DOING POWER

TLDR

Contrapower sexual harassment occurs when a target holds more formal organizational power than the harasser, a scenario that has been largely overlooked compared to traditional power models focused on hierarchy or gender status. The study aims to examine how gender, race, and class jointly shape power dynamics in workplace contrapower sexual harassment to illuminate broader gender and power processes. The authors analyze qualitative data from focus groups, interviews, and a case study to assess how gender, race, and class affect power sources for perpetrators and targets in workplace contrapower situations.

Abstract

Contrapower sexual harassment occurs when the target of harassment possesses greater formal organizational power than the perpetrator. Traditional conceptualizations of power underlying sexual harassment have either focused on location within organizational hierarchies or sociocultural status differences between men and women. We suggest the utility of simultaneously considering the influence of gender, race, and class on power dynamics at organizational, sociocultural, and interpersonal or individual levels. Using qualitative data obtained from 8 focus groups, 20 interviews, and 1 in-depth case study, we examine how gender, race, and class influence varied sources of power available to perpetrators and targets in workplace contrapower situations. We argue that the exploration of the dynamics involved in contrapower sexual harassment can illuminate broader processes of doing gender and power in the workplace.