employers).
• Requiring institutions receiving federal funds to publicly disclose results from campus climate surveys and/or the number of sexual harassment reports made to campuses.
• Requesting the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health devote research funds to doing a follow-up analysis on the topic of sexual harassment in science, engineering, and medicine in 3 to 5 years to determine (1) whether research has shown that the prevalence of sexual harassment has decreased, (2) whether progress has been made on implementing these recommendations, and (3) where to focus future efforts.

RECOMMENDATION 12: Address the failures to meaningfully enforce Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination.

• Judges, academic institutions (including faculty, staff, and leaders in academia), and administrative agencies should rely on scientific evidence about the behavior of targets and perpetrators of sexual harassment when assessing both institutional compliance with the law and the merits of individual claims.
• Federal judges should take into account demonstrated effectiveness of anti-harassment policies and practices such as trainings, and not just their existence , for use of an affirmative defense against a sexual harassment claim under Title VII.

RECOMMENDATION 13: Increase federal agency action and collaboration.

Federal agencies should do the following:

• Increase support for research and evaluation of the effectiveness of policies, procedures, and training on sexual harassment.
• Attend to sexual harassment with at least the same level of attention and resources as devoted to research misconduct. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.
• Require institutions to report to federal agencies when individuals on grants have been found to have violated sexual harassment policies or have been put on administrative leave related to sexual harassment, as the National Science Foundation has proposed doing. Agencies should also hold accountable the perpetrator and the institution by using a range of disciplinary actions that limit the negative effects on other grant personnel who were either the target of the harassing behavior or innocent bystanders.
• Reward and incentivize colleges and universities for implementing policies, programs, and strategies that research shows are most likely to and are succeeding in reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 14: Conduct necessary research.

Funders should support the following research:

• The sexual harassment experiences of women in underrepresented and/or vulnerable groups, including women of color, disabled women, immigrant women, sexual- and gender-minority women, postdoctoral trainees, and others.
• Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically their ability to prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, to alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and to reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This should include research on informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment and diversity training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
• Approaches for mitigating the negative impacts and outcomes that targets experience.
• The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment within specific fields in

science, engineering, and medicine and that follows good practices for sexual harassment surveys.

• The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment perpetrated by students on faculty.
• The amount of sexual harassment that serial harassers are responsible for.
• The prevalence and effect of ambient harassment in the academic setting.
• The connections between consensual relationships and sexual harassment.
• Psychological characteristics that increase the risk of perpetrating different forms of sexually harassing behaviors.

RECOMMENDATION 15: Make the entire academic community responsible for reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

All members of our nation’s college campuses—students, trainees, faculty, staff, and administrators—as well as members of research and training sites should assume responsibility for promoting civil and respectful education, training, and work environments, and stepping up and confronting those whose behaviors and actions create sexually harassing environments.

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Over the last few decades, research, activity, and funding has been devoted to improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. In recent years the diversity of those participating in these fields, particularly the participation of women, has improved and there are significantly more women entering careers and studying science, engineering, and medicine than ever before. However, as women increasingly enter these fields they face biases and barriers and it is not surprising that sexual harassment is one of these barriers.

Over thirty years the incidence of sexual harassment in different industries has held steady, yet now more women are in the workforce and in academia, and in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine (as students and faculty) and so more women are experiencing sexual harassment as they work and learn. Over the last several years, revelations of the sexual harassment experienced by women in the workplace and in academic settings have raised urgent questions about the specific impact of this discriminatory behavior on women and the extent to which it is limiting their careers.

Sexual Harassment of Women explores the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. This report reviews the research on the extent to which women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine are victimized by sexual harassment and examines the existing information on the extent to which sexual harassment in academia negatively impacts the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women pursuing scientific, engineering, technical, and medical careers. It also identifies and analyzes the policies, strategies and practices that have been the most successful in preventing and addressing sexual harassment in these settings.

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School Violence and Primary Prevention pp 133–152 Cite as

Gendered Harassment in Adolescence

• Christia Spears Brown 2 ,
• Sharla D. Biefeld 2 &
• Michelle J. Tam 2  
• First Online: 01 January 2023

718 Accesses

2 Citations

The majority of youth experience some type of gendered harassment from their peers and these harassment experiences are related to a host of negative psychological, social, and academic outcomes. Much of this harassment occurs within schools; therefore, it is especially important to understand the role of schools and teachers in preventing and mitigating (or at times, exacerbating) youth’s experiences of gendered harassment. In this chapter, we will describe the prevalence and negative psychosocial outcomes associated with two common types of gendered harassment: sexual harassment (SH) and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE harassment). We will then discuss how schools may contribute to the prevalence of SH and SOGIE harassment, and how they can respond to and prevent SH and SOGIE harassment from occurring. We conclude by suggesting directions for future research and intervention work.

• Gendered harassment
• Sexual harassment
• SOGIE harassment
• Adolescence
• Peer interactions
• School environment

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Essay on Sexual Harassment

Students are often asked to write an essay on Sexual Harassment in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Sexual Harassment

Understanding sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment is a serious issue. It involves unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. It can occur in various settings like schools, workplaces, and public places.

Impact of Sexual Harassment

Victims of sexual harassment may experience emotional distress, fear, and anxiety. It can impact their work or school performance and overall well-being. It’s crucial to stand against it and support victims.

Preventing Sexual Harassment

Education is key to preventing sexual harassment. Understanding consent and respecting boundaries can help. Also, schools and workplaces should have strict policies against it.

250 Words Essay on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment, a pervasive societal issue, is an unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that can undermine an individual’s personal dignity and safety. It is a manifestation of power imbalance, often occurring in environments such as workplaces, educational institutions, and public spaces.

The Types of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can be categorized into two types: ‘quid pro quo’ and ‘hostile environment’. ‘Quid pro quo’ refers to instances where job benefits are made contingent on sexual favors. ‘Hostile environment’ includes any unwelcome sexual behavior that creates an intimidating or offensive atmosphere.

