An examination of department of defense environmental factors that contribute to reporting sexual harassment

This study examined the influence of inclusion on the relationship between unwanted workplace experiences (UWEs) and negative perceptions of the sexual harassment reporting climate (NPRC) among 77 United States military units. De-identified archival data from the Department of Defense's Defense Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) were analyzed. Results show that, while perceptions of inclusion did not moderate the relationship between UWEs and NPRC, it did predict NPRC. Our research reveals that the more inclusive a unit is, the more likely members in that unit will have positive perceptions of the sexual harassment reporting climate. Additionally, unit group cohesion (GC) levels were found to positively predict levels of inclusion among units. Implications regarding the implementation of more team-building exercises to both raise GC and perceptions of inclusion - as a potential way for military units to improve sexual harassment reporting climate - are discussed.