Return to Home Page 1997 A CULTURAl Examination of SEXUAL HARASSMENT Policies AROUND THE GLOBE PAUL HERBIG and Barry Carr Abstract: INTRODUCTION Sexual Harassment Defined: "Sexual harassment is a behavior constructed of three related, but conceptually distinct and non-overlapping dimensions: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Studies have shown that the structure of sexual harassment is isomorphic across settings and with in settings, across cultures. (Gelfand 167) Gender harassment encompasses a range of verbal and nonverbal behaviors generally not aimed at sexual cooperation; rather, they convey insulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes toward women. According to the EEOC, it is 'verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion', such as slurs, taunts, gestures, epithets; display or distribution of obscene or pornographic materials; gender-based hazing; and threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts. Studies show that gender harassment accounts for 50% of harassment claims in the U.S. (Gelfand 168) More easily identified as harassment is unwanted sexual attention. This includes verbal and nonverbal behavior. It may be repeated, nonreciprocal requests for date, intrusive letters and phone calls; touching, grabbing, and cornering; and gross sexual imposition or assault. Unwanted sexual attention is distinguished from the third dimension, sexual coercion, because the first lacks explicit or implicit job-related losses or benefits. Unwanted sexual attention accounts for 20-25%, while sexual coercion is between 5-10% of harassment claims. (Gelfand 168) A study of 23 industrialized countries, only nine had statues that specifically define or mention the term sexual harassment -- Australia, Belgium Canada , France , Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Sexual harassment laws are in a state of evolution in most of the 23 countries and legal approaches reflect different cultural attitudes and legal systems. (Hardman 97) Although most of the attention given to the sexual harassment issues around the world have evolved in the wake of the Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas case in 1991, many countries indicate the problem has existed since women joined the work force. Incidents in the United States can be expected to continue to serve as catalysts for the development of the issue around the world. Such was the case in Japan, when reporters coined the phrase "seku hara" when following U.S. sexual harassment cases on a special report in 1989. (Fic 24) Furthermore, in a study conducted and presented in Norway by Ingebjorg S. Folgero and Ingrid H Fjeldstad on Norwegian cultural norms and sexual harassment in service organizations, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's definition for sexual harassment was used as a general definition for sexual harassment as an introduction to their findings.(Folgero 299) This suggests the generalizability of sexual harassment through out cultures, which will be discussed later in this analysis. With few existing legal definitions in the world, it is important to define sexual harassment, for the purpose of this study, by U.S. statutes. In the United States , sexual harassment is defined by the presence of a hostile work environment. It states that unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute harassment when: "(1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such contact by an individual is used as a basis of employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individuals work-performance or creating an intimidate, hostile, or offensive working environment." (Greenlaw 5) THE GLOBAL ARENA The number of U.S. company female expatriates has doubled in the past five years. According to survey conducted by Windham International the number of U.S. expatriate women is predicted to reach 20% by the year 2000. (Hardman 93) The topic of sexual harassment is difficult enough to address with out having to consider how it might be complicated by cross-cultural issues. In addition, a disproportionate number of the complaints involve perpetrators and victims from differing ethnic, racial and national-origin groups. More importantly, what is acceptable in one culture may be disrespectful and confusing in another. Therefore, with the growing number of females in international management positions that deal with other cultures, sexual harassment becomes an increasingly important issue. Hardman and Heidelberg point out that several of the international companies they interviewed said between one and four complaints are filed internationally per year. These seem to be relatively few. One idea could be that people living cross-cultural work environments are more careful, better informed and generally more respectful of each other. A better and more certain observation is that training employees about cultural differences before handing them international assignments may help avoid problems. Sexual harassment is one manifestation of sexual discrimination. Values and behaviors about women's rights aren't as deeply entrenched in many societies as in our own. There isn't a single society in the world that treats its men and women equally, not even