Sexual harassment is an issue that most large employers take seriously and have instituted strict sexual harassment policies as well as educational programs. But for women, sexual harassment may still be a problem in some workplaces. Part of the reason may be that women and men have different definitions of what sexual harassment is and what behavior constitutes sexual harassment.

A study at the University of Missouri found that men generally think that only someone in a position of power - a supervisor or manager - can sexually harass. They view sexual harassment between co-workers as “misunderstandings”.

But women view sexual harassment itself as a bid for power, regardless of the position of the harasser, says Debbie Dougherty, assistant professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“The fact that men and women were using the same word to describe different behaviors may contribute to the continued existence of sexual harassment,” she said. “So if a man thinks that sexual harassment only comes from a supervisor, he may feel free to make sexual comments to a female coworker. The female coworker is likely to see the sexual comments as a quest for power and label it as sexual harassment.”

Dougherty cites the study data as proof of the importance of sexual harassment training.

Power and Sexual Harassment: Men and Women See Things Differently