New study: Women bosses more prone to sexual harassment

Sexual assault has been a hot topic of research, and it is one of the six types of discrimination covered by the discrimination act entered into force.

the number of female managers has doubled in Sweden, according to a report by the confederation of Swedish enterprise in 2019. Leadership involves the empowerment of the work. However, this does not preclude the right of becoming a victim of sexual harassment, if you are a woman, and the head of it.

" today, there is a view that it is the weakness of the labour market, who are the most vulnerable. For example, women in precarious, temporary employment contracts. The result surprised me very much, " says Mr Donald, a researcher at the Institute for social research, Stockholm university, sweden.
Mr Donald is also an associate professor in the Department of Political science at the University of Uppsala. Photo: Karl Gabor
Along with his colleague, Johanna Rickne, he has investigated the situation in Sweden, Japan, and the united states, and with the help of the scientists from the other countries of the world. The results show that female managers have a greater vulnerability to sexual abuse is between 30% and 100%, in the case of women in secondary or higher professional. < / span> , who is in charge of the men, who are at the greatest risk. For example, female heads of sub-units, or the project manager. One possible explanation is that the exposure of both the junior and senior management positions.

the closer to The top of the top, the fewer people who will bother. However, the vulnerability will never disappear completely, and in a lot of cases, " says Mr Donald.

Sexual harassment can be a form of discrimination, according to the health and safety legislation. The term includes all of the gestures, comments, or requests for sexual favours.

and by 2019, it came in the preliminary 47 complaints about sexual harassment in the workplace, to the equality Ombudsman (DO). In comparison with the previous year, an increase of eleven entries.

the Research is based on the analysis of tens of thousands of survey responses. In Sweden, 23.994, women, and their responses have been studied, from the period of 1999 to 2007. Since then, among other things, roll call #metoo has taken place.

is that sexual harassment is the general. Moreover, there are, for example, in the japanese culture, from the attitude of Sweden, " says Mr Donald.

it is Likely being bigger in Japan, because the country has an extensive mansdominans. It is also against the norms to be complaining too much about their jobs, " he said.
the Picture is of a illustrationsbild. Photograph: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
When the Russian government objected to the harassment were to be interpreted as a sign that they were bad managers, according to the study. The consequence was that some of kept their mouths shut, and decided to climb up in their career.

" We don't want to draw too far-reaching conclusions, but the probability is high that it looks pretty much the same thing in Sweden. Many people who have been sexually harassed feel that they will be punished if they tell you that, " says Mr Donald.

This also applies to women who work as managers, " he adds.

sexual harassment is in many of them. A previous study showed that the sjukskrivningen the increase among the underprivileged. An american study suggests that women suffering to a greater extent, suffer from anxiety, depression and misuse problems.

" If you become a victim, chances are that you will feel worse and worse. The consequence may be that women are leaving their jobs, thus increasing segregation in the workplace, " says Mr Donald.

Now the scientists get to the heart of what the employer can do about it. The measures have the desired effect?

" Sexual harassment and the increase in the cost of women's careers. It is about finding a way to deal with this problem, " says Mr Donald.