sexual harassment
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May 27, 2025
Sexual harassment was named in 1975, even though the behavior had existed forever. Before the name, there was no public language for it. Mary Rowe from MIT coined the term in 1973, but it was Lin Farley who made it public. On May 4, 1975, Farley testified at a ‘Speak Out’ event at Cornell University, giving a name to something that women had experienced without being able to name it.
Within months, Farley founded Working Women United (1975) and testified before the NYC Commission on Human Rights in August 1975. The New York Times covered it. Suddenly, the behavior had a name, and once it had a name, women could organize against it. By 1979, law professor Catharine MacKinnon wrote ‘Sexual Harassment of Working Women,’ which created the legal framework that made it actionable. A phrase-coining became a revolution in labor rights. Read the full history.
Within months, Farley founded Working Women United (1975) and testified before the NYC Commission on Human Rights in August 1975. The New York Times covered it. Suddenly, the behavior had a name, and once it had a name, women could organize against it. By 1979, law professor Catharine MacKinnon wrote ‘Sexual Harassment of Working Women,’ which created the legal framework that made it actionable. A phrase-coining became a revolution in labor rights. Read the full history.
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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