Female managers face more sexual harassment than women in other roles, study finds

‘This included getting a reputation of being a ‘trouble maker’ and missing out on promotions or training,’ says academic

Researchers said they were surprised by the findings due to expecting to find a 'higher exposure' of sexual misconduct for 'women with less power' in the workplace (Getty/iStock)

Women who hold managerial roles face more sexual harassment than other female employees, which can result in them being labelled "trouble makers", a new study has found.

A report by Stockholm University's Swedish Institute for Social Research, which looked at working conditions in the US, Sweden and Japan, found women in leadership positions experienced between 30 and 100 per cent more sexual harassment than other women in the workplace.

Researchers said they were surprised by the findings and had expected to find higher levels of sexual misconduct for female employees "with less power”.

Johanna Rickne, Professor of Economics at the Swedish Institute for Social Research, said: “Instead we found the contrary. When you think about it, there are logical explanations: a supervisor is exposed to new groups of potential perpetrators.

“She can be harassed both from her subordinates and from higher-level management within the company. More harassment from these two groups is also what we saw when we asked the women who had harassed them.”

Researchers found women in senior job roles are forced to endure more sexual misconduct when those staff working below them predominantly consist of men.

Olle Folke, associate professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, said: “Sexual harassment means that women’s career advancement comes at a higher cost than men’s, especially in male-dominated industries and firms.

“Additional survey data from the United States and Japan showed that harassment of supervisors was not only more common than for employees, but was also followed by more negative professional and social consequences. This included getting a reputation of being a ‘trouble maker’ and missing out on promotions or training.”

Researchers at the Swedish Institute for Social Research and American and Japanese academics analysed the responses from three surveys to assess the frequency of sexual harassment across different levels of the workplace structure.

Women were asked about sexual harassment and probed about their perpetrators — as well as being questioned about their own responses to the misconduct and the social and professional ramifications of their ill-treatment.

The results were consistent in the US, Japan, and Sweden despite each country having varying levels of gender equality in the workplace and gender patterns.