Understanding Sexual Harassment Law in Action: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do About it (the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture)

Abstract:     
This article, given as the Fourth Annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture, analyzes the historical development of sexual harassment law as it has played out in U. S. courts and companies over the past thirty years. I document the simultaneous overinclusiveness and underinclusiveness of the traditional approach, which defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances. I show the need for a more expansive definition of harassment which turns the focus away from sexuality and places it on the broader work structures and social relations thorugh which gender inequality is produced. I then explore the implications of this change in approach for legal reform and legal scholarship.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 53

Keywords: sex discrimination, sexual harassment, discrimination, gender, employment

Accepted Paper Series