Daphne project: 1999-267
CC.OO.
Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras
Secretaría Confederal de la Mujer
Project Nr.:1999/DAP/267/W
SYNTHESIS DOCUMENT
Sexual Harassment in Spain
Gea21. Grupo de Estudios y Alternativas S.L.
Madrid, October, 2000
The publication is the synthesis of a research project on sexual harassment in Spain, begun in 1998 with a qualitative study based on discussion groups and on a quantitative analysis of an extensive survey carried out in 2000.
This report is one of the different results obtained, after an extensive analysis of the problem on hand; this analysis has been accompanied by a fulfilling series of debates, reflections and controversies which have taken place over the last two year under the aupices and co-ordination of the Secretaría Confederal de la Mujer , of the trade union CC.OO.
The participants in this project were trade unionists from Sweden, Ireland and Spain, university teachers, jurists, and, of course, the consultancy company, GEA21, which carried out the research. The team that did both studies and drew up this synthesis is made up of Begoña Pernas, Josefina Olza and Marta Román. María Naredo also participated in the first study, dealing with the legal aspects of harassment. In the quantitative reserch, the sociologist Juan Andrés Ligero collaborated in the statistical analysis. The company Intergallup, S.A. did the field work for the study.
But this is also the result of the economic and political support of different institutioins: The General Secretariat of the European Union, through the Daphne Initiative, and the Instituto de la Mujer (women’s rights association) financed these two projects: Pandora I and Pandora II. FOREM Confederal, the Fundación 1º de Mayo and the Confederación Sindical de CC.OO. also facilitated and contributed to the development of many of the phases. Without the collaboration of all these parties, it would have been difficult to approach the problem of Sexual Harassment in the Job as extensively and thoroughly as it was done.
With the publication of this document, we wish to conclude a stage characterised by the desire to understand and put an end to a serious problem, harassment, sometimes invisible or surrounded by stereotypes that hinder an understanding of the assymetric relationships between the sexes, and the sexism that reigns in organisations. Although we do not want to follow one specific path, we believe that there is a need to use the information gathered and to take of action in order to articulate the proposals from the different sources (trade union, legal, political). The common aim is to converge in an action that includes the experience of women and allows us to confront the serious problem of sexual harassment in the job both to prevent this and to put and end to it.
In short, this synthesis is yet another tool which above all calls for the trade unions to continue working in depth on the specific aspects that define the day-to-day work of women and men. But it also calls for a social debate in order to bring about more efficient measures in order for the social and labour relations between women and men to be more just and egalitarian.
Rita Moreno Preciado
Secretaría Confederal de la Mujer de CC.OO.
Madrid, November , 2000
INDEX
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION...... 1
- The three dimensions of the research projects on sexual harassment...... 1
- Objectives of the research project and structure of the document...... 2
- Methodology of the research...... 3
CHAPTER II. THE DIMENSIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EUROPE...... 6
CHAPTER III. SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SPAIN...... 9
- Three ways of measuring harassment...... 9
- Results from a list of types of behaviour: harassment...... 9
- Results including sexist behaviour: sexism...... 12
- Results of the direct question about harassment: recognised harassment...... 13
CHAPTER IV. THE KEYS TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT...... 15
1.Features of the workers...... 15
2.Circumstances of sexual harassment...... 16
3.Work conditions that favour sexual harassment...... 20
CHAPTER V. THE HARASSMENT EXPERIENCE...... 23
1.Experiences...... 23
2.Explanations...... 27
CHAPTER VI. SOCIAL PERCEPTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT...... 31
CHAPTER VII. RISK FACTORS...... 34
CHAPTER VIII. CONCLUSIONS...... 36
CHAPTER IX. BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 42
Daphne-project_1999-267_1
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1.The three dimensions of research on sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment first became known as a pubic concept a little over twenty years ago. Since this concept appeared, and as we are reminded by one of the experts on the subject, Barbara Gutek (1987), the researchers have been preoccupied by two of its facets: defining the concept and measuring its extent. That is, carrying out the intellectual operation that accompanies all new concepts. Describing its nature, the elements it is comprised of and its causes, and measuring its volume, incidence and extent.
It is a curious fate for a phenomenon which most women, whether they work or not, are well familiar with, usually from adolescence, and which is part of the day-to-day relationships between the sexes. But as happens with the act itself of sexual harassment, a woman’s word has to be proven. To say that harassment exists, that many women workers know of it and that it is a behaviour that, in the best of cases, creates a hostile environment for women, is not enough. Unlike other examples of gender-related violence, harassment is too close to the habitual relationships and reactions, too close to normality. To admit it exists would be to question pre-existing behaviours and practices that lead to satisfaction and or complicity.