The impact of sexual harassment is profound, often leading to psychological, physical, and occupational consequences. It can cause anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder among victims, disrupt their work or academic performance, and even lead to job loss or dropout.

Addressing Sexual Harassment

Addressing sexual harassment necessitates a comprehensive approach. It involves creating awareness, implementing stringent laws, and promoting a culture of respect. Education plays a crucial role in fostering understanding about consent and the importance of treating all individuals with dignity.

Sexual harassment is a grave issue that requires collective effort to combat. By fostering a culture of respect and implementing strong legal measures, society can create a safe environment for all individuals. The fight against sexual harassment is not just a legal battle, but a moral one that shapes the fabric of our society.

500 Words Essay on Sexual Harassment

Introduction.

Sexual harassment, a pervasive issue in society, is a form of gender-based violence that infringes upon an individual’s fundamental rights. It is a complex phenomenon that transcends all social, economic, and cultural boundaries, manifesting in various forms such as unwelcome sexual advances, verbal or physical harassment, and requests for sexual favors.

Sexual harassment is characterized by its unwelcome nature, where the victim feels uncomfortable, threatened, or violated. It is crucial to understand that it is the impact on the victim, not the intent of the perpetrator, that determines whether an act constitutes harassment. This behavior can occur in various settings, including workplaces, educational institutions, and public spaces, and can have severe psychological, physical, and socio-economic effects on the victim.

The Legal Perspective

From a legal standpoint, sexual harassment is recognized as a violation of human rights. Numerous international conventions and national laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in the U.S. or the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act in India, have been enacted to protect individuals from such behavior. These laws aim to maintain a safe and respectful environment for all, emphasizing the importance of consent and respect in interpersonal relationships.

The Societal Impact

The societal impact of sexual harassment is profound. It perpetuates gender inequality, inhibits social development, and undermines the dignity and potential of the victims. The fear and stigma associated with sexual harassment often discourage victims from reporting, leading to underreporting and a lack of justice. This silence further emboldens the perpetrators and perpetuates a culture of impunity.

Preventive Measures and Solutions

Addressing sexual harassment requires a comprehensive approach. Education plays a critical role in prevention, with emphasis on teaching respect, consent, and gender equality from a young age. Institutions must also implement strict anti-harassment policies, provide safe reporting mechanisms, and ensure that complaints are taken seriously and dealt with promptly.

Furthermore, it is essential to foster an environment that supports victims and encourages them to speak out. This requires challenging societal norms that blame victims and perpetuate silence. Instead, society should focus on holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Sexual harassment is a grave violation of human rights and a significant barrier to achieving gender equality. Despite its pervasive nature, it is not inevitable. Through education, legislation, and societal change, it is possible to create a world where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. The responsibility to combat sexual harassment lies with all of us, and it is through collective action that we can effect meaningful change.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Gender Equality — Sexual Harassment And Gender Equality

Sexual Harassment and Gender Equality

• Categories: Gender Equality Gender Inequality Sexual Abuse

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Table of contents

Introduction, sexual harassment, impact of sexual harassment , tools to deter sexual harassment, the culture of sexual harassment.

• Hulin, Charles L., Fitzgerald, Louise F. & Drasgow, Fritz. Organizational Influences on Sexual Harassment. (Chapter 7)
• Stockdale, Margaret S. (Ed.) (1996) Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Thousand Oakes, California: Sage Publications, Inc. Especially
• Thomas R. Roosevelt, Jr. (1991) Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of YourTotal Work Force by Managing Diversity. New York: ACACOM.

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University students' experiences of sexual harassment: the role of gender and psychological resilience

Christina athanasiades.

1 Department of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Dimitrios Stamovlasis

2 Department of Philosophy and Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Thanos Touloupis

3 Department of Psychology, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece

Hara Charalambous

4 Department of Mathematics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Associated Data

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

This study aimed to investigate university students' experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors, within academia, as well as the role of gender and psychological resilience regarding their victimization and its consequences. Overall, 2,134 students (70.5% women), both undergraduates (81%) and postgraduates (19%), completed a self-reported online questionnaire regarding the variables involved (sexual harassment, consequences, and resilience). According to the results, the most prevailing types of sexually harassing behaviors, which were experienced mainly by women students, included offensive sexual comments/jokes/stories, inappropriate comments about one's body/appearance/sex life, as well as obscene ways of staring, obscene gestures, and/or exposure of body parts causing embarrassment. Accordingly, the perceived psycho-emotional and academic consequences of sexual harassment were more pronounced in the case of women. Furthermore, psychological resilience was negatively associated with gender, making women with low resilience more vulnerable to experiences of sexual harassment and more affected by its consequences. This study highlights important aspects of this gender-based aggressive behavior in academia and emphasizes the necessity for the implementation of appropriate policies and interventions in higher education institutions against sexual harassment.

1. Introduction

The phenomenon of sexual harassment in academia is a complex and multidimensional issue that concerns all members of the academic community and raises significant challenges, particularly in terms of how to address it. According to the European Directive 2002/73/EC (also called the EU Gender Directive), the term sexual harassment refers to “any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, which has the purpose or results in violating the dignity of an individual, in particular when it creates a threatening, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment” (Hoel and Vartia, 2018 , p. 13). The abovementioned behaviors may occur either in the physical space (in a variety of social contexts) and/or in cyberspace; it appears to constitute harassment both for those who directly experience them as well as for those who perceive them indirectly (as witnesses) in their environment (Johnson et al., 2018 ; Kasdagli and Mourtzaki, 2020 ).

