Sexual harassment can be described as any unwanted sexual comment or advance. People think that in a sexual harassment situation the perpetrator is always a male, but this is not the case, women can be harassers too. Several incidents may occur in which a male sexually harasses a female, a female harasses a male, a female harasses a female, or a male harasses a male. When sexual harassment occurs, it can make any situation uncomfortable, especially if the advances are unwelcome. The EEOC also provides guidance on some of the circumstances under which sexual harassment may be deemed to have occurred. These include: Both the victim and the harasser can be a woman or a man. The victim must not be of the opposite sex. The harasser may be the victim's supervisor, or an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee. The victim does not necessarily have to be the person harassed but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. Unlawful sexual harassment can occur without financial harm or termination of the victim. The harasser's behavior must be unwelcome. (Howarth 2005) The growing number of women in the professional workforce presents a challenge to managers and business leaders. Women are sometimes stereotyped by those who believe they are incapable of being a good employee. Including women in a male-dominated profession can create a situation where women are singled out and made to feel unwelcome because of their gender, regardless of their job performance. The challenge for professional managers and leaders is to break down barriers to inaccurate stereotypes related to women and eliminate the treatment of employees based on gender. Even t... middle of paper ... can be taken to stop workplace harassment and minimize liability. Employees must assist victims of harassment by reporting any incidents they observe. Employees should document every incident of harassment regardless of its severity. Failure to respond to a complaint, regardless of its severity, could result in employer liability. The goal is for superiors to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. If it exists, the harassment must be addressed and stopped immediately to avoid liability. Works Cited Alvarez, F., Court, L., & Stohler, C. (2005) ExecBlueprints. Legal issues for managers: Avoiding sexual harassment in the workplace. Howarth, F. (2005) Curbing sexual harassment in the workplace. Faulkner Information Services.Swanson, C., Territo, L. and Taylor, R. (2008) Police Administration. Publisher Pearson/Prentice Hall.