Sexual Harassment, Gender Harassment, and Workplace Aggression in the Church: Comparing the Experiences of Mennonite and Episcopal Clergywomen

Abstract

In this dissertation, I compare clergywomen’s experiences of sexual harassment, gender harassment, and workplace aggression between Mennonite Church USA and the Episcopal Church in order to explore how organizational context relates to these three categories of workplace experiences, which are rarely studied simultaneously. I draw on original data from in-depth interviews with clergywomen and a systematic survey administered to a nationally representative random sample of clergy in each denomination. I designed a new survey questionnaire, the Supporting Pastors Survey, to assess the predictors, outcomes, and prevalence of workplace harassment among congregational clergy.First, I compare the prevalence of these experiences by gender and denomination. I find that sexual harassment was reported at the highest rates by Episcopal clergywomen, gender harassment by clergywomen and Episcopal clergy (with no joint effect of denomination and gender), and workplace aggression by Episcopal clergy. Next, I assess the relative incidence, co-occurrence, and outcomes of these forms of harm. Clergy of both genders reported sexual harassment less often than gender harassment and workplace aggression, and it was seldom reported in isolation. Additionally, all these experience types were linked with poorer mental health and job satisfaction, both individually and in combination. Finally, I investigate who is perpetrating harmful workplace experiences and revisit the earlier comparisons by gender and denomination. Most incidents reported by men and women in ministry were perpetrated by laypeople. After controlling for other factors, Episcopal clergywomen and women who led multi-pastor teams reported more harmful experiences than other women, which was not the case for men. Clergywomen who viewed regional leaders and congregants as supportive tended to report fewer harmful workplace experiences. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the literature on workplace harassment by taking a mixed-methods, comparative approach; simultaneously assessing multiple forms of harm; and assessing these dynamics in an understudied population.