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Sexual Harassment in Organizations Sexual harassment has always been an important t

Sexual harassment has always been an important topic in organizational studies. However, it has become especially important following the recent confirmation trial for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. During that trial, Professor Anita Hill, a former employee of Thomas, claimed that Thomas had made unwanted sexual advances toward her. In the final outcome of the trial, Thomas' word was believed over Hill's, and Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court Judge. Nevertheless, the events of the trial showed the world how difficult it is to determine the truth in sexual harassment cases.

One of the reasons for this difficulty is the fact that sexual harassment is a "grey area" in which it is hard to tell which side is telling the truth (Abcarian, 1991, p. E3). Sexual harassment is always a matter in which one person's word is placed against another's. Determining which side is telling the truth is usually "a subjective thing" in the mind of the interpreter (Abcarian, 1991, p. E3). Despite this fact, various Civil Rights laws have been interpreted by the courts in order to arrive at a legal definition for sexual harassment on the job. Specifically, sexual harassment is defined as an unwanted sexual advance (either verbal or physical) in which: submission to the advance is a condition for further employment; sex is used as a basis for decisions affecting worker status; or the advance interferes with the employee's work by creating "an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment" (Gest, Saltzman, Carpenter & Friedman, 1991, p. 39). Rapoport and Zevnik (1989) claim that "sexual harassment is related to sexual discrimination, but often has a more subtle flavor to it" (p. 53). These authors admit that there are some cases in which sexual harassment is actually quite blatant. This can be seen for example when a male boss demands a sexual favor from a female employee "in return for some economic or job consideration -...

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Sexual Harassment in Organizations Sexual harassment has always been an important t. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:28, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705442.html