Workplace Sexual Harassment

Abstract

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a pervasive issue with significant consequences for survivors’ well-being and labor market outcomes. These effects extend to broader labor market dynamics, influencing labor supply, occupational segregation, and gender inequality. Despite its importance, research on sexual harassment—particularly within economics—faces substantial challenges related to data availability, consistency, and credibility. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the economics literature on workplace sexual harassment to inform the future work on the topic. It starts by discussing the definition of sexual harassment from both legal and psychological perspectives. It then reviews the available secondary datasets and survey instruments, offering insights on the prevalence of sexual harassment across selected contexts. Next, it systematically explores economic studies on the consequences of sexual harassment and the risk factors that contribute to its occurrence. The chapter concludes by summarizing the current policy and organizational responses to address the issue. Show more