It is well known that sexual harassment affects mostly women—especially young working women, students, and minorities—at a much higher rate than men, with serious negative implications on their overall functioning, physical and mental health, and work or academic performance (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2014 ; Hoel and Vartia, 2018 ; Swedish Research Council, 2018 ). Several studies have confirmed the high epidemiological incidence of sexual harassment in university and research organizations, which are characterized by precarious working conditions and hierarchical relations between employees and students, along with a culture that normalizes gender-based violence and silences the phenomenon (Johnson et al., 2018 ; Bondestam and Lundqvist, 2020 ). Rates of sexual harassment against women students in European universities vary widely, ranging, on average, from 20 to 50%, with women students in the fields of medicine and engineering suffering more than the rest of the population (Swedish Research Council, 2018 ; Bondestam and Lundqvist, 2020 ). Studies carried out in American universities also report victimization rates of up to 48% (Cantor et al., 2015 ).

A recent large-scale study in Europe about gender-based violence and sexual harassment in research-performing institutions, in nine European countries ( https://unisafe-gbv.eu/ ), found that gender-based violence is relatively uniform across countries and unrelated to the work or study environment/context (Humbert et al., 2022 ). In addition, respondents identifying as women were more at risk of sexual violence and harassment compared to men, who were more at risk of physical violence. Finally, the same study revealed that disclosing any form of gender-based violence is systematically associated with feeling less safe, feeling unwell, and with lower work productivity or study performance, especially for women and non-binary people (Humbert et al., 2022 ).

Regarding consequences of sexual violence and harassment, studies mention that university students, especially women, experience a serious impact on their wellbeing as they become vulnerable to psychological distress, substance abuse problems, depression, anger, low life satisfaction, and physical illnesses (Rospenda et al., 2000 ; Buchanan et al., 2009 ; Cantor et al., 2015 ; McGinley et al., 2016 ; Wolff et al., 2017 ; Jirek and Saunders, 2018 ). Furthermore, sexually abused students report limited academic engagement, low academic achievement, as well as a generalized sense of insecurity within the university environment (Cipriano et al., 2022 ).

In addition to gender, another factor associated with abusive experiences is psychological resilience. Resilience is defined as the individual's ability for positive adjustment despite the existence of difficult and adverse circumstances and despite exposure to risk factors (Masten, 2001 ; Luthar, 2006 ). Resilience in early adulthood tends to be considered a crystallized psycho-emotional trait (Connor and Davidson, 2003 ), which is likely to act, in general, as a protective factor against risky behaviors (Scales and Leffert, 2004 ; Silbereisen and Lerner, 2007 ; Hinduja and Patchin, 2017 ). In other words, individuals who feel that they can successfully overcome new, unexpected, and/or difficult situations (high resilience) are considered less vulnerable and are less likely to become victims of bullying and/or harassment (Moldovan and Macarie, 2019 ; Thambo et al., 2019 ). However, since recent findings suggest that students' psychological resilience does not seem to predict their sexual harassment (Jenkins et al., 2021 ), more research is needed to better determine this relationship and whether resilience is a protective factor against victimization or not for women and men students.

Nevertheless, the issue of sexual harassment in academia, especially in countries and universities of South Europe, is still significantly under-investigated. It seems that more research is needed to better understand the nature and extent of the phenomenon as well as the factors that contribute to its perpetuation, which should be taken into account in the development of appropriate interventions (Grigoriou, 2010 ; Kambouri, 2021 ).

This study aimed to investigate university students' experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors, within academia, as well as the role of gender and psychological resilience regarding their victimization and its consequences. The study is part of a wider research project on the issue of gender-based violence in higher education institutions, conducted under the auspices of Aristotle University's Gender Equality Committee and the Center for Social Research and Decision-Making. The research took place in a large public university in a southern European country (Greece), where there is still no institutionalized provision for the prevention and response to such incidents against students and staff. More particularly, the hypotheses formulated are as follows:

Hypothesis 1: Reported experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors will differ based on gender and will be of a greater extent for women (Swedish Research Council, 2018 ; Bondestam and Lundqvist, 2020 ).

Hypothesis 2: Perceived consequences of sexually harassing behaviors will be worse for women students compared to men (Rospenda et al., 2000 ; Buchanan et al., 2009 ; Wolff et al., 2017 ; Jirek and Saunders, 2018 ).

Hypothesis 3: Psychological resilience will be associated both with the reported experiences of different types of sexual harassment (3a) and the perceived consequences of harassment (3b) although in a different way between genders (Moldovan and Macarie, 2019 ; Thambo et al., 2019 ).

2.1. Procedure

After securing the study approval from the University's Research Ethics Committee (REC), data were collected from November 2021 to February 2022. The participants completed a self-reported online questionnaire anonymously. The questionnaire was uploaded on a web-based form via LimeSurvey, accompanied by a cover letter clarifying all the necessary information about the study. Without being able to locate the students' IP addresses, the link of the questionnaire was sent to all students' academic emails twice (in November 2021 and January 2022) until the necessary number of completed questionnaires was collected. As required by the study's ethics protocol, data collection followed all the principles and guidelines of the REC.

2.2. Sample

The sample comprised 2,134 university students (81% undergraduates). Regarding gender, 70.5% of the students identified as women, 27.0% identified as men, while 2.5% either did not identify their gender or identified as “other” in relation to gender identity. Due to the limited numerical representation, this last category of students' gender was included only in the descriptive statistics. Students' ages ranged between 18 and over 40 years old (distribution: 78.5% 18–24; 11.0% 25–29; 6.4% 29–39; and 4.1% <40). In terms of year of study, students were classified as follows: 30.3% were freshmen, 21.4% were sophomores, 16.4% were juniors, 14.7% were seniors, and 17.2% were in their fifth year or higher. Finally, students came from the following fields of study: humanities (25.3%), social sciences (20.5%), natural/physical sciences (29.8%), technological sciences (13.5%), and medical/health sciences (10.9%).