by accident. Undoubtedly, expatriate women face unique problems. Particular in macho cultures, its strange to interact with women in a profession capacity. If the offensiveness of a comment or action is what distinguishes sexual harassment from compliments or sexual humor, expatriates need to understand what to expect and how to respond when they feel offended. Communication style is gender influence as well as cultural. Gestures and tones have different significance around the globe. Many companies report that the problems of sexual harassment in international situations were usually handled one the offending employee was informed that the women in question were offended by the behavior. However, cultural misunderstandings should not be considered an excuse for sexual harassment. BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL THEORY Gender Roles: Theory maintains that sexual harassment stems from gender differences in respect that men hold greater power and status within society. Status differences between victims and offenders, whether formal or informal, organizational or diffuse, real or perceived, are the root of sexual harassment. Power differences that exist within the larger society impact everyday interactions between men and women. Cultural power differences between men and women give rise to different communication styles and socialization experiences for males and females. (Bingham, 32-34) This argument centers around the notion that women and men experience sexuality and power in different ways; consequently, men and women bring different perceptions and expectations to cross-gender social interactions. Women are more likely than men to define various acts as sexual harassment and are less will to accept them than men. "While there is no doubt that women actually experience more sexual harassment than men, it appears that women see more sexual harassment and are more likely than men to label behaviors as sexual harassment." (Bingham 34-35) Gender socialization begins at a young age. After birth, boys and girls are handled and responded to differently. children learn what types of behaviors are appropriate to their gender, and learn that power and privilege are not equally distributed in society. Although some change has been seen in the household one example is the father's preferred role in the home. Fathers may get the most comfortable chair, larger and better portions of food at mealtime, a private space (desk, office, chair), and seat at the head of the table. Male prerogative and privilege is further established in the nearly universal preferences for male children. "In conversation, girls are interrupted twice as often as boys by their parents, providing clear message to girls that their opinions are not as important." (Bingham 36) There is also evidence that the desire for power or dominance better characterizes males. Research performed on children and also on adults showed that women emphasize affiliation. This is that they are more concerned with other people. The study showed that men were more competitive and tend to engage in egoistic dominance while girls engage in more pro-social dominance. Men use more familiar terms of address, disclose less, violate women's personal space more, touch more, and engage in less mutual eye contact - all of which are gestures of power. Culture: Gelfand, Fitzgerald and Drasgow conducted a study across cultures (U.S. and Brazil) and confirmed the generalizability of the constructs of harassment across settings and cultures. (Gelfand 169) Behavioral relationships were confirmed for the concept of sexual harassment even when a culture's language did not posses a word for the concept, at least during the time of testing, such as in Portuguese. (175) This might indicate that even though a culture has not given sufficient importance to the issue to identify it with specific terminology, it remains a recognizable concept equally defined. Socialization is the process by which individuals acquire cultural knowledge, including information about gender, power, and sexuality. Cultural norms, expectations, and ideals are transmitted each member of society through symbolic systems or language. Institutional power (cultural) is translated into the personal expression of power through language and communication, the critical link between culture and individual. "Thus, gender socialization results in different communication styles, and such differences, when played out in the work place or other environments, are likely to result in problematic interactions between men and women." (Bingham 41) Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions A comprehensive analysis of cultural diversity has been done by Geert Hofstede. Hofstede surveyed over 116,000 employees in 40 countries working for a single multinational corporation. This practice eliminated any differences that might be attributable to varying practices and policies i different companies. So any variations that he found between countries could reliably be attributed to national culture. Hofstede's study confirmed that national culture had a major impact on employees' work-related values and attitudes. More important, Hofstede found that managers and employees vary on four dimensions of national culture: (1) individualism vs collectivism; (2) power distance; (3) quantity vs quality of life, and (4) uncertainty avoidance. (Ronen 165) In the first dimension, individualism, refers to a loosely knit social framework in which people are chiefly supposed to look after their own interests and those of their immediate family. Collectivism, on the other hand, is characterized by a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups to which they belong to look after them and protect them when they are in trouble.