Abstract
Organizational scholars have studied the impact of sex on sexual harassment outcomes but left unexplored the influences of race. Thus, we use social identity theory to explore the role of race stereotypes and their influences on sexual harassment outcomes. We posit that stereotypes of African-American women tend to be much more negative than those of white women and this serves to marginalize their position both as victims of sexual harassment as well as complainants.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Although research studies have found that both women and men can be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, the vast majority of the victims of sexual harassment are women (USMSPB 1988, 1995). This is also borne out by the number of complaints on sexual harassment filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Therefore, in our model we focus on male defendants and female complainants.
Title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act states that “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment” (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1981: E-10).
While Murrell (1996), following the lead of Bell et al. (1993), defines the term “women of color” as referring to African-American, Latina, Native American, and Asian American women, Adams (1997) suggests a more precise analysis to differentiate among the different ethnic groups based on the fact that the experiences of these groups are quite varied. Adams points out that minority immigrants may indeed face economic hardships, discrimination, and low job status when they first come to the United States. However, most immigrants come to the United States with the expectations of eventual citizenship status, whereas the majority of African-Americans arrived in America as slaves (Adams 1997). Adams, citing Hacker (1992) and Lerner (1972), persuasively argues that the circumstances of African-American immigration to the United States were so unique and the context of the economic, social, and sexual exploitation of African-American women that followed was so devastating that it clearly distinguishes the historical experiences of African-Americans from those of other minorities. Coon and Kemmelmeier (2001) using similar arguments suggest that diverse history and status of the minority groups is critical for researchers to keep in mind as cultural stereotypes about African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina Americans are not comparable. Based on this reasoning, we conclude that a meaningful analysis of sexual harassment experiences of African-American women must focus on African-American women and not on all “women of color.” We make this assumption in formulating our theoretical model and limit the model by focusing on two races only; African-American and white.
References
Abrahms, D., & Hogg, M. A. (1988). Comments on the motivational status of self-esteem in social identity and intergroup discrimination. European journal of Social Psychology, 18, 317–334.
Adams, J. H. (1997). Sexual harassment and Black women: A historical perspective. In W. O’Donohue (Ed.) Sexual harassment: Theory, research, and treatment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA, USA: Addison-Wesley.
Bagby, R. M., & Rector, N. A. (1992). Prejudice in a simulated legal context: A further application of social identity theory. European Journal of Social Psychology, 22, 397–406.
Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 10, 4.
Baugh, S. G., & Graen, G. B. (1997). Effects of team gender and racial composition on perceptions of team performance in cross-functional teams. Group and Organization Management, 22, 366–383.
Bell, E. L. (1992). Myths, stereotypes, and realities of black women: A personal reflection. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 28, 363–376.
Bell, E. L., Denton, C., & Nkomo, S. M. (1993). Women of color in management: Toward and inclusive analysis. In L. Larwood, & B. Gutek (Eds.) Women in management: Trends, issues, and challenges (Women and Work, vol. 4). Newbury Park, CA, USA: Sage.
Bemmels, B. (1988a). The effects of grievant’s gender on arbitrators’ decisions. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 41(2), 251–262.
Bemmels, B. (1988b). Gender effects in discipline arbitration. Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 699–706.
Bemmels, B. (1988c). Gender Effects in Discharge Arbitration. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 42(1), 63–76.
Bigoness, W. J., & DuBose, P. B. (1985). Effects of gender on arbitrators’ decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 485–491.
Bless, H., Schwarz, N., Bodenhausen, G. V., & Thiel, L. (2001). Personalized versus generalized benefits of stereotype disconfirmation: Trade-offs in the evaluation of atypical exemplars and their social groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 386.
Chatman, J. A., Polzer, J. T., Barsade, S. G., & Neale, M. A. (1998). Being different yet feeling similar: The influence of demographic composition and organizational culture on work processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43, 749–780.
Chattopadhyay, P. (1999). Beyond direct and symmetrical effects: The influence of demographic dissimilarity on organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 273–287.
Chattopadhyay, P., George, E., & Lawrence, S. A. (2004a). Why does dissimilarity matter? Exploring self-categorization, self-enhancement, and uncertainty reduction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 892.