2.3. Instrument

The instrument of the study was an online questionnaire, which included initial demographic questions and the following two main parts:

(a) Sexual harassment scale . For the investigation of the students' experiences of sexually harassing behaviors and their perceived consequences, a part of a larger questionnaire, created for the same purpose by the Association of American Universities, entitled “Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct” (Cantor et al., 2020 ), was applied. After securing permission from the authors, the questionnaire was translated into Greek and adapted to the needs of this study. This part of the questionnaire included seven questions concerning different types of sexual harassment (see, Table 1 ), which were answered dichotomously (yes/no), as well as four questions regarding the perceived consequences of sexual harassment on academic achievement, academic involvement, academic environment, and physical and mental health (i.e., “to what extent the experience of harassment affected your academic achievement?” or “to what extent the experience of harassment created a hostile or offensive academic environment?”). These questions were answered on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1 = Not at all to 5 = Very much ). The internal consistency coefficients Cronbach alpha for the two parts were 0.77 and 0.84, respectively.

Descriptive statistics-different types of sexual harassment between genders.

(b) Resilience scale . Students' psychological resilience was measured through the short Greek version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) (Connor and Davidson, 2003 ), following the authors' permission to use the scale. Since the multifactorial structure of the original scale (25 items) is often considered unstable, the short version was chosen whose unifactorial structure seems to have good psychometric properties (α = 0.85) in a sample of university students (Campbell-Sills and Stein, 2007 ). Thus, in the short version of the CD-RISC, resilience is measured through 10 representative statements/proposals (e.g., “I am able to adapt to change” or “I can handle unpleasant feelings”), which reflect individuals' ability to tolerate experiences such as change, personal problems, illness, pressure, failure, and painful feelings. The answers are given on a 5-point Likert scale (from 0 = Not at all true to 4 = Almost always true ). Testing the psychometric properties of the scale, confirmatory factor analysis showed a high fit of the measurement model [χ 2 = 126.609, df = 35, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.991; TLI = 0.988; GFI = 0.995; RMSEA = 0.032; 90% CI of RMSEA = (0.029; 0.042); SRMR = 0.037; NFI = 0.987], while reliability analysis using Cronbach's Alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ω) also indicated high internal consistency, α = 0.836 and ω = 0.839, respectively.

The statistical analyses included the following variables: gender, students' experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors, students' perceived consequences of sexual harassment, and resilience. Descriptive statistics, bivariate tests, such as t -test for independent samples, chi-square test, correlations analysis, and multivariate modeling, such as analysis of covariates (ANCOVA) and binary logistic regression, were carried out to explore the association among the variables under study.

3.1. Descriptive statistics and bivariate tests

Regarding the different types of sexual harassment, Table 1 shows that, among the total sample of students, the most frequent responses were (a) offensive comments about one's body, appearance, or sex life (30.46%), (b) offensive sexual comments or sexual jokes or sexual stories (22.36%), and (c) obscene staring, obscene gestures, or exposure of body parts (20.42%). The frequencies for women were in all cases higher than the corresponding frequencies for men and chi-square tests showed that the differences between genders were all statistically significant ( p < 0.001). Among those who reported sexual harassment, rates among women (compared to men) were particularly high, exceeding 80% for the following types of harassing behaviors: (a) obscene staring, obscene gestures, or exposure of body parts, (b) unwanted insistence for a date, for drinks, or for sex, and (c) unwanted kissing or touching.

Table 2 presents the mean and standard deviation for the perceived negative consequences of sexual harassment for the two genders. The significance of the differences between the two genders was tested through t -tests for independent samples. According to the results, women students perceived that sexually harassing experiences had affected their academic performance, their participation in academic life, the creation of an intimidating/hostile academic environment, and their physical or mental health to a greater extent compared to men.

Descriptive statistics for students' perceived consequences of sexual harassment between genders, and T -tests for the differences between genders.

5-point Likert scale, SD, Standard Deviation.

As far as resilience, men students ( Mean = 3.55, SD = 0.656) expressed a statistically higher perceived level of resilience compared to their women peers ( Mean = 3.32, SD = 0.649, t = 6.938, df = 2,077, p < 0.001).

In addition, a correlation analysis between perceived negative consequences of sexual harassment and resilience for both genders was performed. Specifically, the results showed that in the case of men students, there were negative correlations between resilience and all perceived consequences of harassment, that is, in relation to academic performance, participation in academic life, the academic environment, and physical/mental health (from r = −0.188, p < 0.05 to r = −0.344, p < 0.01). In the case of women students, however, there was a negative correlation only between resilience, on the one hand, and the way they perceived the academic environment as intimidating or hostile ( r = −0.137, p < 0.01) as well as their physical/mental health ( r = −0.188, p < 0.01), on the other hand.

3.2. Multivariate models

To investigate the association of students' gender with their experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors, considering resilience as a covariate variable, a binary logistic regression (BLR) (Agresti, 2007 ) was implemented. In the BLR, the log e [odds] of declaring an experience of a type of sexual harassment vs. the log e [odds] of not declaring it is modeled as a function of gender and resilience. Odds express the relative probability of the two possible responses. The results are depicted in Table 3 , where the coefficients B's represent the magnitude of the effects, and the Wald statistic tests the null hypothesis (Ho) that B = 0. Larger absolute values of B denote greater effects. B's for resilience were negative in all cases, that is, the lower the resilience, the greater the relative possibility to report the particular type of sexual harassment. The interpretation is provided by Exp (B). This suggests that the estimated odds for declaring a type of sexual harassment is multiplied by the Exp (B), as resilience decreases by one unit. The findings were theoretically anticipated and interpretable.

Results from a logistic regression applied to declared experiences of different types of sexual harassment, as a function of gender and resilience.

The regression coefficient B, standard deviation (B), Wald Test value, significance (sig), Exp(B) and the 95% confidence intervals of Exp(B). For gender, the group of comparison is men.

