Do Women in Leadership Reduce Sexual Harassment Claims on College Campuses?

Abstract

This article analyzes whether the representation of women in leadership roles reduces sexual harassment claims on college campuses. We test competing claims regarding the impact of women’s workplace authority on sexual harassment. Our framework draws on the women as agents of change and power paradox perspectives to interrogate the role of gender and power in reducing workplace harassment in institutions of higher education. We find that women’s overall integration into upper administrative positions reduces harassment claims. However, we also find that the gender of the president and the Title IX officer is not significantly related to the number of harassment claims. We consider the implications of these findings for ongoing efforts to reduce harassment on college and university campuses.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Throughout the article, we use “sexual harassment” and “harassment” interchangeably. Although we recognize there are other forms of workplace harassment, our focus is solely on claims of sexual harassment on college campuses.

² For the purposes of this analysis, those who identify as women are mostly likely to be the targets of harassment and perpetrators are most likely to be those who identify as men. We recognize and acknowledge that this focus on the gender binary regarding gender-based harassment provides an important but incomplete analysis of the range of harassment behaviors, which include behaviors that target trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals. For a review of the workplace experiences, including the experience of harassment, among, trans and gender non-conforming individuals, see McFadden and Crowley-Henry (2016).