Apr 07, 2026 12:45:00

What are the two scientific reasons why men sexually harass women?

Previous research has primarily attributed two scientific factors to the occurrence of

sexual harassment in the workplace. Recent research, by re-examining these two types of studies, has identified a theory that better explains why men engage in sexual harassment.

Comparing Gender Hierarchy and Evolutionary Psychology Explanations of Workplace Sexual Harassment | Sexuality & Culture | Springer Nature Link
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-026-10575-w

Why do men sexually harass women at work? Science offers two explanations – but only one of them holds up
https://theconversation.com/why-do-men-sexually-harass-women-at-work-science-offers-two-explanations-but-only-one-of-them-holds-up-278894

Traditional research on the reasons why men sexually harass women in the workplace has discussed two theories: one based on evolutionary psychology and the other on social science. Morgan Weaving of Stanford University, Kate Lynch of the University of Sydney, and Cordelia Fine of the University of Melbourne explained these two theories and then conducted research comparing their validity.

First, according to evolutionary psychology, it is believed that during the Pleistocene epoch , which spanned from approximately 2.58 million years ago to 11,700 years ago, men and women evolved different psychological mechanisms to solve the various challenges they faced in procreation. In the case of men, due to adaptive mechanisms, they tend to be more assertive in casual sexual relationships and tend to overestimate women's interest. On the other hand, women have evolved to be more sensitive to potential threats to their sexual autonomy, and therefore tend to perceive approaches from men as harassment.

The evolutionary psychological explanation for why sexual harassment by men is more common among women is that, as a result of the evolution of different psychological mechanisms, 'men tend to approach women in a favorable manner, but women are more likely to perceive this as unpleasant harassment.'

On the other hand, social science researchers point out that the 'sex drive-based' explanation by social psychologists has its limitations. Therefore, recent social science research has increasingly favored the view that sexual harassment is not simply a matter of sexual interest, but rather behavior rooted in 'power and status imbalances in the workplace.'

In other words, sexual harassment cannot be explained solely by sexual desire; rather, it is an act that reinforces hierarchical and dominant relationships as a mechanism to maintain the male domain of work roles and resist women who threaten men's high positions in the workplace. Indeed, research on workplace environments has reported that sexual harassment is more likely to occur in organizations where men hold a large amount of power or in workplaces with strong hierarchical relationships.

A study published in the academic journal Sexuality & Culture in March 2026 compared which theory—'sexual motivation (evolutionary psychological explanation)' or 'power orientation (social science explanation)'—is better at explaining the broader phenomenon of sexual harassment behavior. The study examined which theory is more appropriate in three areas: 'which is better at explaining a wide range of sexual harassment phenomena in the workplace,' 'which is better at generating and verifying research programs for predicting sexual harassment,' and 'which theory is better at identifying effective intervention measures.'

As a result, in all categories, it was concluded that social science theories aimed at maintaining gender hierarchy are more influential.

While sexual harassment often involves sexist jokes and vulgar conversations, not all of these are intended to satisfy sexual desires. Therefore, the evolutionary psychology perspective that 'sexual harassment occurs due to men's tendency to overestimate women's attention' is criticized as being insufficient. Furthermore, while both theories have produced fruitful research programs for predicting and verifying sexual harassment, it has been found that evolutionary psychology theories still have challenges, as they can verify that 'sexual harassment is increasing due to power structures,' but cannot comparatively verify that 'sexual harassment occurs in pursuit of higher reproductive success rates.'

In particular, researchers say that evolutionary psychology theories are at a disadvantage when it comes to identifying effective interventions. If sexual harassment is inherently present in men, then the only way to address it fundamentally is to change their brains and genes. On the other hand, if sexual harassment is rooted in social structures, then flattening organizational hierarchies or weakening the link between status and masculinity can reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring within organizations.

The paper concludes that, as a concrete measure to prevent sexual harassment, it is important not only to conduct harassment training that puts a brake on psychological impulses, but also to re-examine the workplace structure that underlies people's psychology by promoting gender balance in teams and management and leveling the hierarchy.