Theoretical Traditions and the Modeling of Sexual Harassment within Organizations: The Military as Data

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine issues of sexual harassment within the context of military organizations. Three theoretical traditions are brought together to explain the dynamics of sexual harassment. The organizational model (which emphasizes structure), socio-cultural model (which emphasizes the traditional sex role socialization of men and women) and the attraction model (which emphasizes the natural attraction of men and women for relationship creation) are juxtaposed with literature driven independent variables. Our conclusion suggests that all models make a contribution to the understanding of sexual harassment. The paper also suggests which behaviors organizations can be proactive about as well as those that are difficult to manage.

Keywords: sexual harassment military organizations

JEL Classification: I00, J20, J29, J70, J71, J79