(Robbins 56) In the constructs of this analysis it was found that countries with statutes protecting against sexual harassment were likely to be highly individualistic. These is exemplified in that the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Sweden, both are individualistic and have statutes protecting against sexual harassment. The second dimension, power distance, is a measure of the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in institutions and organization is distributed unequally. (Robbins 57) More specifically, power distance is associated with the degree of centralization of authority and the extent of autocratic leadership. Power distance, also, reflects the mental programming of members of a society at both ends of the hierarchy. (Ronen 166) Nations with high power distance are less likely to file complaints of sexual harassment, such as Japan and Mexico, because of collective complicity. The third, dimension, uncertainty avoidance, describes the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain an ambiguous and tries to avoid them. (Robbins 57) To this degree, a society tends to avoid such situations by establishing greater career stability, formal rules, intolerance of deviant ideas or behaviors, and a belief of absolute truths. At the same time, such societies have a high level of anxiety and aggressiveness, which creates a strong inner urge to work hard. In countries with high uncertainty avoidance may stay away from dealing with issues of sexual harassment as harmful to the work place, because it threatens stability and suggests that men's absolute power is threatened. Finally, masculinity vs femininity considers the degree of masculinity of a society's dominant values - values such assertiveness, acquisition of money, and not caring for others. This dimension deals with the respondents showing a more or less traditionally masculine pattern. Hofstede found that social and environmental factors are negatively related with this dimension. One aspect of this dimension is its implications for work reform. In a masculine culture, a humanized job should lead to opportunities for recognition, advancement and challenge; in a feminine culture, the emphasis will be more on cooperation and a good working atmosphere.. Difficult to use to predict a nation's attitude toward sexual harassment.(Robbins 58-60) THE U.S. AND COMMONWEALTH NATIONS United States: In the United States women continue to be the target of sexual harassment. A recent study found that more than 50% of women who work can expect to be sexually harassed. "In 1993 approximately 8% of all cases filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state human rights commissions involved charges of sexual harassment, with the majority of claims continuing to involve working women. Although sexual harassment can occur to both sexes, only 10% of the complaints filed with the EEOC in 1994 were from men." (Greenlaw 5) The English language is hostile to women, sexually denigrating, subordinating, and inadequate for expressing women's sexual experiences. For example, there are over two hundred terms in the English language to describe sexually promiscuous women but only about twenty for men. There are also more vernacular animal words to describe women versus men, there is a tendency for words that refer to women to become debased. (Bingham 37) Women are symbols of men's success in their competition with other men. Being a "real man" means having sex with as many women and having no regard for them as individuals. In such cases women are seen as sexual objects to be manipulated for their own pleasure and advantage. Male sexual prowess is tolerated or encourage, while female sexual activity is restricted and negatively sanctioned. Male sexual vocabulary is more varied and power oriented. In contrast, women are expected to be silent about sexuality. Evidently, concern for having power over others is seen in everyday encounter especially in language used to convey thoughts, in nonverbal behaviors, especially in a sexual relationship (Bingham 38-39) United Kingdom: The EC recommendations and code of practice on the protection of the dignity of women and meant at work published in 1991 called attention to the prevalence of sexual harassment at work and also provided a framework for dealing with the issue. Press interest along side the removal of the upper limit for compensation cases has also created serious outcomes for organizations failing to deal with harassment. Consequently, some progressive organizations in the UK have introduced harassment policies while others are contemplating to do so. (Hawkins 26) The challenge, however, to create effective policies