Is all sexual harassment viewed the same? Mock juror decisions in same- and cross-gender cases

Given recent court decisions, there is a need to investigate less common forms of sexual harassment, including women harassing men and same-gender harassment. The present study was a 2 (harasser gender) x 2 (target gender) x 2 (participant gender) factorial design in which 408 mock jurors made decisions in a hostile work environment case. Women harassing men were more likely to be found guilty than were men harassing women, and harassers in same-gender cases were more likely to be found guilty and were perceived more negatively than harassers in cross-gender cases. Participant gender differences were found in cross-gender, but not same-gender, conditions. Results suggest that the gender composition of the harasser and target may be an extralegal factor influencing managerial and juror decision making.