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Where do you see the line between harmless flirtatousness and sexual harassment?    This article from Forbes.com on MSNBC is promoted as "The new sexual harassment is more subtle".   It shares the fact that many people still don't recognize when they've crossed the line, such as flirting at holiday parties, complementary text messages that are too suggestive, and subtle pressure to attend dinners or other functions as a not-so-veiled excuse for a date.

But the second part of the article describes a married indirect superior repeatedly sending inappropriate text & IM messages to a subordinate even after she made it clear that they were unwelcome.   The article goes on to quote the victim as saying "I didn't have someone I could go to and feel safe talking about a sexual harassment policy."     It also quoted a management consultant responding "if there is a long-standing history of this issue, management may already know about it and have chosen not to act. In this case...you might want to consider finding another job."  

This article is blled as the "new" sexual harassment, and I agree in terms of the flirtatiousness that sometimes makes the workplace feel like an extension of a college campus.  But when superior sends repeated inappropriate messages to a subordinate, and she makes it clear the advances are unwelcome and he continues, that's the "old" sexual harassment.   Sadly, after all these years there's truth in the management consultant's quote that  there are still companies that knowingly promote people who conduct themselves inappropriately, and that it's easier if the victim just gets another job. 

This is exactly why organizations need more women executives - victims are more likely to approach a woman when they have an issue, but not if they perceive them as subordinate to the wills of senior management.  OK, some women execs have been perpetrators...but the odds are way in our favor.