The 9 to 5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment: Candid Advice from 9 to 5, the National Association of Working Women

This is an excellent, important book for any woman. Even those who have never experienced attempted sexual coercion on the job are not immune, since women are often specifically targeted as they become older and obtain more senior positions. The book details not only how to maintain one's own mental health in the face of sexual abuse on the job, but also how to prevent other adverse effects such as career damage, financial ruin, and ostracism due to a boss' lies. Unfortunately, the severe victimization of women who speak openly or file a lawsuit regarding these problems still continues, despite Anita Hill's courageous example years ago, and this book contains a massive amount of helpful information to combat this problem. This is a must for anyone who even remotely suspects that their boss' sexual "jokes" may be partly serious. The slyness with which these perpetrators hide the coercive nature of their advances can be truly surreal and mind-boggling, and the emotional effects on the woman can be very serious, similar to (or worse than?) rape. Most of the information in this guide is not widely known by the general public. Early reading of this guide just may prevent some very severe problems for you (bankruptcy, ostracism, career loss, and mental and physical illness, to name a few).

I want to recommend a great text on sexual harassment, The 9to5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment. In my classes, I have supervisors and employees, union and non-union, as well as traditional students. Across the board, this book speaks in language they can understand and learn from, providing examples, solutions and problem-solving methods that can make a difference.One thing I especially like about The 9to5 Guide is the enormous amount of personal experience woven throughout it. This provides a form of validation and self-awareness. It allows people to get in touch with and reflect on their own experiences (at work or at the university), to realize that what they've experienced has to do with power relationships in society, with socially constructed stereotypes and roles. Sexual harassment is not inevitable and it can be prevented-it can be changed. This book is indeed a practical guide, giving people the kind of understanding that enables them to act. The book recognizes that only a small percentage of the people in our society are committed sexual abusers or harassers. Most people oppose harassment, but sometimes allow it to happen because they themselves don't want to become a target. 9to5 provides a social and political context, explains what sexual harassment is and how it happens, gives advice to the vast majority who don't want it to be there-including workers themselves, men and women, employers as well as unions. It appeals to that part of all of us which believes in fairness, that wants not only our own workplace but society as a whole to be a welcoming place.One reason I value this book is that it acknowledges this is not an individual problem. People need validation and support on a personal level. The also need collective action to change any issue rooted in systemic problems. The advice 9to5 gives is down-to-earth and clear. It allows people to go from what the book suggests in general to a discussion of their own concrete situations.