Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination: A Longitudinal Study of Women Managers

Our research examines the connection between sexual harassment and other sex discrimination experiences of a sample of women within managerial and professional occupations. In this research, 257 women MBAs were surveyed over a seven‐year period. Women who experienced early discrimination were likely to have experienced discrimination, including sexual harassment seven years later. However, slightly more than one‐third of the women reporting sexual harassment report never experiencing discrimination. A variety of correlates of sexual harassment and discrimination experiences were also examined. Our findings suggest that some women do not perceive their experience with sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination, yet experiences of discrimination and harassment negatively affect work attitudes for women. These findings support the notion of sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination that contributes to a hostile and intimidating work environment.