“If only I had more seniority, I might never again have to put up with sexual harassment from others at work.” As a woman, you might think that working your way up the company’s ladder could put you out of reach of such behavior.
Is there any validity to this reasoning?
Studies show that sexual harassment could actually increase
While getting a promotion might prevent some people from harassing you, through fear of the consequences you could bring upon them, one study found that sexual harassment often increases as women make their way up the career ladder.
More people know who you are
Let’s say ten men in a particular workplace may be inclined to sexually harass a woman. If they never come across you during your time there, you may escape their attention. The moment you start moving up the ranks, the more likely it becomes that they learn you exist. So, in part, the problem that higher-ranking women face is that they are more visible to those who might commit such acts.
More people may feel threatened by you
Some men have major difficulties being further down the ranks than a woman. Even if that woman is vastly more experienced and skilled than they are, their misogynistic thinking means that they cannot accept being under her command.
Men who are already higher up in the company may also feel challenged by a woman who is working her way up toward them. They may have spent years as part of an all-male hierarchy and not want to see that change, or perhaps realize that she may well rise above them in the future. So they turn to sexual harassment as a way to entrench their higher status and keep her down.
While men can be victims and same-sex sexual harassment is also a reality, more often than not, it is something men do to women. Working your way up the company won’t protect you from it. Getting some legal weight behind you is often the best way to protect yourself and others from it.