Asia School of Business

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Empower the powerless: Practical implications for breaking silence

Yi-Ren Wang, Youjeong Huh

The focal article by Medeiros and Griffith (2019) discusses some ways to reinforce longitudinal benefits and prolong behavioral change of sexual harassment training. Although we generally agree with the suggestions, we noticed that the focal article did not address two of the most important elements to understanding the workplace sexual harassment: power and dependence. Weber (1978) defined power as “the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his will despite resistance”(p. 53). Research has shown that a majority of sexual harassment incidents occur when perpetrators with higher power coerce sexual behaviors onto victims with lower power (eg, Thacker & Ferris, 1991). For example, it is more common for supervisors than their subordinates to be a perpetrator rather than a victim. Likewise, it is more common for teachers than their students to be a perpetrator …