Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

346 Chapter 
11 
Sexuality and Gender
Because of such stereotypic views, many women eventually hit what has come 
to be called the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier within an 
organization that may prevent women from being promoted beyond a certain level 
because of gender discrimination. The glass ceiling is even found in colleges and 
universities. For example, although women fi ll 29% of science and engineering 
jobs at U.S. educational institutions, they occupy only 15% of those positions at 
the top 50 research universities (Ripley, 2005; Lyness & Heilman, 2006; Sampson 
& Moore, 2008). 
As phenomena such as the glass ceiling make clear, male gender stereotypes are 
typically more positive than female stereotypes. Although such stereotypes refl ect 
people’s perceptions and not necessarily the reality of the world, people often act as 
if they were real and modify their behavior to conform to the stereotypes. As a result, 
gender stereotypes limit both women’s and men’s behavior and ultimately lead to 
the unfortunate consequence of preferential treatment of men.
 SEXUAL HARASSMENT 
In addition to pay inequity and limited job advancement, women—even those in 
high-status professions—may face workplace sexism in the form of sexual harassment,
which is defi ned as unwanted sexual attention, the creation of a hostile or abusive 
environment, or explicit coercion to engage in unwanted sexual activity. Sexual harass-
ment is not a minor problem. One-fi fth of women surveyed in polls say that they have 
been sexually harassed at work. And it is not just women who encounter harassment: 
Some 10% of men report experiencing sexual harassment on the job (Willness, Steel, 
& Lee, 2007; O’Leary-Kelly et al., 2009; Pina, Gannon, & Saunders, 2009). 
Sexual harassment is not just a workplace issue. Thirty percent of the female 
graduates of one large California university reported receiving some form of harass-
ment. Such harassment begins early in life. In one survey, 81% of middle and high 
Sexual harassment can take many forms.
feL82795_ch11_340-377.indd Page 346 30/07/10 9:52 PM user-f463
feL82795_ch11_340-377.indd Page 346 30/07/10 9:52 PM user-f463
/Volumes/202/MH00543_r1/hin73516_disk1of1/0073373516/Access_Archive/hin73516_...
/Volumes/202/MH00543_r1/hin73516_disk1of1/0073373516/Access_Archive/hin73516_

---