WISELI BIBLIOGRAPHY
Organized by Subject
Updated June 20, 2007

Sexual Harrassment

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in AcademiaEd., Susan K. Dyer. American Association of University Women Educational Foundation and American Association of University Women Legal Advocacy Fund, 2004.
Available online
Notes: Reports on 19 cases of tenure denial and the role of sex discrimination
Abstract: This report draws on 19 sex-discrimination cases of tenure denial supported by the AAUW's Legal Advocacy Fund to illustrate both the overt and subtle forms of sex discrimination that continue to operate in academia. The report outlines the process of making an allegation of sex discrimination, the strategies, arguments, and tactics universities commonly employ to counter such allegations, the types of evidence typically needed for a plaintiff to prevail, the costs and rewards of pursuing sex discrimination lawsuits. It also offers recommendations for universities and faculties to prevent sex discrimination and sex discrimination suits.

Benokraitis, Nijole V. Subtle Sexism Current Practice and Prospects for Change. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 1997.

Caplan, Paula J. "Appendix 2: The Maleness of the Environment."Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide For Surviving in the Academic World Paula J. Caplan, 186-219. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993.
Notes: The 'maleness' of academic climates systematically discriminates against women.
Abstract: Academic climates are defined as 'male' and are systematically biased against women. There are a number of modes through which this 'maleness' expresses itself, including: lack of incentives for women, sexist language, jokes, and comments, sexual harrasment, devaluation of women's work, exclusion/isolation of women, double standards, and sterotyped expections of gender and race. Examples of how each of these modes operates and the effects they have on women academics is discussed. The special challanges faced by women of color is also emphasized.

Carr/Phyllis L. et al. "Faculty Perceptions of Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in Academic Medicine." Annals of Internal Medicine 132, no. 11 (June 2000): 889-96.
Available online
Abstract: Results of a self-administered mailed questionnaire of U.S. medical school faculty in 24 randomly selected medical schools in the U.S. showed that female faculty were more than 2.5 times more likely than male faculty to perceive gender-based discrimination in the academic environment (P < 0.001). Among women, rates of reported discrimination ranged from 47% for the youngest faculty to 70% for the oldest faculty. Women who reported experiencing negative gender bias had similar productivity but lower career satisfaction scores than did other women (P < 0.001). About half of female faculty but few male faculty experienced some form of sexual harassment. These experiences were similarly prevalent across the institutions in the sample and in all regions of the United States. Female faculty who reported being sexually harassed perceived gender-specific bias in the academic environment more often than did other women (80% compared with 61%) and more often reported experiencing gender bias in professional advancement (72% compared with 47%). Publications, career satisfaction, and professional confidence were not affected by sexual harassment, and self-assessed career advancement was only marginally lower for female faculty who had experienced sexual harassment (P = 0.06).

Conley, Frances K. Walking Out on the Boys. New York: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.
Notes: Autobiographical account
Abstract: Conley made headlines when she resigned from Stanford University as the first women in the country named full professor of neurosurgery. Here she tells the story of her training and career in a profession that is dominated by white males and systematically treats women as inferior, and how she came to the realization that nothing she could do would ever admit her to the club. She ponders the implications for the future of the medical profession. (abstract by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. )

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and The Albert Nerken School of Engineering. The Cooper Union 1989 National Survey of Undergraduate Women Engineering StudentsNew York: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 1989.
Notes: National survey of 4,000 undergraduate members of the Society of Women Engineers, conducted in 1989.
Abstract: Report summarizes the findings of the Cooper Union's national survey of undergraduate women engineering students. Survey covers topics including: demographics, career expectations, engineering education, personal profile, and gender issues. Concluding remarks advocate improving resources for women students in engineering and improving the gender climate in engineering education.

________. The Cooper Union 1989 National Survey of Women EngineersNew York: 1989.
Notes: Survey of 4,000 members of the Society of Women Engineers taken in 1989.
Abstract: Report summarizes the findings of the Cooper Union's 1989 survey of working women engineers. Topics covered include: demographic issues, career profiles, gender issues in the work place, personal profiles, and marriage & the family. Concluding remarks highlight the prevalence of gender discrimination in the work place, problems women engineers experience balancing work & family, and the importance of increasing the numbers of female engineering role models in factilitating the education & sucess of more women engineers.

Dey, Eric L., Jessica S. Korn, and Linda J Sax. "Betrayed by the Academy: The Sexual Harassment of Women College Faculty." The Journal of Higher Education 67, no. 2 (Mar. 1996-Apr. 1996): 149-73.
Available online
Notes: Documents and analyzes sexual harassment of faculty women
Abstract: A study examined the prevalence of sexual harassment among faculty women, the characteristics of those who have been sexually harassed, the factors that might lead to sexual harassment, and the outcomes of sexual harassment. Subjects were 29,771 full-time college and university teaching faculty at 289 two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and universities in the U.S. Results did not support the notion that faculty of color face a greater likelihood of being harassed once other significant factors have been taken into account. Compared to students from other institutions, those at selective institutions are more inclined to be harassers. Sexual harassment also results in a wide range of results. The study suggests that the hiring of more women will mean that women will be less likely to be harassed. Recommendations for eliminating sexual harassment in higher education are provided.