still exists because of the reluctance of victims to file complaints. Organizations must promote confidence in raising concerns, provide access to effective procedures and appropriate support for meeting them, and establish commitment to the elimination of harassment in all forms. First, management must accept that harassment is a problem in the organization. Management will recognize the issue if present with : evidence revealing its prevalence and impact; employee opinion surveys; competitors introducing harassment policies; cost consequences of ignoring the problem effectively; trade union pressure; and incidents in organization. (Hawkins 26) EC has established numerous networks and organizations willing to share experiences, including the EOC's Equality Exchange and National Harassment Network, University of Central Lancashire. Most complaints simply request that the offensive behavior end, while employers want to correct unacceptable behavior and prevent its reoccurrence. (Hawkins 26) British Gas introduced its harassment policy in 1991 as part of a well established equal opportunities program, covering all 70,000 employees. Whitebread Inns introduced a harassment policy in 1993 as the first of its equal opportunities incentives. "Experience with organizations employing many thousands of staff in a range of sectors in that annual complaints are counted in tens rather than hundreds, through many others are being resolved at the informal stage after counseling. Malicious complaints, another common concern are exceptionally rare. (Hawkins 29) Tribunal cases have pointed to the main importance of a prompt, thorough, impartial investigation of harassment complaints. (Hawkins 28) Australia: Arthur Andersen in Sydney faces discrimination charges because of failure to promote a female employee to a partner position. This is the first of its kind. (Ferres, 84) "Women are likely to have difficulty providing discrimination preventing elevation in accounting and other professional firms. Arthur Andersen and its associates have only nine women partners from about 140." This demonstrates that discrimination obviously exists and sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. One national survey in Australia revealed that one in four Australian women suffered from sexual harassment at work. (Hardman 96) Dr. Amanda Sinclair, associate professor in organization studies at Melbourne University Business School, explained that women are leaving professions and corporate life due to sexual harassment, "glass ceiling", and emotional tiredness". Emotional tiredness is derived from having to conform to a standard of behavior which is alien to most women. Women do not process that same norms that do males. Kate Ramsay of AND Consulting sees Australia's biggest management issue as top management unwillingness to accept someone who is different from them. "When entertaining her male clients, she is constantly wondering whether it is better to beat them or let them win (Ferres 85) Anglo-Cluster Countries and Hofstede: Examining Hofstedes dimensions the United States, Australia, and England all three rank high on individualism. This explains why women are likelier to litigate behaviors that infringe in their individual rights. This are the some of few countries that actually have a statute. This is further exemplified in as much as that these organizations are not expected to look after their employees for a lifetime. Thus, women will take care of themselves instead of expecting to be cared for by the company. All three are low in power distance. This is evident in that women in these culture, although not to the degree of men but in comparison to women in the other countries studied, are less fearful of disagreeing with a superior and that they should be accessible. This would indicate that the threat of loosing one's job is less likely in such conditions. Finally, the existence of statutes indicates that inequality in society is expected to be minimized. All three nations rank medium in masculinity, but lower than Japan and Mexico which are much higher. High masculinity suggests that sex roles are clearly differentiated. In the case of the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom the dimensions can sway between masculinity and femininity. There should be equality between the sexes, but male dominance is still an issue. Finally, their is admiration for the successful achiever. The man with the most women is honored. Conversely, there is sympathy for the unfortunate, which is characteristic of feminine culture. This sympathy results in the attention, although little, sexual harassment issues are given. LATIN AMERICA Mexico The public appreciation of her person is a matter of tradition surviving from the days of courtly love. The "piropo", a well phrased expression of admiration, is literally the pyrope. Regardless if women value their anonymity in the street men compete to issue the most elaborate or vulture of these expressions.