THE RESPONSES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN FIREFIGHTERS TO GENDER HARASSMENT AT WORK

The purpose of the present study is to describe the responses of Afric an American women firefighters to sexual and gender harrassment. Surve ys and interviews of 22 firefighters nationwide uncovered universal ex posure to harassment. Contrary to prior studies, most of which involve d white college students and white collar workers, all these firefight ers used externally focused, direct response strategies. Nineteen wome n directly confronted the harasser; of these, ten responded agressivel y, including four women who countered physical harassment in kind. The ir stories suggested that most found their strategy to be effective at stopping the present harassment and deterring future occurrences. Whi le few firefighters reported positive work relations, these may have b een a precursor to, rather than a result of, their direct response pat terns.