The impact of sexual harassment on women's health and well-being: A case for studying the casino gaming industry

The sexual harassment of women in the casino gaming industry is pervasive and normative, yet the study of harassment and women's employment in this industry remains critically understudied. In this article, I argue the casino gaming industry is an opportune research setting in which to observe the adverse health outcomes and health disparities of workplace sexual harassment. Gaming demonstrates two salient organizational characteristics: (1) a historically male-dominated, overtly-sexualized culture that is primed for sexual harassment; and (2) a highly diverse, predominantly immigrant and minority workforce. As such, studying sexual harassment in the gaming industry may help in gaining key theoretical insights into who is more likely to a be target of sexual harassment; the forms in which harassment manifests (gendered, racialized, and class-based); and who is more likely to experience its adverse health and job-related outcomes. As more studies are warranted to disentangle the complexity of gender, race, class, citizenship status, and power in sexual harassment, and these factors intersecting and multiplying impacts on women's health and well-being, I recommend linking the literature on sexual harassment and health with the gaming-hospitality literature.

Automated summary

Sexual harassment of women in the casino gaming industry is widespread and accepted as the norm, but research in this area is lacking. This article argues that the casino gaming industry is an appropriate research setting to study the adverse health outcomes and inequalities resulting from workplace sexual harassment. The industry exhibits two key organizational characteristics: a historically male-dominated and overtly sexualized culture, and a highly diverse workforce consisting largely of immigrants and minorities. Studying sexual harassment in this industry can provide insights into the targets of harassment, the various forms it takes based on gender, race, and class, and the resulting negative health and job-related outcomes for different individuals.