Regarding gender, the group of comparison was men, and B represents the increase in effect with respect to women. For example, in the first type of sexual harassment (D1) for women, the effect increases by 0.480 compared to men, and for women, the estimated odds of this type of sexual harassment are increased, multiplied by 1.616. Note that interaction terms between gender and resilience were not statistically significant.

To investigate the association between students' gender and their perceived consequences of sexual harassment, an analysis of variance with resilience as covariate (ANCOVA) was implemented. The results are shown in Table 4 , wherein the coefficients Bs represent the magnitude of the effects and the T -tests account for rejecting the null hypothesis (Ho) that B = 0. Larger absolute values of B denote greater effects. All B's for resilience were negative, that is, the lower the resilience, the greater the perceived consequences of sexual harassment.

Results of ANCOVA of students' perceived consequences of sexual harassment, with gender as independent variable and resilience as covariate.

a Group of comparison.

Regarding gender, the group of comparison was men, and B represents the increase in effect with respect to women. For example, in the perceived consequence of reduced academic performance, an increase of 0.257 is observed for women students compared with men students. Note that interaction terms between gender and resilience were not statistically significant.

4. Discussion

The present study aimed to investigate students' experiences of different types of sexually harassing behaviors, within academia, as well as the role of gender and psychological resilience regarding their harassment and its consequences.

According to the university students' self-reports, the most prevailing types of sexually harassing behaviors in academia included offensive sexual comments, jokes, or stories, inappropriate or offensive comments about one's body, appearance, or sex life, as well as the obscene way of staring (e.g., at parts of your body), the obscene gestures (e.g., whistling and winking), or the exposure of one's body parts that causes embarrassment. In all cases, types of sexually harassing behaviors were primarily manifested against women students, with reporting rates exceeding 70% (among those students who reported incidents of sexual harassment). This finding supports Hypothesis 1 as well as recent related studies that reveal mainly women's sexual victimization in academia (Swedish Research Council, 2018 ; Bondestam and Lundqvist, 2020 ; Humbert et al., 2022 ). These percentages may be attributed both to the absence of long-term measures to prevent and address sexual harassment within the academic context, as well as to a broader social culture that encourages sexist attitudes and silences the phenomenon (Alldred and Phipps, 2018 ; Kambouri, 2021 ). It should be emphasized that the abovementioned harassing behaviors are examples of gender-based violence, as they affect women disproportionately compared to men, constituting a mechanism of sexist discrimination against women (Vaiou et al., 2021 ; Humbert et al., 2022 ).

Accordingly, the study showed that the perceived consequences of the different types of sexual harassment seemed to be significantly more pronounced in the case of women students. This finding supports Hypothesis 2 and is in parallel with related international studies (Rospenda et al., 2000 ; Cantor et al., 2015 ; McGinley et al., 2016 ; Wolff et al., 2017 ; Jirek and Saunders, 2018 ; Cipriano et al., 2022 ). More particularly, the effects of the phenomenon seem to impact primarily the women students' levels of physical and mental health, their academic performance, as well as their involvement in academic life, creating an overall intimidating and offensive academic environment.

Furthermore, the findings showed that the students' perceived level of resilience was associated negatively with their reported experiences of sexual harassment. To the extent that women students reported lower levels of resilience than men, as well as more experiences of sexual harassment, this may suggest a vulnerability toward victimization, as has been reported elsewhere (Touloupis and Athanasiades, 2022 ). However, from the analysis of covariates, it was shown that independent of the resilience effect, being a woman was associated with further reported experiences of sexually harassing behaviors.

It is worth mentioning that the negative association between resilience and harassment against women was supported not for all but only for specific types of sexual harassment, such as offensive sexual comments/jokes/stories, inappropriate/offensive comments about one's body/appearance/sex life, and being kissed or caressed/touched against one's will (see D1, D2, and D7 in Tables 1 , ​ ,4). 4 ). Therefore, the above finding confirms partially Hypothesis 3a, as it was expected that the perceived level of resilience will be negatively related to all types of sexual harassment against women. This is likely since the above types of sexual harassment (e.g., offensive sexual comments or jokes, inappropriate or offensive comments about one's body or appearance, and being touched unwillingly) are among the most common in the academic environment of the participants. Undoubtedly, due to the scarcity of related findings regarding all these different types of sexually harassing behaviors included in this study, future studies need to further clarify whether the negative interaction between resilience and sexual harassment against women concerns other types of harassing behaviors as well. Overall, the above findings reflect similar studies, which have reported that resilience is acting as a protective filter against sexual harassment (Moldovan and Macarie, 2019 ; Thambo et al., 2019 ). However, as previously mentioned, this study adds empirical evidence that the female gender per se is a predictive factor for experiencing sexual harassment.

Similarly, it was found that the students' perceived level of resilience seemed to be negatively associated with their perceived consequences of sexual harassment, while an effect of gender is present. Women perceived negative consequences of sexual harassment, especially in their academic environment as well as in their physical and mental health, were more intense compared to men. This finding supports Hypothesis 3b. Resilience, which theoretically has the potential to buffer the effect of students' experience of sexual harassment on their psycho-emotional state and their involvement in academic life and duties (Moldovan and Macarie, 2019 ; Thambo et al., 2019 ), appeared lower for women, and this could partially explain why women reported more intense consequences of sexual harassment than men. Nevertheless, independent of resilience, female gender per se is a predictive factor for high perceived consequences of sexual harassment.

Undoubtedly, the above findings should be interpreted cautiously due to specific limitations. More particularly, results were based on a convenient sample, while the rates of different types of sexual harassment reflect the students' responses and not the actual cases of harassment. The conduction of the study immediately after a long period of social isolation and confinement, due to the restrictive measures of the COVID-19 pandemic, may have influenced the participants' responses, regarding both sexual harassment and resilience. For example, because of distance education, a portion of the sample had not been able to fully experience student life within the university campus. In addition, further research could focus exclusively on the student community or on specific minority groups of students (i.e., women students from specific faculties, LGBTQ+ students, and students with special educational needs and disabilities), using a qualitative methodology, which would enhance the above findings, highlighting other qualitative parameters of this issue. Furthermore, besides gender and resilience, other risk factors of sexual victimization, such as stress, anxiety, depression, and sense of belonging, could be explored.

