Sexual Harassment of Working Women

Sexual Harassment of Working Women, published in 1979, represents one of the first comprehensive legal analyses of workplace sexual harassment. MacKinnon's groundbreaking text establishes sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The book outlines two key categories of sexual harassment: quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment harassment. MacKinnon presents extensive documentation of real cases and examines the social, economic, and legal frameworks that allowed sexual harassment to persist unchallenged in American workplaces. Through a combination of legal scholarship and feminist theory, MacKinnon develops arguments that would later influence U.S. courts and workplace policies. She analyzes the intersection of gender-based power dynamics, economic inequality, and legal structures in maintaining workplace hierarchies. This influential work continues to serve as a foundation for understanding how discrimination law can address gender-based workplace power imbalances. The text demonstrates how legal theory can be used as a tool for social change and workplace justice.

Readers view this as a foundational feminist legal text that helped establish sexual harassment as workplace discrimination. The clear legal arguments and extensive documentation support MacKinnon's case. Readers appreciated: - Detailed analysis connecting gender-based harassment to civil rights violations - Integration of real women's experiences with legal theory - Practical framework that influenced harassment law Common criticisms: - Dense academic language makes it inaccessible - Some legal arguments and examples feel dated - Repetitive in places Goodreads: 4.13/5 (89 ratings) "Changed how I understand workplace power dynamics" - Goodreads reviewer "Important ideas but very dry reading" - Goodreads reviewer Amazon: 4.4/5 (12 ratings) "The legal analysis holds up decades later" - Amazon reviewer "Hard to get through but worth the effort" - Amazon reviewer JSTOR shows over 2,000 academic citations, indicating its influence in legal scholarship.

Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape by Susan Brownmiller This groundbreaking work examines rape as a tool of power and control throughout history, connecting it to workplace harassment and institutional discrimination.

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir This philosophical analysis explores how women's subordinate status manifests across social institutions, including professional environments.

Sexual Politics by Kate Millett This text dissects patriarchal power structures in society and literature, providing context for understanding systemic workplace discrimination.

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf This examination of professional appearance standards and their impact on women's workplace advancement builds on MacKinnon's framework of institutional gender discrimination.

Sex-Based Discrimination by Kenneth Davidson and Ruth Ginsburg This legal text analyzes discrimination cases and constitutional frameworks that form the foundation for workplace harassment law.

📚 When published in 1979, this book was the first to establish sexual harassment as a legal concept and argue that it constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 💼 MacKinnon wrote much of this groundbreaking work while still a law student at Yale, completing it before she had even passed the bar exam. ⚖️ The legal framework presented in the book was later adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1986 decision Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, which established sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII. 🔍 The book introduced two key categories of sexual harassment that are still used today: "quid pro quo" harassment and "hostile environment" harassment. 📋 Prior to this book's publication, courts had routinely dismissed workplace sexual harassment cases, considering them personal matters rather than discrimination issues. MacKinnon's work fundamentally changed this interpretation.