Reviews for The Politics of Sexual Harrassment

This smart, readable book raises the bar for principled feminist empirical engagement with 'hot button' gender policy issues such as sexual harassment. The case materials, comparative method, and engagement with theory are exemplary; the political analysis is nuanced and revelatory for researchers and activists alike. Dr Zippel's careful, impassioned argument should win over a wide and thoughtful audience on both sides of the Atlantic.

Lisa D. Brush, University of Pittsburgh, author of Gender and Governance

The Politics of Sexual Harassment is an outstanding piece of research on the cutting-edge of comparative feminist policy studies. The quality of scholarship and analytical scope will appeal to a broad international audience, across a variety of disciplines, at undergraduate, graduate and scholarly levels.

Amy G. Mazur, Washington State University

Far from being just an American problem or obsession, sexual harassment is a global problem, as this richly documented book so nicely demonstrates. But government responses are not the same everywhere; indeed the extent to which harassment is placed in relation to other forms of discrimination against women or seen as something that could happen to anyone is an important difference between the US and Germany, affecting how effectively the law can respond to various situations. The case of sexual harassment also illustrates the policy ping pong game between the EU and its member states, making this a valuable study even for those not interested in issues of discrimination.

Myra Marx Ferree, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kathrin Zippel's The Politics of Sexual Harassment offers important theoretical insights in the context of a rich empirical study, and will prove compelling for political sociologists, political scientists, scholars of gender studies and of social movements alike.... Starting with the birth of a new concept, sexual harassment, out of the ferment of feminist activism, Zippel traces how policies to deter sexual harassment have been taken up as a goal by political actors in both Germany and the US: grass-roots and legal activists, policy-makers and legislators, and then employers and union officials. Zippel's thorough comparative approach to sexual harassment is especially welcome, given both the complex character of this political change and the widespread assumption that culture alone explains national policy differences.... [The] book provides a persuasive account for the different ways in which policies to combat sexual harassment have become part of the fabric of everyday worklife - a stunning example of the power of feminist politics.

Ann Orloff, Northwestern University

From the Journals

  • Frank Dobbin, Sociological Forum (PDF)
  • Angelika von Wahl, American Journal of Sociology (PDF)
  • Leslie F. Goldstein, Law and Politics Book Review (HTML)
  • Sabine Lang, The Journal of Politics (PDF)
  • Majella Kilkey, Social Policy & Administration: An International Journal of Policy and Research (PDF)
  • Conny Roggeband, European Journal of Women's Studies (PDF)
  • Diana Panke, Politische Vierteljahreszeitschrift (PDF)
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
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