One of today's more highly sensitive and controversial areas of human relations in the workplace is sexual harassment. The news media turn charges of sexual harassment into front page sex scandals, which create problems for employers as well as the individuals involved. / The numbers of women in the workforce have been increasing rapidly, and they are entering occupations previously closed to them, providing more opportunities for sexual harassment to occur. Changing attitudes toward sex by both women and men are impacting their relations in the workplace; and the women's movement seeks to sensitize women to problems of unwanted sexual attention at work, establish that it is illegal, and change men's behavior. / This study reviews national information on sexual harassment and analyzes data from a random sample of female employees of the State of Florida, to determine whether sexual harassment of women is a serious problem in the workplace. Determinations are made on how widespread sexual harassment of female employees is, what forms of attention women report are problems, and what personal and work related characteristics result in increased reports of unwanted sexual attention. Hypotheses are empirically tested on women's feelings about their experiences with unwanted sexual attention and the types they have experienced and the relationships between job related and personal characteristics and reports of sexual harassment. / The establishing, through case law and issuance of guidelines by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that sexual harassment is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, is analyzed. The study explores the appropriateness of current national public policy and the needs for action at the state and national levels for changes in law. Consideration is given to the obligations of employers to provide a workplace free of unwanted sexual attention, and recommendations are made for actions by employers to protect themselves from unnecessary complaints, and attendant expenses, and to carry out their legal obligations. The dissertation concludes that the ultimate goal of public policy and employer actions should be a higher level of dignity and respect for all persons. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0543. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74761 |
| Contributors | MCINTYRE, DOUGLAS IRWIN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 354 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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