Chattopadhyay, P., Tluchowska, M., & George, E. (2004b). Identifying the ingroup: A closer look at the influence of demographic dissimilarity on employee social identity. The Academy of Management Review, 29, 180.
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Irwin Hyman.
Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2001). Cultural orientations in the United States: Re(Examining) differences among ethnic groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 348–364.
Cortina, L. M. (2001). Assessing sexual harassment among Latinas: Development of an Instrument. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7, 164–181.
Cox Jr., T. (1993). Cultural diversity in organizations. Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco, CA, USA: Berret-Koehler.
Crenshaw, K. (1992). Whose story is it, anyway? Feminist and antiracist appropriations of Anita Hill. In Rac-ing justice, en-gendering power (pp. 200–214). New York: Pantheon Books.
Dalton, D. R., & Todor, W. D. (1985a). Gender and workplace justice: A field assessment. Personnel Psychology, 38, 133–147.
Dalton, D. R., & Todor, W. D. (1985b). Composition of dyads as a factor in the outcomes of workplace justice. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 704–712.
Dalton, D. R., Todor, W. D., & Owen, C. L. (1987). Sex effects in workplace justice outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 156–159.
DeFour, D. C. (1990). The interface of racism and sexism on college campuses. In M. A. Paludi (Ed.) Ivory power: Sexual harassment on campus (pp. 45–52). Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press.
Dennis, R. M., & Kunkel, D. A. (2004). Social behavior & personality. International Journal, 32(2), 155–172.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1981). Guidelines on discrimination on the basis of sex. Federal Register, 45, 74676–74677.
Essed, P. (1992). Alternative knowledge sources in explanations for racist events. In M. L. McLaughlin, M. L. Cody, & S. J. Read (Eds.) Explaining one’s self to others: Reason-giving in a social context. Hillsdale, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Fain, T. C., & Anderton, D. L. (1987). Sexual harassment: Organizational context and diffuse status. Sex Roles, 17, 291–311.
Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1998). Social cognition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Foley, L. A., Evancic, C., Karnik, K., King, J., & Parks, A. (1995). Date rape: Effects of race of assailant and victim and gender of subjects on perceptions. Journal of Black Psychology, 21, 6.
Gruber, J. E., Smith, M., & Kauppinen-Toropainen, K. (1996). Sexual harassment types and severity: Linking research and policy. In M. S. Stockdale (Ed.) Sexual harassment: Perspectives, frontiers, and response strategies (Vol. 5 (pp. 151–173). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Guiffre, P. A., & Williams, C. L. (1994). Boundary lines: Labeling sexual harassment in restaurants. Gender & Society, 8, 378–401.
Hacker, A. (1992). Two nations. New York: Scribners.
Hogg, M. A., & Terry, D. J. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 121–140.
Kalof, L., Eby, K. K., Matheson, J. L., & Kroska, R. J. (2001). The influence of race and gender on student self-reports of sexual harassment by college professors. Gender and Society, 15, 282–302.
Karsten, M. F. (1994). Management and gender. Westport, CT, USA: Quorum Books.
Katz, D., & Braly, K. W. (1933). Racial stereotypes of 100 college students. Journal of Abnormal& Social Psychology, 28, 280–290.
Klineburg, O. (1951). The scientific study of national stereotypes. International Social Science Bulletin, 3, 505–515.
LaFree, G. (1991). Rape and criminal justice: The social construction of sexual assault. Belmont, CA, USA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Larwood, L., Rand, P., & Der Hovanessian, A. (1979). Sex differences in response to simulated employee discipline cases. Personnel Psychology, 32, 539.
Lerner, G. (Ed.) (1972). Black Women in White America; A Documentary History. New York: Pantheon Books-Random House.
Lippmann, W. (1922). Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
Luthar, H. K. (1996–1997). Chivalry and paternalism v. nurturance and maternalism: Are female managers partial to female grievants? The missing link in the grievance resolution literature. Journal of Individual Employment Rights, 5(3), 189–204.
Luthar, H. K., & Bonnici, J. (1998). The arbitration of discrimination complaints: a new look at the issues. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 11(3), 159–170.
Macrae, C. N., Bodenhausen, G. V., & Milne, A. B. (1995). The dissection of selection in person perception: Inhibitory in social stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 397.
