The Scarring Effects of Workplace Sexual Harassment

Nisha Chikhale, Natalie Duncombe () and Birthe Larsen ()
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Natalie Duncombe: https://natalieduncombe.com/
Birthe Larsen: Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School, Postal: Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics, Porcelaenshaven 16 A. 1. floor, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark, https://www.cbs.dk/en/staff/bleco

No 7-2025, Working Papers from Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics

Abstract: We provide new causal evidence on the labor market consequences of workplace sex-ual harassment using matched survey and administrative data from Denmark. Both women and men experience persistent earnings losses of around 6 percent, with losses doubling among those who change employers. These effects are not driven by non-employment or occupational downgrading but by moves to lower-paying firms. A sub-stantial share of harassment comes from clients—particularly for women—highlighting the need for broader anti-harassment policies. Our findings reveal the long-term eco-nomic scars of harassment and gendered patterns in firm mobility, sorting, and pro-ductivity that persist beyond job transitions.

Keywords: Workplace sexual harassment; Anti-harassment policies; Gendered firm mobility patterns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J32 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2025-08-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hrm and nep-lab
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