(Otis 30) In Latin cultures such as Mexico's, it is difficult to establish the limits of a Latin charm and compliments and the beginning of harassment. Mexican culture can make it more difficult to establish clear limits for sexual harassment than in other cultures. (Hilbert 6) A group of students at the Technological Institute of Higher Education of Monterrey (ITESM) were asked to discuss the subject of sexual harassment. The men in the group said that expressions of admiration were fine if they were not aggressive. Some men said they would never make an unsolicited comment unless they knew the women. Obviously, they do not considered these comments of admiration offensive, other wise it would be endorsing harassment. (Otis 35) The female students from ITESM said any unsolicited remark on the street was offensive, and best solution was to ignore the comments. Comments at work were inappropriate unless they came from friends.(Otis 35) The question then is how is friendship defined and what kind of comments are offensive to the degree of being considered sexual harassment. Almost all the women understood sexual harassment to be an abuse of power. Despite this understanding, the position the females said they would take if victimized with sexual harassment was to leave work or ignore the harassment because it would never stop. (Otis 36) Women's opinions are not taken seriously or usually underestimated by male co-workers. She is not given equal treatment at a job because of the assumption she will get married, have children and subsequently neglect her work. Women are excluded from meetings outside the office with the excuse that it is inappropriate for women to be present when men are using bad language and consuming alcohol. This can be explained by the high power distance dimension. Women feel they are defenseless to the traditionally higher status men hold in society. Their views are illegitimate and voicing them is useless. Ironically, other women offer little support suggesting some women bring problem upon themselves. Some women might even say that how women expect to be treated and what they convey influences the treatment they get. Still sexual harassment remains an issue, and little of what has been seen would suggest that women are in complete control of mens behavior. Most of the cases reported in Mexico are in the lower level positions such as among laborers, clerical workers and secretaries. Sexual harassment is less obvious in higher positions and more direct among lower-level jobs. It is also less frequent in the private sector and more frequent in the government sector. (Hilbert 4) Furthermore, as women climb the rigid professional ladder in Mexico they may feel it more necessary to strengthen their collective ideas. This intern may help protect the years of hard work that have already been invested. In 1992 sixty-one Mexican female legislators spearheaded the passage of a penal code law that would protect women in cases of sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse. Their 600 male colleagues were hard to convince, but today there are statutes to that deal with sex crimes. The penalty is a fine of 40 days minimum salary for anyone who repeatedly sexually harassers another person.(Hilbert 7) Although the existence of this penal code signifies a major accomplishment in the recognition of sexual harassment in Mexico, it is still widely accepted in the culture where many men consider themselves superior to women. (Hardman 96) The challenge women face in changing Mexican laws aligns itself with the predominantly male parliament desire to avoid uncertainty. A female victim attempting to file a claim still bears the burden of supplying proof of harassment and the psychological harm that it causes through the use of recordings or documentation. (Otis 35) It is common for a man's argument to state the woman provoked the incidents. Mexican women believe reporting a case of sexual harassment or abuse will result in being treated as instigators and men as the victims. They are not apathetic to the problem, but rather fearful of loosing their jobs and privacy.(Hilbert 6) Women might even be accused of having incited the sexual behavior and thus are deviant persons that must not be tolerated. Again, this supports Mexico ranking high in uncertainty avoidance. Women-rights advocates argue that civil code modifications intended to establish equality between men and women in cases of divorce - have left women more unprotected in some cases. (Hilbert 7) Women in Mexico are also required to pay alimony. Consequently, women are skeptical about laws made to protect them and reduce discriminatory actions such as harassment because they have seen these laws work against them. For example, how Mexican laws protect male harassers more so than female victim dealt with a women working for an educational institution in Mexico. She complained t her boss about sexual harassment and the person responsible for the harassment was fired. However, Mexican laws heavily restrict the conditions for termination. The fired person went ahead and filed a claim and won. The company ended up paying termination compensation. (Hilbert 7) ASIA Japan: Unlike in the United States, few women in Japan even complain to their companies. tradition in society of perceiving through problems or because they feel that it old do no good. This is especially so because Japan is a nonlitigious society. It is believed that this Japanese culture had transferred on to Japanese