Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place in Saudi Society

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Sexual harassment (SH) at workplace can be broadly defined as “unwelcome” behaviour in the workplace that has a sexual or sexist nature (Fitzgerald, 1993, 1070). However, because any social sexual behaviour's interpretation is subjective in nature, defining SH is difficult. A number of studies have investigated the factors that affect differing perceptions and labelling of SH. Majority of the studies published so far are based on research conducted in the US. The present study will investigate variables affecting perceptions of SH in the Saudi context. The aim is to identify Sexual Harassment of Women at work place in Saudi society. Furthermore, a new area of investigation concerning SH will be introduced. That is, the nature of stereotypes associated with harassers will examine and compare with that of managers.

In the following sections, first a brief summary of the literature on SH perceptions is presented by documenting the importance of studying perceptions and discussing the factors affecting harassment. The limitations concerning methodology or sample characteristics of the studies conducted so far are also emphasized. Finally, the purpose of the study along with the hypotheses is introduced.

Problem Statement

Research on workplace SH perceptions has yielded a rich literature with information about a wide array of factors affecting perceptions. Type of harassment, frequency and severity of harassment, and the demographic variables of the target and/or rater appear to be the most widely studied predictors of differing perceptions. Gender and the status difference between the harasser and the target are the most emphasized demographic variables. Based on the vast literature suggesting that women are more sensitive to social-sexual incidents by having a lower SH perception threshold than do men, and also based on the fact that women are more likely to be the target of SH, in this study only woman sexual harassment have been studied.

Aims and Objectives

SH has become an issue that has been widely recognized and extensively studied. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, 1980) of the US published the “Guidelines on Sexual Harassment,” which defined sexual harassment at workplace as “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for favours, an d other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.”

The popularity of the topic of SH can be understood by looking at the number of studies published up to now. Most of these studies are carried out in the US, where an increasing awareness and sensitivity has developed due to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's (Linenberg, 1983). The importance of studying sexual harassment at work context stems from the incidence and prevalence figures in the ...