Society Blames The Media Essay, Research Paper

Sexual Harassment is a growing problem in today s workplace. This paper will establish the signs and causes of harassment. and the growing number of cases through statistics and actual cases. What exactly is sexual harassment? Many people cannot actually define the term properly and give reasons. Many misconceptions of harassment have been conceived. The term sexua l harassment is defined in legal terms, Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. (Petrocelli, Repa, pg. +). Women of all ages, backgrounds, races and experience are harassed on the job. Many acts of harassment can fall into this category, and range from severe to minor. Signs of harassment can range from meager comments such as comments on a women s breasts or hips to unwanted accidental fondling or offensive pictures being brought to their attention. Harassment can also occur in the form of demeaning or belittling comments about a specific gender. In this specific case where, Two male employees whose supervisor threatened to fir them if they refused to participate in various sexual antics including strip poker and striptease performances at the worksite after hours. (Petrocelli, Repa pg. 1/3), a boss or higher position person will request sexual favors or acts by using threats. Since sometimes threats are used, many cases of harassment are not reported because of fear. Many ideas of why sexual harassment occurs have been conceived. The basic statement of sexual harassment is, Sexual harassment results from a misuse of power-not from sexual attraction. (Petrocelli, Repa, pg. 1/5). This can be considered a broad statement and many ideas can be built upon it. There has always been a great battle of the sexes. The relationship between the sexes in modern America indlcudes a great deal of violence against women. One out of every ten American women are reaped or sexually assaulted during their lives. (Petrocelle, Repa, Pg. 1/5). Many times this battle of the sexes can cause hostility between different genders. In this case harassment can act as a sign of power and control, and make the harasser feel in a more powerful position. Many men sometimes feel that a women can be an economic competitor. The number of working women in the labor force has increases from 15% in 1860m to 32% in 1947, and then jumped to 60% in 1994. Many higher positioned men feel they are not good enough if a women is in position to take over. A study conducted by Women Employed Institute states:  Female high school graduated earned 29% less then male high school graduates.  Women college graduates earned 27% less then male college graduates.  Women with doctorate degreess earned 21% less then males with doctorates.  Women with high school degress earned olny $2,017 a year more then males with less ninth grade education. Another factor that may be a form of sexual harassment is discrimination as a form of workplace control. In many cases sex discriminaton forces women into lower paying jobs, sexual harassment helps keep them there. By harassing a women, a man displays the consequences is they shall seek high positions. In some cases a woman is fired for refusing to go along with the sexual demands of her employer. In one case, A federal court found that a female bartender was fired because she refused her supervisor s plea to rub against his sexual organ, even though the employer argued she was fired for her use of unladylike language. Ironically, the court also found the employer s use of the term unladylike to be direct evidence of discrimination, since there was ample testimony that he toldered vulgar language in the workplace-as long as it was men doing the talking.