factories in the United States. (Pollack) Women instead in Japan may be expected to help revindicate a male professional's position after accusing him of harassment. A survey conducted two years ago by Tokyo city government revealed that 26.5 percent of female workers reported having experienced some unpleasant sex-related experience on the job, mainly being told lewd jokes or being touched. (Pollack, 1) As a collectivist culture, women are deterred from filing a complaint that may not only mark her company, but her family as well as failures. They are expected to serve the greater good, per say, of pleasing men in her society. The cases of harassment within the Japanese work place include deeply embedded cultural attitudes, such as the still-common notion that women are merely sex objects. Many institutional practices reinforce that image, such as widespread corporate policies that reduce women to jobs that are to serve men. (Fcc, 24) Sexual harassment is not viewed as a human rights issue, but rather a labor dispute or private mater. No term for such conduct even existed until 1989, when the media coined the loan phrase "seku hara" in reporting on the phenomenon abroad. After growing awareness opened opportunities for polling women, some reports found that up to 26% of 1,800 women surveyed had been harassed. Other reports express 40-60% of women are harassed in Japan. (Fcc 24) Women's failure to act upon these cases is because of the great power distance they experience next to men. Many women must deal with harassment because they feel they need the company more than it needs them. thus they put up with questions such as 'What color is your underwear?' and 'Your breasts are big!' or 'Do you live alone or with your boyfriend?' Accepting the harassment, however, does not guarantee the job. The media reports up to 50% of women are denied interviews based on gender. (Fcc, 25) Japanese culture and language is traditionally chauvinistic. Females must speak in infantile voice and in a demeaning language structure in order to be polite. Men are not taught to see women as deserving of equal respect and consideration they give other men. (Fcc, 25) Thus, men resort to harassment reflexively. Women are discouraged from empowering themselves by claiming their human rights and do not see human relations with expectations of individual rights. They view duty and privilege based on rank with in the group. Seeking that asexual harassment be rectified is jeopardizing harmony. While a man views his priority as being a good Japanese man. (Fcc, 25) Japanese high masculinity index explains the need Japanese men have to dominate society. (Ronen 176) Women in Japan won the right to vote, work, travel, and be involved in social and community affairs. However, they lack a good understanding of human rights that would enable them to fight against sexual harassment. Moreover, the culture embraces "seku hara" clubs, were men can go pinch, grope, fondle, rub and nibble on a real secretary dressed in an office uniform, typing away at a word processor. (Fcc 26) Marriage is must for advancement for most company men. Since men are expected to work long hours, they lack the opportunity to search for their future wife. Management has, interestingly, adopted the role of cupid in many companies. firms hire women that meet the criteria for good brides to serve as office ladies that serve tea and make photo copies. Management will then organize social events where the men and women can interact. Consequently, these firms will go to great extents to hire "nice girls". Sony, for example, has been known to call its female workers at night to ensure that they've stayed home. (Fcc, 26) Japan ranks high in the masculinity dimension which is characterized by organizational interests being a legitimate reason for interfering with people's private lives. (Ronen) Japanese companies have experienced conflicts after having tried to impose their business traditions on American subsidiaries. Women and other minorities have filed discrimination charges against companies in the past, so Japanese companies with subsidiaries in the U.S. are expected to be aware of these problems. Some experts attribute the prevalence of sexual harassment in Japan to the secondary status women hold in society. Behavior unacceptable in the U.S. is alright in Japan. (Pollack) This behavior is transferred on to Japanese subsidiary's corporate culture in the US. In the past the Japanese have given little attention to signs and complaints of sexual harassment. However, this has changed with the recent Mitsubishi harassment lawsuits in the U.S. Other Asian Nations: The Asian Executives Poll, a weekly fax survey conducted in ten Asian countries by the Review and Asia Business News, found that respondents said that sexual harassment was a problem in Asia to some extent. Only Singaporeans and Malaysians said sexual harassment was not a problem. About 57% of the respondents believe women have equal opportunities as men in entry-level jobs. Interestingly, 92% of Japanese respondents and 100% of Korean respondents disagreed women had equal opportunities. respondents overall were evenly split between choosing to give a warning or a dismissal to an employee who was