According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), from 1991 until 1995, formal charges of sexual harassment rose 50 percent. A 1996 survey revealed that almost 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies surveyed received sexual harassment complaints, and more than one-third have faced lawsuits. Because of the cost in time, money, and personnel, organizations continue to seek ways to reduce sexual harassment. As a result, a new industry has emerged that is devoted to helping organizations do just that: consultants offer harassment prevention workshops, law firms specialize in sexual harassment litigation, and insurance companies offer employment practices liability coverage. While some professionals endorse regulation in the form of formal policies and laws, critics insist that broader social changes are necessary to reduce sexual harassment.

Those who claim that regulation will reduce sexual harassment argue that because organizations have failed to reduce sexual harassment on their own...