DOING POWER - THE CONFLUENCE OF GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS IN CONTRAPOWER SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Contrapower sexual harassment occurs when the target of harassment pos sesses greater formal organizational power than the perpetrator: Tradi tional conceptualizations of power underlying sexual harassment have e ither focused on location within organizational hierarchies or sociocu ltural status differences between men and women We suggest the utility of simultaneously considering the influence of gender; race, and clas s on power dynamics at organizational, sociocultural. and interpersona l or individual levels. Using qualitative data obtained from 8 focus g roups, 20 interviews, and 1 in-depth care study, we examine how gender ; race and class influence varied sources of power available to perpet rators and targets in workplace contrapower situations. We argue that the exploration of the dynamics involved in contrapower sexual harassm ent can illuminate broader processes of doing gender and power in the workplace.