repeatedly found guilty of sexual harassment. Finally, 51% of the total respondents said there is a "glass ceiling" in their country's corporate sector. Ninety percent of the Filipinos surveyed said a glass ceiling did not exist while 85% of the Japanese surveyed said it was a problem. (Far Eastern Economic Review) CONCLUSION A United Nations report cited by USA Today on August 29, 1995, states: "There isn't a single society in the world that treats its men and women equally, not even by accident." Women in expatriate positions, understandably, face greater barriers. It is particularly hard for men in chauvinistic cultures to interact with women, and incidents of sexual harassment are likelier to occur. If we apply Geert Hofstede theory that organizations are very heavily culture-bound and that this has a major impact on employees' work- related attitudes, we can explain why in some countries sexual harassment is more widely accepted or acted upon. Hofstede explained that managers and employees vary on four dimensions of national culture: individualism versus collectivism; power distance; uncertainty avoidance; and quantity versus quality of life. Most aspect of sexual harassment in different cultural settings can be explained by these dimensions. The three areas in the world analyses above: the U.S. and Common Wealth nations, Asia, and Mexico, identify which of Hofstede's dimension explain certain behaviors associated with sexual harassment. The lack of existence for a term describing sexual harassment in some countries might suggest that it does not occur or that perhaps the concept does not exist in these countries. If this is the case then sexual harassment would not be generalizable across cultures. Interestingly, we have seen countries like Japan and Brazil, in recent years, formulate terminology for sexual harassment. This in itself implies that sexual harassment does exist universally, but rather that it might not be treated openly. It also suggests that perhaps dimension particular to a culture can explain its peoples reactions, or lack there of, to sexual harassment. Finally, it adds validity to the predicted challenges for management in the future, as increasing numbers of women join the work force around the world. BIBLIOGRAPHY "Asian Executives Poll." Far Eastern Economic Review, October 7, 1996, 34. Bingham, Shereen G. (1994). Conceptualizing Sexual Harassment as Discursive Practice, Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. Dodd McCann, Nancy and McGinn Tomas A. (1992). Harassed: 100 Women Define Inappropriate Behavior in the Workplace, Business One Irwin, Illinois 259. Ferrers, Tony. 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Anonymous (1995) “Women and violence UK law firms: The rising cost of harassment,” WIN News, 21/2 (Spring): 50j A recent survey indicated that over 50% of working women suffer sexual harassment in the UK\ --------- Hamada, Tomoko (1995), “Inventing cultural others in oranizations: A case of anthropological reflexivity in a multinational firm,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 31/2 (June): 162-185 a case of sexual harassment in an American subsidiary of a Japanese multinational is analyzed. considerable differences in gender, race, and class exists between American and Japanese. ------------------ Maremont, Mark and Larry Light, (1997), “Astra Gets Pinched by the EEOC,” Business Week, February 17, 1997, issue 3514: 6 Swedish Astra Maremont, mark and Jane A. Sasseen (1996), “Abuse of Power,” Business Week, Issue 3475, May 13, 1996: 86-98 Lars Bildman, former CEO of Astra USA, sexual harassment of female employees by Astra Anonymous (`1996) The cult of Astra, Business Week, issue 3475, May 13, 1996: 166 15 year pattern of sexual harassment ------------- Updike, Edith Hill and William J. Holstein (1996), “Mitsubishi and the Cement Ceiling,” Business Week, issue 3475, May 13, 1996: 62 Japanese companies with operations in the4 US, US execultives working for Japanese subsidiearies suffer cement ceiling. Mitsuibishi Motor and EEOC. Anonymous (1996), “Bullying doesnt become Mitsubishi,” Business Week, issue 3474, May 6, 1996: 146 bullying tactics in resonse to sexual harassment suits brought by EEOC poor Anonymous,(1996), “Shares fall as Mitsubishi denies sex claims,” International Commercial Litigation May: 4 After EEOC filed suit on April 9 in Chicago, its shares fell in trading at the tokyo stock exchange. -------- Perlez, Jane (1996), “Central Europe Learns about Sex Harassment,” The New York Times, October 3, 1996: A3 col 1. In many of these countries, women have long endured sexual harassment, accepting it as the norm. ___________ Dietz, Robert (1996), “Fighting harassment in Korea, World Press Review, 43/2 (February): 21. Harassment is norm in Korea, few companies take a stand against it. -------- Hilbert, Pia (1994), “Shameful Silence,” Business Mexico, 4/11 (November): 4-6. In Mexico, sexual harassment is more frequently reported in lower level positions where 3/4 of all economically active female workers, over 4 million women). Less obvious in higher positions. more direct among lower levels jobs. Less frequent in the private sector and more so in government sector. Mexico’s culture: where women are