A typology of office harlots: Mistresses, party girls, and career climbers

This paper is a descriptive study of a sample of women (N=24) who have used sex as a way of moving up within an organization. All were in positions in which they did very little work, received high wages, and attributed these circumstances to either a sexual affair(s) with a boss or bosses and/or clients of the company. A typology of office sex is developed from this study: mistress, party girl, and career climber. The data gathered were all obtained in interviews with these women. The authors used two key informants for gaining access to the sample. The theoretical implication of adding the office harlot to the other forms of prostitution are discussed.