MacKinnon, C. (1979). Sexual harassment of working women. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press.
Mecca, S. J., & Rubin, L. J. (1999). Definitional research on African American students and sexual harassment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 813–821.
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57. 1986.
Miller, S. (1997). The role of a juggler. In S. Parasuraman, & J. H. Greenhaus (Eds.) Integrating work and family: Challenges and choices for a changing world (pp. 48–56). Westport, CT, USA: Quorum Books.
Moulds, E. F. (1980). Chivalry and paternalism: Disparities of treatment in the criminal justice system. In S. K. Datesman, & F. R. Scarpetti (Eds.) Women, crime, and justice (pp. 91–144). New York: Oxford University Press.
Murrell, A. J. (1996). Sexual harassment and women of color: Issues, challenges, and future directions. In M. S. Stockdale (Ed.) Women at work, 5 (pp. 51–66). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications.
Nagel, I. H., & Hagen, J. (1983). Gender and crime: Offense patterns and criminal court sanctions. In M. Tonry, & N. Morris (Eds.) Crime and justice: An annual review of research, Vol. 4 (pp. 91–144). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Neuman, W. L. (1992). Gender, race, and age differences in definitions of sexual harassment. Wisconsin Sociologist, 29, 63–75.
Oswald, S. L., & Caudill, S. B. (1991). Experimental evidence of gender effects in arbitration decisions. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4, 271–281.
Painter, N. I. (1992). Hill, Thomas, and the use of racial stereotype. In Rac-ing justice, en-gendering power (pp. 200–214). New York: Pantheon Books.
Patterson, O. (1991). Race, gender, and liberal fallacies. The New York Times, p. E15.
Rover, J. L., & Gelfand, M. J. (2005). Beyond the individual victim: Linking sexual harassment, team processes and team performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 387–400.
Riordan, C., & Shore, L. M. (1997). Demographic diversity and employee attitudes: An empirical examination of relational demography among work units. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 342–358.
Scott, C., & Shadoan, E. (1989). The impact of gender on arbitration decisions. Journal of Labor Research, 10, 429–436.
Shelton, J., & Chavous, T. M. (1999). Black and white college women’s perceptions of sexual harassment. Sex Roles, 40, 593–615.
Staines, G., Tavris, C., & Jayaratne, T. (1974). The queen bee syndrome. Psychology Today, 7, 55–60.
Stott, C., & Drury, J. (2004). The importance of social structure and social interaction in stereotype consensus and content: is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 11–23.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social identity and intergroup relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations.
Tata, J. (1990). Patterns of arbitration awards: The impact of attorneys and the gender of arbitrators and grievants. Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, San Francisco, California.
Tata, J. (2000). She said, he said. The influence of remedial accounts on third-party judgments of coworker sexual harassment. Journal of Management, 26, 1133–1156.
Taylor, D., & Jaggi, V. (1974). Ethnocentrism and causal attribution in a south Indian context. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 5(2), 162–171.
Tsui, A., Egan, T., & O’Reilly III., C. A. (1992). Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 549–579.
Ugwuegbu, D. C. E. (1976). Black jurors’ personality trait attributions to a rape case defendant. Social Behavior and Personality, 4, 193–201.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (USMSPB). (1988). Sexual harassment in the federal government: An update. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (USMSPB). (1995). Sexual harassment in the federal workplace. Trends, progress and continuing challenges. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Wyatt, G. E. (1992). The sociocultural context of African American and white women’s rape. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 77–91.
Wyatt, G. E., & Riederle, M. (1994). Sexual harassment and prior sexual trauma among African American and white American women. Violence and Victims, 9, 233–247.
Wyatt G. E., & Riederle, M. (1995). The prevalence and context of sexual harassment among African American and White American women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10(3), 309–321.
Yoder, J. D., & Aniakudo, P. (1996). When pranks become harassment: The case of African American women firefighters. Sex Roles, 35, 253–270.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Luthar, H.K., Tata, J. & Kwesiga, E. A Model for Predicting Outcomes of Sexual Harassment Complaints by Race and Gender. Employ Respons Rights J 21, 21–35 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-008-9072-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-008-9072-4