Finkel, Susan Kolker and Steven G. Olswang. "Child Rearing As a Career Impediment to Woman Assistant Professors." The Review of Higher Education 19, no. 2 (1996): 123-39.
Notes: Women assistant professors identify "time required by children" as one impediment to achieving tenure.
Abstract: Over 40% of women assistant professors in a recent survey (n=124) identified publishing, teaching, committees, and "time required by children" as serious impediments to achieving tenure, many more than reported sexual harassment and sexism as serious obstacles. Policy changes that will accommodate women professors' time commitments to children are discussed. In addition to the obvious "accomodation" -- that sick leave include pregnancy and maternity leave, the author suggests other policies such as tenure clock extensions, but does not discuss childcare.

Glazer Raymo, Judith. "Sexual Harassment As an Ethical Issue in Academic Life, by Leslie P. Francis (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)." Journal of Higher Education 73, no. 5 (2002): 673-76.
Available online
Notes: Positive book review
Abstract: Book Review -- Glazer Raymo praises Francis for having "undertaken an important task in articulating the complexities of sexual harassment law in the context of university policies and traditions [and for suceeding] admirably in setting forth the ethical dilemmas that arise in reconciling academic freedom and other guiding principles with policies in compliance with sexual harassment laws and regulations." She recommends this book "for those concerned with the ethical issues implicit in this debate as well as those whose consciousness could use some raising."

Miner-Rubino, Kathi and Lilia M. Cortina. "Working in a Context of Hostility Toward Women: Implications for Employees' Well-Being." Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 9, no. 2 (Apr. 2004): 107-22.
Available online
Notes: A workplace climate that is hostile toward women negatively affects all employess, even those who do not directly experience gender discrimination; this suggests gender bias is an organizational, not an individual, issue.
Abstract: This study examined how working in an organizational context perceived as hostile toward women affects employees' well-being, even in the absence of personal hostility experiences. Participants were 289 public-sector employees who denied any personal history of being targeted with general or gender-based hostility at work. They completed measures of personal demographics, occupational and physical well-being, and perceptions of the organizational context for women. Results showed that 2 contextual indices of hostility toward women related to declines in well-being for male and female employees. The gender ratio of the workgroup moderated this relationship, with employees in male-skewed units reporting the most negative effects. These findings suggest that all employees in the workplace can suffer from working in a context of perceived misogyny.

Moore, Christine. "The Unfeminine Mystique: Why Do Female Faculty Leave the University of Wisconsin?" Madison Magazine (May 1993): 32-36.
Notes: Climate issues contribute to most female junior faculty members leaving prior to tenure.
Abstract: This article asks why female faculty members leave the University of Wisconsin. The experiences of two women faculty (Denice Denton and a faculty member who chose to remain anonymous) illustrate the challenges faced by women at UW along the tenure track. Climate is noted as the primary problem, with lack of mentoring, departmental factions, and individual faculty members as contributing causes. One of the women faculty members profiles suggests that "shaking up the system of faculty governance" (36) might provide a long-term solution to the problem.

Myers, Daniel J. and Kimberly B. Dugan. "Sexism in Graduate School Classrooms: Consequences for Students and Faculty." Gender and Society 10, no. 3 (June 1996): 330-350.
Available online
Notes: Sexism in the graduate classroom harms the educational process. It influences the emotional well-being and performance of students and damages the credibility and social influence of faculty who engage is sexist behaviors.
Abstract: "This study investigates the reactions of graduate students to perceived gender bias in their classes, using survey data from 254 social science graduate students in seven Ph.D.-granting departments in three universities. In addition to summarizing reported rates of gender-biased behavior in classrooms, we test hypotheses connecting perceptions of sexist behavior with students' emotional reactions, levels of distraction, and subsequent performance. Results are mixed, depending on students' perceptions of professors as either sensitive or insensitive to gender issues. Second, we use a model of social influence to test for negative effects of reported sexist behavior on students' perceptions of professors' expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Strong support is demonstrated for these hypotheses."

Rosser, Sue V. and Eliesh O'Neil Lane. "Key Barries for Academic Institutions Seeking to Retain Female Scientists and Engineers: Family-Unfriendly Policies, Low Numbers, Sterotypes, and Harrasment." Journal of Women & Minorities in Science & Engineering 8, no. 2 (2002): 161-90.
Abstract: Presents information on a study which evaluated survey responses from almost 400 Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) awardees from fiscal years 1997 to 2000, to elucidate problems and opportunities identified by female scientists and engineers. Barriers identified by POWRE awardees; Comparisons of responses among women from different disciplines; Concern regarding balancing career and family; Stereotypes formed against women in science and engineering.

