ABSTRACT
Sexual harassment will exist wherever men and women work together, but until recently we had no real idea of how often it occurs or with what costs. Now we have a better sense of the extent of sexual harassment. The U.S. federal government’s Merit System Protection Board’s survey of civilian employees in the executive branch of the federal government resulted in over 20,000 completed questionnaires, a return rate of 85%. In this study, 42% of the women employees and 15% of the men indicated they had been sexually harassed on the job at least once during a 2-year period. The report estimated conservatively that the cost to the federal government from sexual harassment during this 2-year period amounted to $189 million for related effects such as emotional and physical stress, absenteeism, hiring and training expenditures, and decline in individual and group productivity. A related report from the Labor Department indicates that “American businesses lose almost $1 billion annually from absenteeism, low morale, and new employee training and replacement costs due to sexual harassment.” (Moore and Bradley, 1997). Finally, damages awarded to victims of sexual harassment have also increased dramatically since enforcement of the new Civil Rights Act began in 1991 and since the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in the Senate (Moore and Bradley, 1997).