still , to a large extent, accustomed to serving men, makes it more difficult to establish clear limits for sexual harassment than in otehr cultures. In mexico, women generally are afraid to speak up and denounce it, it is hard to provie and typically their word against a man;s. Many older women still blame themselves for any abuse. Hilbert, Pia (1994), There ought to be a law, Business Mexico, 4/11 (November): 7 In Mexican federal labor law, no provision exists specifically addressing cases of sexual harassment. However, a law does exist protecting women in cases of sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse but it is weak and constantly threatened. Signoret, Genevieve (1994), “Struggle in their roots,” Business Mexico, 4/11 (November): 14. One women, fired from her non-union job after her pregnancy began to show, was blocked from promotion for 18 years by her male boss after she resisted his advances. Her daugher was denied promotion because she was a women by a Mexican firm and now works for an American firm Otis, martha (1994), “Subject to discussion,” Business Mexico, 4/11 (November): 30, 35. In one study, women felt that any unsolicited remark in the street was offensive and coments in the work place were not appropriate unless they came from friends. Men, though, felt comments were acceptable as long as they were not aggressive. -------- Howard, Lisa S. (1994), “European Companies face big U.S. D&O Risk,” National Underwriter, 98/45 (November 7): 9,12 US is still the biggest exposure for European companies with foreign operations in terms of directors and officers liability. If a european company has a US subsidiary, its d and o assigned int he US could face litigation in sexual harassment cases. ------- Rubenstein, Michael (1994), “PinUps and Sexual harassment,: Equal Opportunities Review, 57 (Sept/Oct):24-26. The EC Code of Practice classifies the display of sexually suggestive materials such as pinups as sexual harassment. The concept of sexual harassment recognizes that words and pictures are acts and that the sexually suggestive piinups make women feel uncomfortable and that they are regarded as degrading is sufficient to justify not allowing them at the workpla ce. their presence caused an intinimdating and hostile work enviornment. Anonymous, (1994) European Parliament calls for confidential counsellors,” Equal opportunities Review, 56 (July/August): 27-31. European Parlimant adopted a resolution concerning sexual harassment at work. ------- Fic, Victor (1994), “Sexual harassment still a fixtgure in the Japanese Office,” Tokyo Business Today, 62/12 (December): 24-26, deeply embedded cultural attutides such as women as sex objects spur on sexualharassment in Japan, even today. A term did not even exist until 1989. The culture perpetuates male dominance as a birthright. Corporate Japan still is a citadel of chauvinism. Sexual harassment flourishes because managmenet relegates them to the role of perspective brides. Meanwhile, government has little intention on moving -------- Rosener, Judy B. (1995)< Women a competitive secret,” Business Quarterly, 60/2 (Winter): 79-88 rapidly changing global environment means those that better utilize women may become winners. ------ Delikat, Michael and Rachael Jeck (1995), “Sexual harassment and employer liability,” International Commercial Litigation, October: 23-25. sexual harassment can lead to high employee turnover and diminsshed producrtivity and expose employers to huge potential damages in liability. quid pro quo harassment hostile enviornemtn sexual harassment. 1988 EEOC guideliens for evaluating charges of sexualharassment whether conduct was verbal or physical] frequency of conduct was conduct hostile and offeensive was harasser coworker or supervisor. ------------- Nakamura, Akemi (1995), “Perverts hiding in plain sight in commuter trains,” Japan Times Weekly International Edition, 35/29 (July 24-July 30), : 16 molesters take advantage of crowded anonymity of the commuter trains in Japan. one survey found that 75% of women students at two high school had been victims of perverts. --------- Ginsburg, Roy (1996), “A wake up call for corporate America,” Interational Commercial Litigation, June: 15-18. ---- Lau, Vivian (1996),” Antidiscrimination legislation in Hong Kong,” International Commercial Litigation, June: 38-40. New bill passed in 1996 in hong Kong ----- Hardman, Wendy and Jacqueline Heidelberg (1996), “When sexualharassment is a foreign affair,” Personnel Journal 75/4 (April): 91-97. In global business situations, sexual harassment can be complex to identify and/or resolve. At issue is whether an organization operating in a host country with different customs and moral traditions should insist that all behavior be measured according to home country standrads (cultural relativism). American and american controlled corporations are covered under TIitle VII of th e Civil Rights Acts. ------ Anonymous, (1996), “Foreign firms face sexual harassment suits in US” International Commercial Litigation, June:7. Astra and Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing face charges. While Astra suspended top managers, Mitsubishi paid employees to protest the suit outsie EEOC headquarters in Chicago. -------