Sexual harassment experiences and equal opportunity perceptions of Navy women

In 1989, the Navy began tracking the sexual harassment rates among its officer and enlisted personnel by administering the Navy Equal Opportunity Sexual Harassment (NEOSH) Survey on a biennial basis. While previous reports on the results of the NEOSH Survey have discussed the occurrence, frequency, and effects of sexual harassment in the Navy [A. L. Culbertson, P. Rosenfeld, and C. E. Newell (1993) Sexual Harassment in the Active-Duty Navy: Findings from the Navy-Wide Survey (TR-94-2), San Diego, CA: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center], this study examines whether victims of sexual harassment differ in their perceptions of equal opportunity (EO) climate from those who have not been harassed. Data from the 1991 NEOSH Survey were reanalyzed. Sixty-seven percent of the women officers were White, 25% African-American, and 18% Hispanic. Of the women enlisted, 52% were White, 31% African-American, and 18% Hispanic. The results indicated that women who were sexually harassed perceived that there was less EO in the Navy than women who had not been harassed. This was true for both officer and enlisted personnel. In addition, specific organizational consequences of sexual harassment were identified.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors, are not official and do not necessarily represent the views of the Navy Department.