Variation !"!#"!!$
! ! Variation
over time over place
Lecture 6 Prof. A. Saguy, PhD UCLA Dept. of Sociology
!
Variation over time
! Sexual harassment coined in 1975 in U.S. ! 1985 in France
it wasnt called sexual harrasment construction of a social problem before han women couldnt talk about the problem openly it was considered an issue unitl 1975
talk about the secrataries as girls and the emphasis are put on her beauty the girl tells her to use here body to seduce the men in the of ce going to be judged by her looks t he new girl was complaining about what we would call s exual harrasment but the other girl said you should apprecitate it while it lasts
!$
!"!#"!!$
!
Variation over time
! Sexual harassment coined in 1975 in U.S. ! 1985 in France
!
Variation over place
! Defined differently in different countries
Major industrialized democracies ! Mission of advancing universal concepts of justice and rights ! Similar rates of female employment ! Surveys show that sexual harassment is a workplace problem in both countries
!
c ompare countries that are similar alike
!
You couldnt say that I have ever suffered, in my professional life, harassment, to the point of being obligated to give in. I mean, I have never been harassed in the real sense of the term, where a person ends up tyrannizing you. Its true that we are pestered; its true that there are men who take advantage of the situation and pinch your rear in the elevator, but thats different... Where I feel really attacked is when someone puts a knife to my neck and tells me, if you dont do it, youll lose your job.
! Sophie, woman with 20 years of work experience in French companies
!
A sexual advance is harassment, as far as I am concerned.
! American HR manager
!
Variation over time
! Sexual harassment coined in 1975 in U.S. ! 1985 in France
!
Variation over place
! Defined differently in different countries
!
Institutional variation
! E.g., legal definitions differ from corporate definitions
s exual violence
the way sexual harrasment as been de ned in american law is different in american c orporation
%$
!"!#"!!$
!
! !
!
Legal analysis of statutes, jurisprudence, and legislative history 23 brief interviews in French Human Resource departments 54 in-depth interviews with specialists (e.g. activists, lawyers, public figures, Human Resource personnel, union reps) Media analysis (N=681)
! New York Times,Time, Newsweek ! Le Monde, LExpress, Le Nouvel Obs
!
Employment law
! Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: unlawful for an employer to discriminate because of an individuals race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
" Quid pro quo harassment " Hostile environment
!
Penal law
! Sexual violence
" Rape " Assault " Sexual Harassment
" The act of harassing another by using orders threats, constraint, or serious pressure in the of goal obtaining sexual favors, by someone abusing the authority conferred by his position.
" Exhibitionism
!
Labor law
! You may not dismiss or sanction an employee for having submitted to or having refused an act of sexual harassment
mutiple data sources compiled by herself french hr didnt think sexual harrasment wasnt a serios problem f or them but rather the recession analayzed 681 news articles
y pu have to show htat if you were sexually harrased that you were harrased because you are a woman or a man only sh if it has a negative effect on work sexual harrasment is a form of violence in f rance using your professional authority
!
Discrimination frame
! Sexual harassment is illegal because it is a form of workplace discrimination
" Based on sex (men and women treated differently) " Negatively affects employment
!
Violence Frame
! Sexual harassment is illegal because it is a form of sexual violence/coercion
" Negatively affects the victim personally
!
!
U.S U.S. womens movement and feminist lawyers work for sexual harassment law Use the tools available
! Title VII of the CRA 1964 ! Case law
!
!
France French womens movement and feminist lawyers work for sexual harassment law Use the tools available
! Weak discrimination laws ! Cannot make laws through case law (courts) ! Penal Code reform in 1991
&$
!"!#"!!$
!
U.S Employer held liable for compensatory and punitive damages $$$$
! System for translating court decisions into corporate practice ! Human resource personnel, Affirmative Action Officers whose job it is to deal with such issues
!
! !
France Individual harasser may be fined or put in prison, may have to pay small amount of compensatory damages Employer not held liable Punitive damages do not exist in France
U.S Major concern ! Responsibility of Employer
!
! !
France Minor concern
! American issue
! Business frame (Sexual innuendo or behavior should not take place at work because it is not professional and does not contribute to the bottom line.)
Responsibility of the state
! Violence Frame
economic insetive the emplyer is held liable in us the employer has to guarantee that his workplace is disrimination free you dont get sent to jail but you have to pay for compensatio(personal) punitive (punishment)
in france it is seen as an ammerican concern the state is reponsible not the company
!
A sexual advance is harassment, as far as I am concerned. And if it is done at a party, when everybody is drinking and having fun, I think its natural. I think its going to happen if you go to the country club and no employees are there and theres someone there, of the same or opposite sex, thats attracted to you []. I dont have a problem with that, I think thats where it should be done. But I dont think it should be done in the work place, I like to work in a professional environment.
! American HR manager
'$