Smith, Ryan A. "Race, Gender, and Authority in the Workplace: Theory and Research." Annual Review of Sociology 28, no. 1 (2002): 509-42.
Available online
Notes: Article surveys the literature on authority, race and gender and points to future lines of research.
Abstract: "This chapter surveys sociological approaches to the study of job authority, including theoretical foundations, measurement, and emergence as an important dimension of social inequality. The focus here is mainly on studies of race and gender differences in the determinants of authority and the consequences of race and gender differences in authority for income. Despite significant advancements in the overall socioeconomic status of minorities and working women, race and gender remain important impediments to their attainment of authority. This pattern, which is consistent and robust in state-level, national, cross-national, and cross-temporal studies, is sustained net of an incumbent's human capital investments and structural location within and between several economic units. Following a review of the predominant explanations for gender and racial disparities in job authority is the conclusion that the most promising explanations for persistent racial and gender disparities in authority concern the racial and gender demography of the workplace and the tendency on the part of authority elites to reproduce themselves through both exclusionary and inclusionary processes. Suggestions for future research include additional delineation of these processes based on samples of multiple racial/ethnic groups of men and women and studies that synthesize quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding the effects of employer and employee attitudes/preferences and practices on the authority attainment process."

Swim, Janet K. et al. "Everyday Sexism: Evidence for Its Incidence, Nature, and Psychological Impact From Three Daily Diary Studies." Journal of Social Issues 57, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 31-53.
Available online
Abstract: Three daily diary studes were conducted to examine the incidence, nature, and impact of everyday sexism as reported by college women and men. Women experienced about one to two impactful sexist incidents per week, consisting of traditional gender role stereotypes and prejudice, demeaning and degrading comments and behaviors, and sexual objectification. These incidents affected women's psychological well-being by decreasing their comfort, increasing their feelings of anger and depression, and decreasing their state self-esteem. Although the experiences had similar effects on men's anger, depression, and state self-esteem, men reported relatively fewer sexist incidents, suggesting less overall impact on men. The results provide evidence for the phenomena of everyday prejudice and enlighten our understanding of the experience of prejudice in interpersonal encounters from the perspective of the target.

Tonso, Karen L. "The Impact of Cultural Norms on Women." Journal of Engineering Education (July 1996): 217-25.
Notes: Classroom norms in engineering education mariginalize and exclude women (both students and facutly), even in non-traditional settings.
Abstract: "Women student engineers' and professors' classroom experinences, especially their everyday interactions with men student engineers and professors, can be negative. This ethnographic study of the discourse used by professors and students durring a sopomore design class demonstrates that some women's difficulties are the result of cultural features of engineering that are only rarely open to redefinition by women. In spite of many engineering educators' sincere commitments to improving women's experinces in engineering education, these cultural features diminish the successes of reform-minded engineering education. I detail how discourse in whole-class and teamwork settings indicated the cultural norms of engineering talk and how this discourse reinforced traditional practices that were only rarely open to revision. Also, I comment on the use of ordeals in this classroom. My findings suggest that engineering education must change before the inclusion of women is realized. In particular, I suggest the changes needed are complex and include 1) more communication about the ways that cultural norms impact women and marginalized groups, 2) forums where participants can speak openly without fear of retaliation, and 3) attention to changing those policies and practices that send narrow messages about who engineers are and what engineering might be."

University of Wisconsin System. Accountability for Achievement: Progress Report on Recommendations of the Accountability Task ForceMadison, WI: The University of Wisconsin System, 1993.
Abstract: Report discusses UW system goals for women and minority faculty hiring and retention (section 11).

van Roosmalen, Erica and Susan A. McDaniel. "Sexual Harassment in Academia: A Hazard to Women's Health." Women & Health 28, no. 2 (1998): 33-54.
Abstract: Universities and colleges have for a long times ignored sexual harrasment, hoped it was non-existent or waited for it to disapear. Recently, however, students, professors and university administrators have begun to recognize the perniciousness and pervasiveness of the problem but thus far with little attention to sexual harassment as a health hazard. Based on data collected by quesionnaire from 455 women university undergraduate and graduate students and nine follow-up in-depth interviews, this study examines the dimensions and dynamics of sexual harassment as a health hazard for women. Sexual harassment is found to have both direct and indirect health effects, including nausea and sleeplessness, loss of self-esteem, fear and anger, feelings of helplessness and isolation, as well as nervousness and depression. IN contributing to the literature on women's culturally and socially determined health problems, this study sheds light on the ways in which women students' economic, political, social and personal well-being can be undermined by sexual harassment.

Wenniger, Mary Dee and Mary Helen Conroy. Gender Equity or Bust!: On the Road to Campus Leadership With Women in Higher Education. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2001.
Notes: Book is a compliation of articles from the Women in Higher Education newsletter; it explores advances of women in higher education and addresses challenges/obstacles that remain in womens' leadership in higher education.
Abstract: "Since 1992 women faculty and administrators have turned to Women in Higher Education as their barometer of campus climate and survival guide to the topology of career advancement. Now, in this lively compendium of articles from the newsletter's first eight years, editors Mary Bee Wenniger and Mary Helen Conroy provide a wild ride across the turbulent gender equity landscape of American higher education. They offer a broad view of the progress women have made toward achieving full and fair career recognition, and assess the distance that remains to be covered. Readers will appreciate the book's blend of serious commentary, sage advice, and healthy doses of wry humor, as well as sucessful strategies from women who have broken the academic glass ceiling and scaled campus career ladders."