Men in positions of power who sexually harass their subordinates could be acting because the ‘fear being judged as incompetent’, scientists claim.
There has been no shortage of high-profile men accused and convicted of sexual harassment within the last year.
According to new research, men in high-powered jobs will typically harbour insecurities about their competency and worthiness in the eyes of others.
These concerns, as well as doubts about their own performance, leads men to abuse their power by sexually harassing others.
Researchers found the trait was not present in women in similar positions of power.
Researchers found ‘fearing that others will perceive you as incompetent is a better predictor of sexual harassment than your self-perceived incompetence’. Pictured: Harvey Weinstein has been charged with multiple accounts of sexual assault and rape in the first- and third-degree
Following the success of campaigns including #MeToo and #TimesUp, there is more awareness of the abuse suffered by women at the hands of powerful men.
However, our understanding of why this occurs remains largely unknown.
Ohio scientists Leah Halper and Kimberly Rios looked into the reasons behind the behaviour and what caused it.
According to their findings, sexual gratification was not the main driver behind the behaviour – but instead, the self-doubt often found in high-powered men.
‘Fearing that others will perceive you as incompetent is a better predictor of sexual harassment than your self-perceived incompetence,’ explains Dr Halper.
‘The findings also suggest that men do not necessarily sexually harass women because they seek sexual gratification, but rather because their insecurity about being perceived as incompetent prompts them to want to undermine a woman’s position in the social hierarchy,’ added Dr Rios.
They found that most studies about sexual harassment focus on the characteristics of the victims, and how they experience and deal with the harassment, instead of the triggers in the perpetrator.
Previous research has shown that some – but not all – men in powerful positions are more inclined to sexually harass others.
Dr Halper and Dr Rios conducted three different studies using a combination of adults and college students. Some of these studies included only men, while others included both sexes.
Scientists have found that men in high-profile jobs have insecurities about how competent they are in the eyes of others. These concerns, as well as doubts about their performance, lead men to misuse their power by sexually harassing others (stock)
In one study, 273 men had to imagine themselves in the position of a male employer who was in a position of power over a female employee or interviewee.
These men were asked to indicate whether they would ask for sexual favours in return for securing her a job, a promotion, or some other job-related benefit.
Participants had to answer questions that measured their self-esteem and how narcissistic they were, as well as how important they viewed the opinions of others.
The results of the study support the notion that powerful men are inclined to sexually harass others when they worry that they will be perceived as incompetent.
This deep rooted flaw in a masculine confidence was consistently found to predict sexual harassment among men in powerful positions.
However, the same outcome was not true for women.
The findings, according to the researchers, corroborate the theory that sexual harassment is in part a byproduct of a person feeling threatened and wanting to maintain a high social status by exerting power over others.