SEXUAL HARASSMENT - A RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND AGENDA FOR THE 1990S

Although documented since long before the Industrial Revolution the sexual harassment of women in the workplace has only recently been the focus of sustained research in vocational behavior. Over the last decade−and particularly the past year−interest in this topic has accelerated dramatically, yielding a body of research that casts considerable light on what is known and what is yet to be learned concerning this pernicious barrier to women’s career development. The present paper presents an overview of this research with an eye toward identifying methodological problems and substantive lacunae; we begin by reviewing the two major themes in the research to date: prevalence figures and perceptions and attributions. We then examine two emerging areas of interest (victim responses and organizational factors) as well as identify several critical topics that are notable by their absence. Following an overview of the explanatory models that have been proposed to account for sexual harassment, we conclude with a brief discussion of the importance of multilevel analysis and interdisciplinary research for understanding and alleviating this important social problem. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.