Perceived Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: An Enabling or Opposing Factor?

Sexual harassment and violence remain persistent problems for women in the workplaces of many European countries. Broader social movements such as the global #MeToo have contributed not only to increasing the visibility of these issues, but also to showcasing women’s reinforced awareness and willingness of denouncing and fighting sexual harassment and violence far beyond the legal parameters. We acknowledge such awareness and explore its ramifications in the context of work, whereby harassment can be considered a case of discrimination based on sex, by arguing that women’s perceptions of their working environment as discriminatory may also be critical to assessing risks and developing prevention initiatives in this context. We use data from the European Working Conditions Survey to analyze the effects of female workers’ perception of discrimination on their likelihood of experiencing sexual harassment, physical violence, or multiple forms of violence. Here, perceptions of discrimination are assessed as perception of discrimination for gender reasons, but also for gender at the intersection with other aspects of inequality (age, race, sexual orientation, etc.). The results show that perceiving gender discrimination increases the likelihood of being exposed to sexual harassment, but this is especially so for women who perceive they are discriminated against also based on other aspects of inequality, who are also more likely to experience physical violence alone in addition to multiple forms of violence. These findings support existing perspectives but also have important implications considering current workplace trends. They offer insights into how individual perceptions of discrimination can be considered an indicator of hostile working environments and can therefore contribute to informing risk assessment and prevention programs, with the aim of reaching the most vulnerable groups of female workers.