Research Essay Outline 2
I. Introduction
A. Main Problem: Workplace Harassment is an issue affecting many western nations despite
the existence of laws to curb their prevalence. There are different forms of workplace
harassment including sexual harassment, religious harassment, and Racial Harassment.
B. Key Terms: sexual harassment, religious harassment, and Racial Harassment.
C. Thesis Statement: Workplace harassment is a major thorn for corporate organizations,
however, understanding the problem and how it manifests presents the best method to deter
and eliminate workplace harassment by implementing laws and guidelines.
II. Claim 1: Sexual harassment is one of the most common forms of harassment at the
workplace, especially by people in management positions towards their subordinates.
A. Support Point: A study by Yasemin Besen‐Cassino shows that between 1997 and
2016 using data from the public Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) shows that sexual harassment at the workplace has been on the rise (Cassino
& Besen‐Cassino, 2019).
Many forms of sexual harassment at the workplace are often overlooked by
employees and their peers as the frequency of occurrence makes them appear
normal.
a) Employees often fear to report sexual harassment.
b) Body shaming has existed for years and yet little has been done to
dissuade its practice at the workplace.
B. Support Point: Corporate culture in the United States has failed to enforce laws
preventing sexual harassment from occurring.
Research Essay Outline 3
1. A study using statistics from the public Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) shows that sexual harassment against women is more
common than harassment against men.
a) Gender roles are often a major motivation for sexual harassment at the
workplace.
b) Disparities in the hiring process leading to fewer women in an
organization could contribute to a prevalence of sexual harassment
2. Employees often tolerate sexual harassment and sexism at the workplace for fear
of the repercussions.
a) Employees are often punished indirectly or directly for reporting about
sexual harassment.
The lack of structure in whistleblowing in major organizations increases the
likelihood of cases of sexual harassment going unpunished.
a) In many organizations, whistleblowers are often seen as a threat to the
status quo.
b) Many organizations lack a guideline on whistleblowing.
III. Claim 2: For a long time, racism has been an issue in the United States due to its
diversity, harassment based on race is common in the workplace with people of color
often receiving poor treatment compared to Caucasian employees.
A. Support Point: Research shows that African Americans and Latinos are more likely
to be harassed at the workplace as a result of their race compared to Caucasians
(Sharma, 2016).
Research Essay Outline 4
1. African Americans and Latinos are racial minority communities, this makes them
more susceptible to racial harassment.
Top executive and managerial positions are often held by Caucasians (Sharma, 2016).
B. Support Point: A recent study by Lee et al shows that racial harassment at the
workplace is tremendously underreported with between 50% and 75% of Black,
Hispanic, and Asian respondents stating that they have experienced racial harassment
at the workplace (Lee et al., 2019).
1. Underreporting is often a result of fear of the consequences of whistleblowing.
Organizations often overlook the need to set up structures to address racial
harassment.
IV. Claim 3: Religious diversity and tolerance are among the most important aspects of
American corporate culture based on existing laws, however, harassment at the
workplace due to religion is a major problem in society.
A. Support Point: Findings show that religious discrimination at the workplace has been
on the rise in the rise for years in the United States.
a) Historical events often contribute to racial discrimination. An example is the
911 attack in the United States.
b) Corporate policy and federal policy also play a major role in the rise of
religious discrimination.
B. Support Point: Many organizations still fail to promote religious diversity and to set
an organizational culture that protects all religions in their company policies
(Ghumman et al., 2013).
Research Essay Outline 5
a) Corporate culture can have a significant impact on reducing the prevalence of
religious discrimination.
C. Support Point: The employment process in many organizations is flawed as people
are often denied an opportunity for an interview during the screening of the resumes if
they are of a given religion.
D. Support Point: Stereotypes often have an impact on harassment at the workplace on
religious grounds.
a) An example is discrimination against the Muslim society and employees who
practice Islam due to the stereotype that Muslims are terrorists.
V. Conclusion
A. Restatement of Thesis: Workplace harassment is a major thorn for corporate
organizations, however, understanding the problem and how it manifests presents the
best method to deter and eliminate workplace harassment by implementing laws and
guidelines.
B. Summary: there are many forms of workplace harassment, three common forms are
sexual harassment, racial harassment, and religious harassment. Corporate
organizations often find it challenging to manage and deter harassment at the
workplace. to solve the problem, it is vital to understand the onset of the problem and
find viable solutions.
C. Next Step: corporate organizations and the government have to find ways to
successfully implement laws directed towards reducing the rate of harassment. Employees
also have to be protected from the consequences of whistleblowing by internal and external
structures.
Research Essay Outline 7
References
Cassino, D., & Besen‐Cassino, Y. (2019). Race, threat and workplace sexual harassment: The
dynamics of harassment in the United States, 1997–2016. Gender, Work &
Organization, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12394
Ghumman, S., Ryan, A. M., Barclay, L. A., & Markel, K. S. (2013). Religious
Discrimination in the Workplace: A Review and Examination of Current and Future
Trends. Journal of Business and Psychology, 28(4), 439–454.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9290-0
Lee, R. T., Perez, A. D., Boykin, C. M., & Mendoza-Denton, R. (2019). On the prevalence of
racial discrimination in the United States. PLOS ONE, 14(1), e0210698.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210698
Sharma, A. (2016). Managing diversity and equality in the workplace. Cogent Business &
Management, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2016.1212682
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