Psychological impacts and effects on human behavior

Sexual Harassment

The Impact of Sexual Harassment, the Glass Ceiling, and Affirmative Action on Psychological Development

Gender roles and social expectations have undergone a tremendous upheaval in the past fifty years of the United States. Previously, gender roles were strictly defined and women were expected to perform certain traditional roles. Stepping outside of those roles was socially forbidden. Women were expected to remain in the home caring for children, while the men worked outside of the home providing for the family. In World War II, these roles changed. Women had to work in factories and other jobs, as there were not enough men to fulfill the positions. Women experienced a newfound freedom, as they now had their own money and source of independence. Women were no longer willing to accept their traditional roles, they demanded a choice in their own destiny.

However, they were still only allowed to hold certain jobs and to work in certain professions. The workplace was a hostile place for women. This was especially true for women of different ethnic backgrounds. On the job, they face sexual harassment. The "glass ceiling" forced them to do the same jobs as men, but for less pay. They were not allowed the same opportunities for advancement as men. This was especially true for culturally diverse women. Affirmative Action was designed to alleviate many of these problems. It mandated equal pay for equal jobs. It theoretically eliminated the problems of sexual harassment in the workplace and eliminated the glass ceiling. However, one cannot legislate out cultural traditions, and although these things are forbidden, they are still a part of the workplace for culturally diverse women in today's society. This research explores the impact of sexual harassment and the glass ceiling on culturally diverse women in the workplace.

Sigal, Gibbs, & Goodrich et al. (2005) used a vignette in which a male professor was accused of sexually harassing a female graduate student. The participants were then asked to judge the professor in terms of whether his actions constituted sexual harassment or not. The countries were divided into individuist and collectivist. Those from individuist countries judged the professor much more harshly, than did those from collectivist countries. In addition, women judged the professor more harshly and were harsher with their punishments than men. This research demonstrates how social upbringing can influence whether an act is judged to be sexual harassment, and how severe the offense is judged to be.

This research supports the premise that culture and learned social cues are responsible for the development of perceptions regarding sexual behavior. It also demonstrates the amount of distress that the person would place on the act. Those from individuist countries would be more distressed than those of collectivist countries, as they consider the act to be a more serious offense. The study also demonstrates that behaviors towards sexual harassment can differ according to learned cultural norms as well.

The connection between sexual harassment and mental health is well documented. However, the question is whether sexual harassment affects all workers, or whether it only worsens conditions among those who are sensitive to inappropriate workplace behavior. Houle, Staff, & Blackstone (2007) studied the long-term impact of sexual harassment on youth as they transitioned to adulthood. They found that physical harassment during adolescence has a long-term, depressive affect in young adulthood. This study did not find that these conditions were affected by a history of previous mental health conditions. All of the subjects reacted similarly to the harassment. In addition to these findings, it was found that women were more likely to be psychologically damaged by verbal harassment than men.

This study supports the supposition that sexual harassment has a detrimental affect on the ability of women to overcome challenges with self-esteem in early adulthood. This affect could contribute to their inability to penetrate the glass ceiling. It could also make them less likely to challenge regarding pay issues and other violations of Affirmative Action. The depressive affects of sexual harassment while still a youth sets the young adult up for expectations of more of the same, making them less likely to fight back. As the research shows, women are more likely to be affected by this than men.

The patterns that lead to sexual harassment begin during the school years. Girls in grades 7-12 who were sexually harassed at school were more likely to commit suicide than those who were not sexually harassed (Timmerman, 2004). Sexual harassment during their formative years made women more likely to accept it and do nothing in their adult years. The pattern for victimization in later years (Timmerman, 2004). The damage to the girls' self-esteem also sets them up to be accepting of the glass ceiling and much less to report violations of Affirmative Action. Sexual harassment in the formative years has an impact on the ability of women to break the glass ceiling later in life.

As we discovered, what is considered sexual harassment differs according to cultural background and social upbringing. In cultures, where sexual harassment is a serious offense, the damager is much more likely to be severe, than in places where sexual harassment falls within the real of accepted gender roles. Sexual harassment can come from any place at any time. We found that when sexual harassment occurs during the formative years, it could have a detrimental affect on the woman's self-esteem and attitude later in life. Sexual harassment sets them up to accept the glass ceiling and can be a factor in whether they file Affirmative Action charges, or whether they simply take the harassment in silence.

The Internet is the latest forum through which sexual harassment can occur. The Internet is a place where people of all ages and cultures can interact with one another. The Internet can be an excellent forum for cultural exchange and a place where ideas can be traded between people of different backgrounds. In this way, the Internet can act as a highly diverse place for social networking. However, the Internet can also be a place where sexual harassment can occur as well.

Barak (2005) found that sexual harassment online can lead to sexual harassment offline. People often use the Internet as a place to meet people that they wish to meet offline. If a person conducts sexual harassment online, they are likely to commit if offline as well. Barak (2005) found that sexual harassment can be divided into three distinctive types. It can take the form of undesired physical touching, offering a bribe for sexual favors, or making threats to receive sexual cooperation from the other person. These three types of harassing behaviors are distinctive from one another, but can occur in conjunction with one another. Whether an act is considered sexual harassment or not is a matter of personal, situational, cultural, and social factors surrounding the actions.

Tracking the number of occurrences of sexual harassment in cyberspace faces some of the same difficulties that occur offline. Barak (2005) found that it is difficult to determine in actual numbers how often sexual harassment occurs online and offline. Statistics can differ according to whether or not the action is interpreted as sexual harassment, or whether it is considered a culturally acceptable action. One must remember that cultures consider different actions to be sexual harassment and that what is not permitted in one culture is acceptable in another. In cyberspace, and elsewhere, the matter may be one of perception. Data regarding sexual harassment also suffers from the unwillingness of many women to report sexual harassment. It is not known how many suffer in silence for fear of social, legal, or physical retribution (Barak, 2005).