It is in this paradox in its origin, the distance between the day-to-day generalised experience, easy to understand, at least for those who experience it, and the term, which people attempt to clearly define, due to the fact that justifies legal intervention and that it is often difficult to label, where most of the problems arise in any research project. Not only must harassment be defined, but the main actors involved must also understand the meaning of the term. This is why it is important to combine techniques that, apart from measuring incidence and proposing definitions, attempt to understand the roots of the problem and to situate it within the labour context in which it occurs.
As a result of all this, we have tried to answer the two questions asked, the nature and the extent of sexual harassment, using various sociological techniques. Analysis of the social actors’ discourse, through discussion groups, helped us to understand how people speak of harassment depending on their different positions of gender and class, in what context it can be framed. The purpose of quantitative analysis is to measure incidence and to relate harassment to other personal and professional variables of the male and female workers in an attempt to understand it.
We want both studies to be mutually supportive and complementary and we would like any contradictions or shady areas to be used to help form other questions. Our starting-out hypothesis, that the power in play in sexual harassment is gender-related power, but that measurement of class, hierarchies in the organisation, age etc., can completely transform its features and experiences, was the product of the analysis of the discourses, but also from existing literature, above all anglo-saxon. As we previously know that we would not find a profile of “harasser” and “harassed”, we considered it important to measure the incidence of harassment in Spanish society, certify its existence and, at the same time, show its connections .
We have been going against the drift of what has been done in Europe in recent years, simply because, as our country joined the debate later than others, we only had the experiences from other research projects. In general terms, according to a report by the European Commission (1999) on research carried out in the eighties and nineties in the EU countries, the procedure has consisted of carrying out surveys, either national or sectorial, in order to obtain data. Based on these, and taking into account their big differences, the studies tended to be centred on the qualitative and psycho-social aspects of the phenomenon.
With regard to sexual harassment, the studies carried out in Europe and America have taken three different directions: in the first place, as we have already mentioned, identifying and measuring the phenomenon; secondly, explaining its causes and connections, and finally, using it as an “awareness concept” (Lemoncheck, Hajdin, 1997) or “patriarchal indicator” (Torns, 1999) which can be used as a guide in the labour world. This third aspect means that we should not adhere to the phenomenon, but should relate it to women’s and men’s views of sexuality and the way this impregnates labour relations, inequality and the obstacles encountered by women workers. We attempt to use the concept of sexual harassment to gain knowledge of the labour environment, instead of simply doing the opposite, that is using the labour variables to account for harassment.
The three dimensions have different problems, and at the same time, they are complementary. The extent of the phenomenon can only be measured if it is defined in some way. But, as we will see, the definition provided will change the data obtained. We believe that the best thing to do is to use a flexible definition and to try to clarify who is defining harassment. Do the women who have suffered it define harassment? Or is it men, public opinion, the institutions? The important thing is not to make these points of view compatible, but to know at each moment what definitions are in play. At the same time, to consider harassment within the constellation of sexualised practices that impregnates the work environment is to flee from the previous dilemmas. Dissecting the problem allows us to see its roots more clearly.
The combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques facilitates this approach towards the three dimensions of harassment. If the discussion groups facilitate an understanding of its sexist roots, then the survey will only be able to measure its extent and establish its associations. At the same time, both studies open up new lines of research into gender and the job, related to power, gender and autonomy in organisations, which are of great interest to us.
2.Objectives of the research project and structure of the document.
We wanted to bring about a reflection, based on the three previously mentioned dimensions, for a debate which has less tradition in Spain than in Europe and the US. A debate with many facets, from the juridical to the trade unionist, but in which methodology has played an important role, precisely due to the difficulty involved in “measuring” a complex phenomenon. We thus began, in Chapter II, with a summary of the main research projects carried out in Europe and the data they produced. This allowed us to situate the data from our country in a community context.
The third chapter presents the main conclusions of the survey and analyses the magnitude of sexual harassment in the labour environment in Spain. Specifically, it presents the data according to three different approaches, harassment based on a list of questions, sexism in organisations and recognised harassment.
In Chapter IV, we tried to identify the personal characteristics that might play a part in the fact that a person is sexually harassed, such as sex, habitat, age, marital status, level of qualifications or the jobs held by the women workers. We also tried to learn about the conditions of the work environment that appear to be most frequently associated with harassment-related behaviour, such as the sector of activity, size of the company, proportion of men and women, type of contract, etc. lastly, we described, with the use of a combination of data and experiences, the most common circumstances surrounding the phenomenon and which characterise it, thus throwing light on some of the most common themes regarding the profile of the “harasser” and the “harassed”.
Chapter V presents part of the qualitative analysis, precisely that which refers to the experience of women workers and their interpretations. In this way, allowing the social actors to speak, we want to complete the data with the experiences. We intend to situate sexual harassment in a social context, and to understand what men and women see as their position in the job and the way they create their identities, and to express their reactions and re-interpretations with regard to the job and sexuality.
