Gender Harassment
Gender-related harassment / Gender harassment – biased treatment of people because of their belonging to a particular sex; harassment on the basis of sex.
Considering harassment not only in the context of actions of a sexual nature is a justified and important point. The definition of gender-related harassment is broader, since the emphasis is not placed specifically on actions of a sexual nature, as in the case of sexual harassment, but rather on actions that humiliate a person of another sex who is in a certain employment relationship with the offender.
In Swedish legislation, the term gender-related harassment gradually replaced the term sexual harassment. However, depending on the purpose of a study, these concepts may be used either as identical or as separate definitions. For example, in official Swedish statistics, these phenomena are analyzed separately.
Gender-related harassment in the workplace is as widespread as sexual harassment. It is explained primarily by persistent gender stereotypes that have developed in society. A simple example of gender-related harassment against men is a situation in which, within a work collective, replacing a burnt-out light bulb is regarded as purely “men’s work.” Similar expectations may concern certain technical tasks, such as replacing printer cartridges, connecting computers, and so on.
Another example of gender-related harassment is a situation in which company management removes an employee from a particular type of work, especially work involving considerable responsibility, solely because that employee is a woman and is presumed to be unable to cope with the task (Martsenyuk, 2008, pp. 52–53).
Reference:
Martsenyuk, T. O. (2008). Genderna dyskryminatsiia na rynku pratsi v Ukraini (na prykladi seksualnykh domahan) [Gender discrimination in the labour market in Ukraine: The case of sexual harassment]. Naukovi zapysky NaUKMA, 83, 50–55. [in Ukrainian].
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