Nevertheless, the results shed light on important aspects of the phenomenon, providing a baseline for the implementation of appropriate policies and interventions in academic institutions against sexual violence and harassment. Measures that are specifically targeted to the student population (as well as to all members of the academic community) to overturn a culture of tolerance toward gender-based violence and harassment are considered important. Such measures include, for example, training seminars or information and awareness-raising campaigns for women and men on gender relations, gender equality, and acceptance of diversity. At the same time, the actions could aim at enhancing students' resilience as well as their level of wellbeing and connectedness to the wider academic community. In accordance with the relevant literature (Johnson et al., 2018 ; Bondestam and Lundqvist, 2020 ), it is recommended that academic institutions organize the above initiatives at the following levels: (a) at the policy level, by adopting firm and transparent measures against gender-based violence; (b) at the level of awareness-raising and sensitization of the academic community, aiming at an inclusive environment that honors and respects equality and diversity; (c) at the level of managing individual cases, through the establishment of relevant bodies and procedures; and (d) at the level of supporting mechanisms for the victims, independently of formal complaints.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Research Ethics Committee of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (protocol number 148172/2021). The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

CA and HC: conceptualization, investigation, resources, and funding acquisition. CA, TT, and DS: methodology, validation, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing, and visualization. DS: software. CA and DS: formal analysis. CA: supervision and project administration. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding Statement

This research was funded by the Special Account for Research Funds (ELKE) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Project grant number: 73041.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Employee Issues: Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Discrimination Essay

Discrimination along gender lines, sexual harassment, discrimination.

Discrimination along gender lines is evident in many parts of the world. It is experienced in areas such as sports, education, the film industry as well as employment (William 56).

It has been observed that in the workplace, women fall victim to discrimination. Those belonging to racial minority groups suffer the most in that they either are paid lower wages than the rest or are not paid at all (William 60).

Also, in the education sector, especially in many African countries, discrimination along gender lines is rampant in that educating boys is considered a higher priority than educating girls (Amaro, et al. 200). On the other hand, in developed countries like the United States, girl-child education is of a higher priority. It is easier for a female college student to get a chance at major universities than male college students (Dion 120).

Women are not the only ones who fall victim to discrimination along gender lines. Men, too, are victims. For instance, in female-dominated industries such as nursing and catering professions, men tend to be discriminated against verbally, by being termed as “sissies” (Dion, et al. 992). They are often taken advantage of and might even end up handling a bigger load of work or chores than their female counterparts (Dion, et al. 850).

The film industry can also provide evidence of discrimination along gender lines, for both sexes. For instance, the majority of blacks, Hispanics, or Asian actors in the US win Oscar Awards for best performing or best-supporting actors but not the best actor or actress (William 85). Awards that do not separate based on gender tend to overlook women altogether (Dion 255).

Sexual harassment can be defined as unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature, requests for sexual favors as well as unwelcome sexual advances based on gender (Armstead, et al. 510). Generally, sexual harassment can be classified into two categories, that is, direct quid-pro-quo sexual harassment and the concept of “hostile work environment” (Armstead, et al. 523).

Quid-pro-quo means “This for that” (Dion, et al. 524). This type of sexual harassment normally takes place in situations where an employer is in a position to influence employment actions such as demotions or even firing that will end up affecting the employee (William 76).

On the other hand, in the concept of a hostile work environment, harassment can be a result of unwelcome conduct by a supervisor, co-workers as well as customers with whom the employee interacts (William 79). Here, harassment is in the form of comments concerning physical attributes, off-color jokes, use of indecent gestures as well as the use of crude and offensive language (Armstead, et al. 523).

Sexual harassment is not always sexual in nature for instance, in a case where a man assaults women based purely on the woman’s gender (Dion, et al. 889).

Discrimination can be generally defined as the negative manifestation of integrative power based on gender, racial as well as socio-economic status (Dion 293).

Discrimination is both morally problematic and practically counter-productive in that it not only degrades and humiliates an individual but creates a sense of low self-esteem as well as distrust (Armstead, et al. 541). Victims of discrimination are not only scared of going about their day-to-day activities due to fear of receiving poorer services than others in hospitals, stores, or restaurants but also suffer health problems such as high blood pressure, hypertension, and depression (Armstead, et al. 543).

Governments and societies, in general, ought to introduce programs to educate individuals on equal rights, equal opportunities as well as equal pay in workplaces to ensure gender equality. Both men and boys should become involved in promoting gender equality and changing sexual and traditional stereotyping, as well as stereotypical values.

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Bibliography

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• Two Types of Sexual Harassment (EEOC)
• Types of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
• Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Two Basic Theories
• Sexual Harassment at Work: US Civil Rights Act
• Labor and Employment Issues
• Sexual Harassment: Issue Analysis
• Anti-Discrimination Laws in the U.S.
• Rousseau's Social Contract Theory
• Power Harassment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Recruitment Agencies and Graduate Job Seekers
• The Concept of Americans Overworking
• Benefits and Problems of Diverse Workforce
• Violence in American Labor Unions' History
• Unionization and Workers' Quality of Life

Andrew Tate's ideology driving sexual harassment, sexism and misogyny in Australian classrooms

For Grace*, 2023 should have been the pinnacle of her teaching career.

Five years after graduating university, she was settling into a full-term contract at her "dream job" on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, teaching at the high school she had attended growing up.

"I'd travelled around, I'd come back, and I'd settled in a nice spot. So I thought it was going to be a really good thing for me," the 30-year-old told 7.30 .

But by the middle of the year, Grace's teaching career was over.

During her time as a relief teacher in 2022, she noticed more boys talking about Andrew Tate in class.

