SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE

WORKPLACE
What is it?
What can be done about it?
…
•Harassment of any kind is bothersome,
demeaning, humiliation, irritating, and
annoying behavior. Sexual harassment is
specifically harassment of a sexual nature.
•Most sexual harassment is simply
disrespectful behavior towards others. The
involved parties can be men or women;
supervisors, subordinates or peers.
•We all suffer when our workplace tolerates
abusive and demeaning behavior. To eliminate
sexual harassment, we need to understand it.
Sexual Harassment

• Harassment is any unwelcome verbal

or physical conduct based on race,
color, sex (regardless of whether it is
sexual in nature), sexual orientation,
national origin, age, disability, or
retaliation that is so offensive as to alter
the condition of the victim’s
employment.
Why Do We Need To Be
Concerned About Sexual
Harassment?
• Service sectors such as Hospitality
institutions and Educational institutions
may be
forced to pay damages to victims
of sexual harassment.
• Violates an individual’s legal right.
• Produces a negative impact on
customers and employees within the
institution.
Negative Effects of Sexual
Harassment
• Lower productivity of
employees;
• Higher costs due to lower
efficiency;
Negative Effects of Sexual
Harassment
• Increased absenteeism, turnover, and drop
out rates;
• Court awards, settlements, and fees;
• Damage to the institution’s public image;
• Deterioration of staff morale and
organizational climate.
Definition of Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual or

gender-based behavior that occurs when
one person has formal or informal power
over another.
Elements of Sexual Harassment

• Unwelcome sexual advances;

• Requests for sexual favors;
• Other sexual conduct--physical or verbal;
• Any conduct or offensive unequal treatment
which occurs because of gender.
Types of Sexual Harassment

1. Quid Pro Quo – This form of sexual

harassment occurs when an
employee’s compliance with
requests for sexual favors are linked
to employment decisions (e.g.,
promotion or hiring). "something for
something" and refers to an
exchange. In this case, the exchange
is between employees, where one is
asked to provide sexual favors
in exchange for something
else.
2.Hostile environment

• This sexual harassment occurs when

sex-related behavior interferes with an
employee’s work performance or
creates an intimidating, hostile, or
offensive working environment.
3. Psychological. This sexual harassment
occurs when an employee “feels
harassed” regardless of whether or not
the sex-related behavior is illegal.
Quid Pro Quo

• “Tit for Tat.”

• Supervisor commits quid pro
quo harassment if (s)he
makes decisions based on
whether an employee
accepts or refuses sexual
advances.
Quid Pro Quo

• Submission to the • Submission to or

conduct is made a rejection of the
term or condition, conduct is used as a
either explicitly or factor in decisions
implicitly, of affecting that
obtaining promotion person’s
or employment. employment or
promotion.
Hostile Environment

• Co-workers create a hostile environment if

they interfere with another employee’s
work by doing or saying sexually offensive
things.
Hostile Environment
Harassment
• The victim is usually subjected to
unwelcome repeated sexual comments, or
suggestions or touching, which alter
conditions or interfere with hotel or
employment performance or access to
opportunities provided by the institution.
Hostile Environment Harassment
• Can occur off campus grounds, e.g., school sporting
events, on a school bus, on a school trip, in a college
sponsored internship program and caused by teachers,
professors, administrators, bus drivers, or other staff,
students, vendors, or persons temporarily on campus;
• In hotels, it can be caused by managers, supervisors,
customers and other staff
Examples of Sexual Harassment

• Sexual • Repeatedly asking a

innuendoes/sexual hint person out for
and comments dates or to have sex
• Intrusive/pushy sexually
• Sexual
explicit questions
• A neck/shoulder ridicule/laughter
massage • Frequent jokes
• Rating a person’s about sex or
sexuality males/females
Examples of Sexual
Harassment
• Touching, patting, • Stalking a
pinching, person/irritating;
squeezing, tickling. • Attempted or
actual sexual
assault;
• Letters, notes,
telephone calls of a
sexual nature.
Employee Responsibility to Report
Sexual Harassment
• Be professional and business-like.
• Be direct and candid/frank about the
behavior and your feelings.
• Report the incident to your supervisor or
any concerned one.
• Document/record actions for your
reference.
Manager to Employee Sexual
Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo – Hotel manager explicitly or

implicitly makes an employment or promotion
decision based on an employ’s submission to
unwelcome sexual advances.
• Hostile Environment – sexually harassing conduct
by a manager, another employee, or customer,
that is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it
limits a employee’s ability and performance
“Legitimate Non-Sexual
Touching”
Guidelines state that harassment does
not include “legitimate non-sexual
touching” such as hugging staff who has
achieved a goal or consoling/calming a
child with an injury.
taff to Staff Sexual Harassment: Example

• Skirt snapping;
• Shouting • Pulling down
obscenities; someone’s pants,
• Leaving obscene shorts, or skirt;
messages on • Flipping up skirts;
computers;
Cont’d…

• Telling someone • Teasing/chit-chat

what sexual females or males
behaviors the about their
speaker would like to sexuality, breasts,
engage in with that or genitals;
person; • Touching and
• Whistling or yelling at grabbing.
women who walk by
or rating them.
Preventing sexual harassment
– Avoid initiating or participating in any behavior that
may be misconstrued as possible harassment,
including the following types of behavior:
 Verbal: unwelcome comments, yelling, offensive
jokes or stories;
 Visual: offensive pictures, photos, cartoons,
posters calendar/agenda, magazines or objects;
 Physical: unwelcome touching, hugging, kissing,
stroke or care, ogling or suggestive gestures;
 Written: unwelcome letters, notes or e-mails of a
personal nature.
Prevention contd
• Avoid sexual, racial, ethnic, cultural,
age/disability related jokes, epithet or
nickname, comments, and e-mails.
• Respect a person’s indication that
conduct or attention is not welcome.
• Do not invade another individual’s
personal space.
• Clearly inform those engaging in offensive
behavior that you find it objectionable.
• Report observed instances of behavior
that you believe qualify as harassment.