happened after the hearings was that women were angry and men were fearful. Women were angry about the issue of sexual harassment and the attitude of men that it was either not important or did not really exist. Men for their part were fearful that they might be falsely accused of sexual harassment. Solomon sees much of this reaction as confusion and blames it on many years of neglect of the issue, but she also notes that many companies have started addressing the issue. U.S. West is cited for its long-standing strong, clearly stated policy prohibiting sexual harassment. The company has over 65,000 employees and yet has had only a handful of sexual harassment complaints annually. The company has instituted formal procedures for coping with the issue, and individuals in each department are designated to help employees facing the problem. The policies are reviewed each year to see if they are effective or if they should be modified. Another company cited for its leadership role is E.I. Du Pont and de Nemours and Co. Du Pont evaluated its existing program regarding sexual harassment in the mid-1980s. The program was focused primarily on managerial and supervisory compliance with government regulations. The company concluded that it needed a different approach to be more effective and added elements to a larger program for worker safety, including a rape prevention strategy that brought together groups of women in a highly confidential and safe environment. The facilitators discovered in these sessions that the issue of sexual harassment was a daily one for these women, and it made the company more dedicated to creating a respectful work environment. A sexual harassment prevention program was established in 1987 under the heading "A Matter of Respect." A male and female facilitator for each group try to create an atmosphere in which people can exchange ideas on a deep level (Solomon: pp. 34-35).
Lee (1992) also notes the im...