Introduction to special section: Workplace sexual harassment

Motivation

Paid work is key for women's empowerment, but many women work in precarious employment where they experience workplace sexual harassment. Articles in this special section explore how social norms and job informality influence women's perceptions about—and their voice and agency to counter—workplace sexual harassment.

Purpose

This introductory article highlights the academic and policy contribution of the special section by establishing how the articles collectively explore the relationship between social norms, job informality, and women's agency with respect to workplace sexual harassment, and the kinds of policies that may strengthen women's agency.

Methods and approach

Research in two countries explored how gender norms and informality in work arrangements influence young women's voice and agency in response to sexual harassment at work. This article introduces four articles based on the research findings and presents the themes that are explored in case studies with domestic workers and workers in agro-processing factories in Bangladesh and Uganda.

Findings

The findings show that gender norms regarding sexuality and notions of family honour and shame constrain young women's ability to voice incidents of sexual harassment and their agency in seeking support from family and other actors; normalize male aggression; and sustain the perpetrators' impunity. These norms, alongside class and power hierarchies, affect the responses of the actors and institutions both within and outside their workplace. Given the precarious nature of their work, most workers avoid lodging formal complaints and rely on informal mechanisms for self-protection.

Policy implications

The policy implications of the research include the importance of developing common language that will allow women to speak openly about their experiences; increasing access to and confidence in formal complaints mechanisms; developing young women's political capacities to challenge harassment; and address social and gender norms that constrain women and normalize harassment.