Sex‐Ratios, Sex‐Role Spillover, and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work

We propose that sexual harassment of women at work is often a product of sex‐role spillover, which is defined as the carryover into the workplace of gender‐based expectations for behavior that are irrelevant or inappropriate to work. We argue that, when the sex‐ratio at work is skewed—in either direction—sex‐role spillover occurs. Thus, women in male‐dominated work experience one kind of sex‐role spillover. They are “role deviates” who are treated differently from other (male) work‐role occupants; they are aware of this differential treatment, and they think it is directed at them as individual women rather than as work‐role occupants. On the other hand, women in female‐dominated work also experience sex‐role spillover but of a different kind. Sex‐role and work‐role are practically identical. These women are treated similarly to other (female) work‐role occupants, so are unaware that their treatment is based on sex‐role. Because of this, they think the treatment they receive is a function of their job; the job itself is sexualized. Data from a representative sample survey, about sexual harassment of working women in Los Angeles County, provide some support for these ideas.