Sexual harassment in the workplace is unfortunately still common, with women more likely to be the victims. When sexual harassment occurs, witnesses may or may not stand up for the target. New research (Kim et al., 2024) explores how observers react toward targets of workplace sexual harassment, comparing male versus female observers.
GENDER AND EMPATHY TOWARD VICTIMS
In an initial online experiment, participants read scenarios of a woman being harassed by a male coworker. Female participants reported greater empathy toward the fictitious victim, and in turn, stronger intentions to intervene. A multi-wave field study with employees who had witnessed or heard about harassment found similar results; women showed more empathy, were more likely to intervene, and less likely to dismiss the behavior.
In a third experiment, the researchers varied the genders of the harasser and the victim (male to female vs. female to male). Women still showed greater empathy compared to men no matter the victim’s gender. They also felt less empathy for the harasser than men did. Across studies, when organizational culture was less tolerant of harassment, men and women reported similar levels of empathy and intention to intervene.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
According to this study, empathy was a key mechanism for predicting whether observers intended to intervene. As such, organizations should try to build empathy among employees, for example through perspective taking or allyship training. Fostering a culture of intolerance towards sexual harassment is also paramount. To do this, organizations can implement clear reporting procedures or policies, be willing to take disciplinary action, and reinforce respectful behavior.
Kim, S., Park, Y., & Liang, Y. (2025). Observers’ gender and behavioral responses to workplace sexual harassment via empathy: The moderating role of organizational intolerance. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication.