Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

Why Sexual Harassment Persists and What Organizations Can Do to Stop It

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg
  • Format:Electronic
ShareBar

Abstract

Long before the #MeToo movement, the insidious effects of harassment were well known to organizational researchers. Women who are harassed often leave their jobs, taking valuable relationships, and potential out the door with them and creating the costly need to hire and train new employees to fill the roles vacated. There is also evidence that harassment can negatively impact the cohesion and functioning of teams, with negative financial consequences for productivity and employee turnover. Companies stand to lose capital—human and more—if they don’t work to eliminate sexual misconduct. Sexual harassment is not a women’s problem but a threat to companies’ health. And men most often have the power to determine if an organization will prevent and treat it—or allow it to spread.

Keywords

Work Environment; Sexual Harassment; Harassment; Organizational Culture; Gender; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change

Citation

Ammerman, Colleen, and Boris Groysberg. "Why Sexual Harassment Persists and What Organizations Can Do to Stop It." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 21, 2017).
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Register to Read

About The Author

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March–April 2023
    • Harvard Business Review

    The New-Collar Workforce

    By: Colleen Ammerman, Boris Groysberg and Ginni Rometty
    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Walmart’s Live Better U

    By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman
    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader

    By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Sarah L. Abbott
More from the Authors
  • The New-Collar Workforce By: Colleen Ammerman, Boris Groysberg and Ginni Rometty
  • Walmart’s Live Better U By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman
  • Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Sarah L. Abbott
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College