In Chapter VI we present the conclusions of the survey on the social perception of sexual harassment among the female working population in Spain. Indeed, we are not simply interested in learning about the presence of the phenomenon; we want to obtain information from the public regarding the concept, as well as the opinion of the workers – their rejection or tolerance of this phenomenon. Analysis of the degree of approval of a series of typical phrases allowed us to establish groups of opinions and to detect the main variables affecting people’s perception of harassment.
In Chapter VII, we summarise a factorial analysis which reveals a series of latent variables capable of accounting for the biggest risk factors regarding harassment. They help us to better understand the roots of harassment and the groups that generate or oppose this reality, and guide any intervention in favour of the workers.
Lastly, we propose a series of conclusions, resulting from the debate held in the CC.OO. trade union’s Secretaría Confederal de la Mujer, and which attempt to clear up some commonplace misunderstandings and to provide elements regarding judgement, data and experiences in order to stimulate social discussion and to guide union action in this theme.
3.Methodology of the research project.
In order to understand the roots of sexual harassment and its extent in Spain, research was carried in two phases: a qualitative analysis based on discussion groups and a survey on the national level.
3.1 The discussion groups
The seven discussion groups the study is based on were carried out between April and May, 1998 in Madrid. The aim of the discussion groups is to produce different social discourses in order to throw light on the way men and women see their positions in the job, the value they give to it, how they interpret labour relations or the sexual manifestations of these, as well as experiences related to sexual harassment.
The variables taken into account to create the groups were the following:
a) Socio-professional situation: it is obvious that working women experience very different situations depending on their social status and their position in the organisation. We established four different categories which determine very critically autonomy and socio-labour position, and which we structured in the following way:
- Women workers in unqualified jobs and insecure working situations.
- Women workers with medium-level qualifications in traditionally female or male activities.
- Women workers with medium to high level qualifications; professionals, technical workers, etc.
- Control or management jobs.
b) Sex: this is the other variable taken into account, as among the objectives of the study is to learn about the meaning that women give to their position in the job. Based on this, we formed five groups of women from where we could obtain the fundamental discussion for our analysis. We used the two groups of men essentially as a contrast, and these allowed us to record the differences between men and women with regard to the job and sexuality.
c) Age: this is also an important phenomenon for explaining phenomena such as identity, autonomy, dependence, capacity to respond, perception of the job, etc.
d) Traditionally female and male jobs: this is a fundamental variable in understanding how a woman sees herself and how she is seen in the job. The research project attempted to record the traditional horizontal segmentation of the job market, and the battle against this has hardly begun.
With regard to the previously mentioned variables, we formed the following groups:
Group 1: Unqualified women workers and insecure jobs:
-Jobs: domestic help, hostelry, cleaning, trade, etc.
- Age between 25 and 35 years.
Group 2: Women workers with medium level qualifications in feminine environments.
- Jobs: secretaries, administrative workers, air hostesses, nurses, etc..
- Age between 25 and 35 years.
Group 3: Women workers with medium level qualifications in traditionally male jobs.
- Jobs: industry, transport, security, etc.
- Age between 30 and 40 years.
Group 4: Women workers with medium to high level qualifications in professional activities.
- Jobs: computer sciences, public administration, lawyers, architects, teaching, etc.
- Age between 30 and 40 years.
Group 5: Women in control or management jobs.
- Jobs: company management and posts in Public Administration, etc.
- Age between 35 and 50 years.
Group 6: Workers with medium to high level of qualification.
- Jobs: computer science, civil servants, teaching, architects, etc.
- Age between 35 and 45 years.
Group 7: Workers with medium to low level of qualifications.
- Jobs: industry, transport, services, etc.
- Age between 30 and 40 years.
3.2 The survey.
With the conclusions of the analysis of the discussion groups, we carried out a national survey in the spring of 2000. The information-gathering tool used was a telephone survey about a questionnaire.
The survey, apart from inquiring into the personal characteristics of the interviewees (sex, age, level of studies, etc) and their job situation, was centred on four basic themes: sexism in organisations, the work environment and job satisfaction, situations and experience regarding sexual harassment, and lastly, opinions regarding harassment.
The following criteria were used in the design of the sample:
Scope:National
Universe: EmployedIndividuals of 16 years and above
Sample: 1004 cases
Interviews:By telephone in the home of the interviewees, about the
Structured questionnaire, 12 minutes duration.
Selection criteria: Being employed, fulfilling quotas
Design of the sample: Stratified multiphase random sampling. Stratification proportional
to the distribution of the population occupied per Nielsen habitat and
size of habitat. Random selection of the homes.
Quotas of sex, age and sector of activity.
Field work: from 4 to 25 of April, 2000
Margin of generic error: +/- 3.2% for p=q=0.5 and a level of trustworthiness of 95.5% for global data.
CHAPTER II. THE DIMENSIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EN EUROPE