More Men File Sex Harassment Charges: Man Gene Waning?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported an increase in the number of sexual harassment charges filed by men. In fact, between 1992 and 2008, the percentage of such charges doubled from 8% to 16%. The media has analyzed this development, opining that it results from the recession, more women in positions of power, more men willing to come forward with the charges, and mysteries yet unsolved (here and here). Fellow bloggers have also weighed in: Molly DiBianca, Workplace Prof Blog, Employment Law Post, Business Insider, and HealthChapter.

Returning to my most recent post on The Man Gene, one might wonder if these new EEOC statistics have implications for the gene’s traditional menace. Hardly. As it turns out, most of the increase is due to allegations of men sexually harassing other men. Though true that some of them are about “roughhousing” and “horseplay” among men, some are of a strictly sexual nature. There’s been little change in the statistics involving sex harassment charges filed by men against women. Moreover, the vast majority of sexual harassment charges are still filed by women against men.

The EEOC statistics, if saying anything about The Man Gene, reinforce the notion that the gene has no sexual preference and that the gene continues to wreak havoc for some men in the workplace. But the gene is no defense. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes opposite-sex harassment and same-sex harassment unlawful. The law also requires employers to have a strict policy against any kind of sexual harassment and to enforce the policy when The Man Gene works its devastation.

I know some of you still have doubts about the existence of The Man Gene. And some still say that the earth is flat and that the recession is over.