“I Didn't Recognize It as a Bad Experience until I was Much Older”: Age, Experience, and Workers’ Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

Grill Guys and Drive-Thru Girls: Discourses of Gender in Young People’s Part-Time Work

“…Further, gender expectations significantly shape the kind of work that young people engage in and the tasks they complete in workplaces, which relates to gender inequality (Besen-Cassino, 2018;Blackstone et al, 2014;Clampet-Lundquist, 2013;Good & Cooper, 2016). Gender segregation begins in informal jobs (i.e., snow removal, lawn care, babysitting), which young people typically engage in before they are of legal working age (Besen-Cassino, 2018).…”

“…For example, research with youth aged 14 to 19 has found that young women are harassed more frequently than young men, and young, single women who are new to their jobs are more likely than established workers to experience sexual harassment (e.g., Cohen, 2013;Fineran & Gruber, 2009). Further, previous research on service-sector work notes that age and experience influence the reporting of workplace sexual harassment (e.g., Blackstone et al, 2014;Good & Copper, 2016;McVittie, Goodall, Sambaraju, Elliott, & Trenjnowska, 2015). Younger workers in the service sector may feel less welcome to report instances to management, and may be less likely to perceive certain instances as examples of gender discrimination or sexual harassment or to naturalize these instances as "part of the job" (e.g., see Besen-Cassino, 2018;Breslin et al, 2007;Good & Cooper, 2016;Walters, 2016).…”

“…In another example, while Angela did not see instances of gender inequality where she worked, she said that she would respond to an instance of discrimination or sexual harassment with some acceptance, "because I […] I love my job and I think […] I would probably be a little more like 'it's okay. '" Amanda, Angela, and Lana made strategic choices around how to handle possibilities of sexual harassment, but their stories also indicate that young people, especially young women, feel unwelcome or ill equipped to formally report instances of sexual harassment (Blackstone et al, 2014;Cohen, 2013;Good & Cooper, 2016) or see this solution as risking their employment or affecting their workplace morale. Further, Angela's disinclination to report possible future sexual harassment or discrimination may resonate with other researchers' concerns that young people, and especially young women, might be likely to put up with discrimination and sexual harassment as "part of the job" (Besen-Cassino, 2018; Blackstone et al, 2014;Breslin et al, 2007;Good & Cooper, 2016;Sears et al, 2011;Walters, 2016).…”

Female Brass Musicians Address Gender Parity, Gender Equity, and Sexual Harassment: A Preliminary Report on Data from the Brass Bodies Study

“…The effect of women working under female supervision has been explored for potentially reducing discrimination based on sex [25,26]. These findings are not conclusive, however, and are compounded by research noting that women in male-dominated professions do not always perceive or define workplace actions as sexual harassment [33,34] A final theme within the literature on workplace climate addresses co-worker competition [35,36] In some workplaces like music and other creative industries, competition for work is routine because of the itinerant nature of employment, which puts power in the hands of those with authority to hire workers. Hennekam and Bennett [37] found that sexual harassment is not only tolerated, but that competition for work re-inscribed the normalization of sexual harassment in job interviews and auditions.…”

Sexual Harassment: The Nexus Between Gender and Workplace Authority: Evidence from the Australian Public Service

“…Although age is linked to power and gender relations (Connell 2000;Thorne 1993;Ohse and Stockdale 2008;Reese and Lindenberg 2005;Sally et al 2005;Blackstone et al 2014), it has rarely been considered in studies of workplace sexual harassment (Gruber 1998) let alone in contrapower harassment. Nonetheless, research has found that age is an important factor that affects perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment, particularly in relation to minor or ambiguous behaviors (e.g.…”