Fears of Sexual Innuendo and Office Gossip Block Talent Development

Career penalties for romance are greater for junior women than senior men.

Image of a female executive explaining something to her boss in office.By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

A close work relationship between a man and a woman can generate sexual tensions in one or both of them.

When the man is older and powerful and the woman is young and ambitious, the potential for complications is even greater.

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Even when the relationship is strictly business focused, it can be the subject of rumors, gossip and speculation among coworkers, and it can arouse feelings of jealousy and resentment in the sponsor’s wife.