It was much more prevalent when she started teaching media studies to 15 and 16-year-olds last year.

"One of them was speaking about how much they love Andrew Tate. And I had just said, 'Look, I don't want to hear that name in this classroom.' I could see some of the girls rolling their eyes and sighing," she said.

The British-American former kickboxer has accumulated millions of followers on social media for preaching a message of ultra-masculinity, and in the past he has described himself as a sexist and a misogynist.

Mr Tate's money-making subscription channels have been pulled from YouTube and other platforms, with TikTok classifying his ideology as "hateful".

Both he and his brother Tristan are currently barred from leaving Romania, where they're set to stand trial on human trafficking charges . They also face extradition to the UK to face charges of sexual aggression .

Still, he has accumulated many fans.

Grace says only three to four boys formed a small group of fans in her classroom but it was enough to set a disturbing tone.

"Most of what was happening in my experience was of a sexual nature," she said.

"Students making moaning noises in my classes, asking me inappropriate questions, asking personal questions about my age or my appearance."

Grace says she was told to use teaching techniques to handle the problem but the behaviour didn't stop, and at the end of her first term under contract, she quit.

"It's very disappointing that I don't really feel safe in a classroom anymore," she said.

"Even though I want to be there to stand up for the young girls … my mental health was suffering.

"I just couldn't be in those classrooms anymore and I couldn't take it."

'Tate showing up in classrooms'

Grace is not alone. Researchers from Monash University interviewed female teachers about the impact of Andrew Tate in Australian classrooms. Their study was published earlier this year in the journal Gender and Education.

"The consistency is one of the most extraordinary things about what we found in this study," said one of the report's authors, Stephanie Wescott.

"We're talking teachers from rural towns in regional Australia to metropolitan schools.

"What they were telling us is that Andrew Tate was showing up in their classroom in a range of ways."

The sample size was limited, with 30 female teachers interviewed for between 30 and 75 minutes.

The study found "widespread experience of sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny perpetrated by boys towards women teachers, and the ominous presence of Andrew Tate shaping their behaviour".

"The women in our study are telling us that that is showing up in the way that their boys — in the way that their students are treating them," Dr Wescott said.

Why Tate appeals to these young men

Despite his legal challenges and a reduced profile online, Mr Tate remains hugely popular.

He has nearly 9 million followers on social media platform X, and was the fourth-most-searched topic in Google Australia's news category last year.

"People around my age, probably around like 16 to maybe mid-20s, a lot of people would have heard about him," 21-year-old Jaidyn Davis told 7.30 in Melbourne.

"His popularity has grown drastically because of his views on the world, the way he views things, the way he talks about men, women and all that."

Mr Davis and many other young men who follow Mr Tate online see nothing wrong with the influencer's core ideology.

"I understand what he's trying to convey over to the public," Mr Davis said.

"Men are meant to be masculine in life. They're meant to pay for things, meant to be the bigger person in a relationship. They're meant to protect the girlfriend, the partner … stuff like that.

"So he's sort of trying to convey the message, like, guys should be strong in life and they should be more masculine with what they do."

Other young men who support Mr Tate, like 25-year-old Ethan Slater, agreed part of attraction was the promotion of a version of masculinity they appreciated.

"Definitely men are getting mixed messages," he told 7.30.

"[Mr Tate] resonates with younger men because that's sort of what they aspire to be. It's big money, big goals, big dreams, and they want to achieve that themselves."

Mr Slater believes much of what's been reported about Mr Tate's views on men and women has been taken out of context.

"So, he says men are superior to women. What he means is like, you know, men should dominate the relationship and help the woman to aspire to what she wants to be," he said.

'An emotionally abusive relationship'

But in classrooms it's clear some female teachers believe Andrew Tate is harmful.

Halley Metcalfe is another one who decided the constant battle with his ideology just wasn't worth it. After a 16-year teaching career, she walked away in 2023.

"It was like being in an emotionally abusive relationship. Towards the end, I was in an emotionally abusive relationship with my job," Ms Metcalfe said.

"I would walk into a classroom that I had dreaded going in, and I would smile and everybody gets a fresh start, and I would try and talk with these students, and I would try and engage with them, but they already had my number."

Ms Metcalfe believes it's a problem schools don't take seriously enough, and without a national approach in schools to address the problem more women teachers will follow her — and quit.

"Once they get into a classroom space and this is happening, why would they stay?" she said.

"It's a female-dominated industry and we're not looking after women."

* Full name withheld to protect her identity

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BlackBerry Investigated Its New CEO For Sexual Harassment, Lawsuit Claims

A former BlackBerry employee has sued the company and its CEO John J. Giamatteo in a California district court, alleging that after she rejected his advances, he threatened and retaliated against her. BlackBerry denied the allegations and is fighting the suit.

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BlackBerry famously decommissioned its iconic smartphones in 2022, amid a pivot to enterprise software.

L ast December, BlackBerry ended its brief search for a new chief executive officer by appointing its cybersecurity president, John J. Giamatteo, to the role. Today, Giamatteo and the company were sued by a former executive at the company for what she alleges was a pattern of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation, which BlackBerry knew of before making him CEO, she claimed. She claims she was fired days before Giamatteo’s ascension was announced.

The lawsuit against BlackBerry and Giamatteo was filed by a Jane Doe in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It details a series of sexual and workplace harassment complaints made about Giamatteo, and alleges that BlackBerry failed to meaningfully address them and then promoted Giamatteo to his new role. Doe’s attorney Maria Bourn of Gomerman Bourn & Associates told Forbes that it was filed anonymously due to potential unlawful retaliation.

“It feels like death by a thousand paper cuts,” Doe told Forbes in an interview. “On an isolated basis, some of those things might not seem like a big issue. But when it’s happening so regularly and deliberately, it is. It affected me, and it affects many women.”

