The #MeToo movement put a spotlight on the severe and highly prevalent workplace problem of sexual harassment. New research argues that economists should treat sexual harassment as gender discrimination in work conditions. Both men and women are subject to this discrimination when their gender is in the minority in the workplace. These patterns reinforce segregation in the labor market and, by extension, economic gender inequality. By reducing the prevalence of sexual harassment, we not only reduce individual suffering but also have positive impacts at a societal level.

Key points from the FREE Network policy brief

• Sexual harassment works like a hidden penalty in the workplace because it lowers the real value of a job, even when wages and job titles look the same on paper.
• Both women and men report more harassment when they are the gender minority in their workplace, which discourages people from entering or staying in gender-imbalanced environments.
• Because male-dominated workplaces tend to pay more, harassment can help push women out of higher-paying settings and reinforce the broader gender wage gap.

Meet the author

Olle Folke, Professor, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Uppsala University.
Email: olle.folke@hhs.se