28-year-old journal article on sexual harassment among 'Most Cited'

A 1982 article about workplace sexual harassment penned by two UM-Dearborn researchers is among the Top 3 "Most Cited" articles in the history of the international sociological journal, Work and Occupations.

The article, "Blue-Collar Blues: The Sexual Harassment of Women Autoworkers" written by sociology Profs. Lars Bjorn and James Gruber, is ranked third in a listing of the journal's most-cited articles, according to its website. The journal originally published the article in August 1982.

Their article examines the harassment of more than 130 women who worked mostly in unskilled jobs in the auto industry. Their findings suggest that young, unmarried black women with a low job status were more likely to be the targets of frequent or severe harassment. The article also takes a look at the consequences of sexual harassment.

"I would say the main reason for its continuing citation is that it was a pioneering article on the subject of sexual harassment, before the Anita Hill affair made it widely discussed," said Bjorn. "And it still remains one of the few articles on blue-collar women as far as I know."

His co-author agrees.

"Even 28 years after its publication, there is still not a whole lot of research on sexual harassment of women in non-traditional jobs," Gruber said. "I think also the fact that we interviewed women as opposed to sending out a questionnaire has had an impact on the article's longevity."

Gruber recalled granting an interview to a local newspaper when the article was published back in 1982. The reporter was more interested in the transcribed comments than any of the statistical data and used several colorful quotes from the study's interviewees, according to Gruber. When the story landed on the newspaper's front page with the headline "Sex on the Line," Bjorn and Gruber found themselves flooded with attention, including a barrage of interview requests from other media outlets and a death threat.

"And of course, after a couple of days, our story was no longer of interest to the media," Gruber said. "That was our 15 seconds of fame."

The entire "Blue-Collar Blues: The Sexual Harassment of Women Autoworkers" article can be read on the Work and Operations website.