“BlackBerry is committed to maintaining a respectful and productive work environment free from discrimination and harassment,” spokesperson Camilla Scassellati Sforzolini told Forbes in a statement on behalf of BlackBerry and Giamatteo. “To this end, we do not tolerate, condone, or ignore workplace discrimination or harassment or any unlawful behavior. We conducted an extensive investigation, which found no evidence of wrongdoing or violations of the Company code of conduct, and we are confident that the robustness of our process and its findings will be made evident in court. As such, BlackBerry and Mr. Giamatteo believe that these allegations are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against them in court.” BlackBerry is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings today.

“I felt like I had gone back to the 1980s in tech, where there was truly a culture of misogyny.” Former BlackBerry employee

Forbes spoke to three other women who previously worked alongside Giamatteo at BlackBerry who shared similar details concerning the now-CEO and gender discrimination. All of these women requested anonymity out of fear of retribution. All three claimed they had direct knowledge of several female executives whose roles were diminished during Giamatteo’s tenure as a division president. Two of these sources claimed they had some of their responsibilities removed under Giamatteo’s leadership, and one of them claimed her duties were given to male counterparts. They additionally corroborated Doe’s account of an internal investigation that BlackBerry had launched while Giamatteo was being considered for the position of CEO, regarding alleged complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination that had been made about him. The company did not respond to these claims or address a detailed list of questions sent by Forbes .

“I felt like I had gone back to the 1980s in tech, where there was truly a culture of misogyny,” one of these women told Forbes . “I thought: I started my career that way and now I’m ending my career that way.”

Giamatteo, a Texas resident, joined BlackBerry in 2021 after nearly seven years at the security giant McAfee, where he was president and chief revenue officer in charge of sales and marketing. BlackBerry was attempting to rebrand as “the world’s largest and most trusted AI-cybersecurity company” under the leadership of then-CEO, John Chen, and in 2022 famously decommissioned its iconic phones in a pivot to enterprise software. While overseeing BlackBerry’s $500 million cybersecurity business unit, Giamatteo was given the responsibility of ushering in that new future.

According to the lawsuit, after joining, Giamatteo asked Doe, who had been working at BlackBerry for more than a decade, to begin reporting to him so that they could “travel together,” providing no business reason for this change. Giamatteo subsequently invited Doe to what she believed was a work dinner, but turned out to be a “date,” in which he attempted “to see what [she] would tolerate regarding Giamatteo’s advances,” the lawsuit continued. At one point, Doe alleged that he made comments about his daughters’ ages and attire, and claimed he said that “when he is out with his daughters he gets dressed up, and people think ‘he is a dirty old man’ because it appears he is out on a date with them.’” The plaintiff is younger than Giamatteo and claimed she found his remarks disturbing.

Doe said she subsequently reported these comments to Chen, at which point Giamatteo warned her “that I needed to be nice to him,” Doe told Forbes . After she rejected his advances, she claimed his behavior escalated to “excluding me from things and telling people that he was working on getting me out of the company, and then ultimately getting me out of the company.” (Chen did not respond to a request for comment.)

BlackBerry has never publicly disclosed that Giamatteo was the subject of a sexual harassment review.

Announcing Giamatteo’s CEO role last December, board member Mike Daniels praised his “deep industry experience and outstanding track record of inspiring teams and delivering operational excellence.” Before retiring in October, Chen, a Silicon Valley veteran, had served as BlackBerry’s CEO since 2013 and was succeeded by Interim CEO Richard Lynch.

According to the lawsuit, BlackBerry’s board of directors became aware of sexual harassment claims made about Giamatteo, and in November retained law firm Morrison & Foerster to conduct an internal investigation of Doe’s complaint, as well as the cases of two other women who had allegedly experienced gender discrimination by Giamatteo. At the time, BlackBerry was vetting him for the job of CEO, and on a November 6 leadership call, Lynch had said the board had “run into a couple of process hiccups in appointing the person,” the lawsuit alleged. Doe claimed that she met with the attorneys that same day, whereupon they revealed that they were investigating Giamatteo’s conduct towards women, but informed Doe that she would not face retaliation for her testimony. She claimed that human resources did not appear to be involved in the process.

On December 4, however, Doe alleged that she was fired by Lynch, who presented her with a severance agreement that required her to release all claims against the company, including those of unlawful retaliation. She declined to sign. Lynch announced her departure to the company on December 10, and Giamatteo’s new role was made public the next day.

Despite these alleged complaints, “Giamatteo was not only shielded from consequences but rewarded with a promotion to the highest position in the company,” which set his total compensation at $700,000 with stock valued at $6 million, said Doe’s attorney Bourn.

Two individuals familiar with Morrison & Foerster’s inquiry into Giamatteo claimed to Forbes that it was perfunctory and that some of the women interviewed by the firm never received a follow up about the information they had provided nor the results of the investigation. BlackBerry has never publicly disclosed that Giamatteo was the subject of a sexual harassment review. Morrison & Foerster, which has represented companies like OpenAI and Google in litigation, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

“I think the board has some accountability in this too, because they allowed this to happen,” said Doe.

BlackBerry, once an $80 billion technology pioneer whose virally popular “ CrackBerry ” predated even the iPhone, eventually lost the gadget war to competitors like Apple, Nokia and Microsoft, and in 2016 stopped manufacturing its iconic phones before cutting off support for the devices entirely. The 40-year-old company went from controlling nearly half of the U.S. smartphone market in 2010 to none of it.

Last year, Chen, who had a track record for rehabilitating dying tech firms, decided to prioritize BlackBerry’s software offerings and announced that its cybersecurity and internet-of-things divisions would split into two separate business units, with a plan to take its IoT arm public as a subsidiary. Previously, the company had struggled to grow its revenue and cited declines in its cybersecurity unit. Under Giamatteo, however, BlackBerry’s plans to spin out its cybersecurity and IoT pillars have been scrapped.

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