#MenToo: Men's Experiences of Sexual Harassment Within a Woman-Dominated Setting

Abstract

Sexual harassment is a serious problem in many different contexts and can result in a multitude of negative outcomes. It is an issue that many workplaces need to be aware of because it can lead to low retention rates, decreased job performance, and poor employee mental health (Cortina & Areguin, 2021; Magley et al., 1999; Willness et al., 2007). However, a large amount of sexual harassment research has focused primarily on women’s experiences, while men have been mostly viewed as perpetrators. Though there has been more progress in researching men’s experiences of sexual harassment, most of the research has focused on predominately white- and man-dominated contexts while hinting at—but never confirming—the role gender and masculinity play. I seek to understand men’s experiences of sexual harassment within the woman-dominated profession of nursing by investigating 1) what percentage of men in nursing experience harassment, 2) what leads men to label their experiences as “gender” or “sexual harassment,” 3) whether gender context (gender workplace breakdown) and culture (masculinity contest culture) is correlated with experiences of harassment, and 4) whether marginalized men report higher rates of masculinity contest culture and harassment. The current study uses data collected in 2019 from nurses at a U.S. university hospital in the Midwest. Men were asked about negative workplace experiences of sexual harassment from July 2018-July 2019 and negative outcomes associated with sexual harassment (e.g., poor mental health). Men were shown harassment scales that focus on behaviors that connotate different aspects of harassment (e.g., have people told sexual stories or dirty jokes?). Exploratory findings: My results indicate that men in nursing experience high rates of gender harassment from coworkers and patients/patients’ families (50-75%). Other forms of harassment were not as frequent but still significant, including sexual advance harassment (12%-15%), heterosexist harassment (21-28%) and racialized sexual harassment (26-31%). I found that patients/patients’ families were frequently reported as perpetrators (36-40%). When looking at the gender of the perpetrators, both men (47%) and women (48%) were harassers. However, when it came to labeling their experience, only 8% of men labeled it as “sexual harassment” and 12% labeled it as “gender harassment.” Explanatory findings: A binary logistic regression analysis revealed factors that led men to label their experiences of gender harassment. These included women perpetrators and gender harassment from patients/patients’ families. Experiences of sexual advance harassment from coworkers or patients/patients’ families were the sole predictors of men labeling their experiences as “sexual harassment.” Linear regression showed that a greater presence of MCC and a more woman-dominated workplace were correlated with more experiences of gender harassment. MCC also predicted higher rates of heterosexist harassment and racialized sexual harassment. In the last analysis, I tested for moderation to determine if MCC was associated with harassment and whether marginalized identities moderated this relationship. I found that marginalized identities did not moderate this relationship but had a direct relationship with racialized sexual harassment. These findings speak to the importance of understanding men not solely as perpetrators of harassment and to the importance of the role gender has within the workplace. Organizations that want to increase their gender diversity should acknowledge that as men continue to enter non-traditional jobs, they are targeted for doing “women’s work.” Future qualitative research is needed to fully explore men’s experiences in nursing to move towards an inclusive work environment.