Perception of workplace social‐sexual behavior as sexual harassment post #MeToo in Scandinavia

Abstract

In this study we examined how people perceive social‐sexual behavior of women and men, and how these perceptions were associated with beliefs about the outcomes of the #MeToo movement, sexism, traditional values, and gender equality. In addition, we examined the effect of having experienced sexual harassment on such perceptions. Analyses were performed on a Norwegian snowball social media sample covering 321 women and 168 men, aged 18–59 (M = 33.1). Outcome variables covered perceptions of scenarios that described opposite‐sex social‐sexual behaviors performed by female and male actors within the workplace environment. Path analysis showed that negative beliefs about the outcomes of the #MeToo movement was the principal predictor for perception of female and male social‐sexual behavior as sexual harassment for women and men participants. Traditional values, gender equality, and hostile sexism toward women were all associated with perception of social‐sexual behavior as sexual harassment, however the effects of these variables were only indirect and fully accounted for by the effect of negative #MeToo beliefs. For women, having experienced sexual harassment was associated with hostile sexism toward men, but had no effect on the perceptions over and above the effect of the other variables in the model. The predictors on participants’ perceptions were highly similar for women and men and for evaluations of female and male actors. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

‘No one likes a grass’ Female police officers’ experience of workplace sexual harassment: A qualitative study

“…Brown et al, 2017). As a result, men become desensitised to sexual harassment because conversations of a sexual nature are customary (Kessler et al, 2021). Akin to this, distinguishing between what is harmless sexual banter and what is sexual harassment is challenging, making it hard to recognise (Page et al, 2015).…”

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“…Importantly for the present contribution, Moscatelli et al [19] found that higher hostile sexism toward women predicted women's higher skepticism toward the allegations made by the victims of the so-called "Weinstein scandal" and more negative views of the #MeToo campaign. Similarly, hostile sexism was associated with more negative beliefs concerning the outcomes of the movement, which in turn were associated with a higher tendency to consider social-sexual behaviors as sexual harassment [6].…”

“…The #MeToo movement also affected the extent to which people considered socialsexual behaviors in the workplace, such as sexist jokes, repeated invitations to date following a polite rejection, or hugs lasting "a little too long" as sexual harassment [6,30]. Through a four-wave longitudinal study, Szekeresa et al [7] demonstrated that lay people's dismissal of sexual assault decreased following the campaign.…”

“…As a matter of fact, the #MeToo campaign accomplished its goals. Victims of sexual abuse, harassment, and mistreatment were encouraged to share their experiences and report their assaulters, and even laypeople who heard about the campaign reported being less dismissed of sexual assault [3,[5][6][7]. Nevertheless, many people worldwide were critical of the movement, underlining its potential backlash for women's employability and career and even for relations between women and men [8,9].…”

Research on Gender Discrimination in Chinese Workplace Based on Social Gender Theory

“…In 2017 October, American female artist Alyssa Milano poll out a scandal about Allegations of sexual abuse against several women by the Us producer Harvey Weinstein. She recommends that all women who have been sexually assaulted are urged to come forward with their stories and tag #METOO on social media to raise awareness [5].METOO movement is so important because it is the first time that This is the first such large woman's campaign against sexual harassment [1]. Alibaba, an Internet company, was exposed to a sex scandal on August 6, 2021.…”