By the late 1970s, the idea that sexual harassment was a serious problem took root. As the federal government and the courts were beginning to affirm women's complaints that sexual harassment was a legitimate, systemic, and serious workplace problem, an activist movement was growing to include women and organizations from around the country.WWI and the AASC entered their heyday and were joined by a broad array of organizations representing diverse constituencies, including public interest law firms, public policy groups, political organizations, working women's organizations, unions, government-sponsored women's commissions, and student groups. These varied organizations became aware of each other, influenced each other, and began to work together to achieve social change. Thousands of women began to turn to these organizations for support, sharing their stories, ideas, and resources and receiving information, counseling, referrals, and legal advice and representation. Some organizations lobbied governments to pass legal prohibitions and encouraged employers to adopt policies and procedures and to offer training on the issue. Others engaged in outreach and public education to raise awareness of sexual harassment, including publishing brochures and handbooks on the issue and stimulating press coverage. Several organizations offered sexual harassment training to women's organizations, community groups, government agencies, and private employers. These activities were all part of a growing movement against sexual harassment.

This movement developed theories about the meanings, origins, and functions of sexual harassment and disseminated their views by influencing media coverage of the issue. Articles about sexual harassment proliferated in feminist, academic, and legal journals. In addition to studies and analysis produced by members of AASC and WWI, three books appeared on the issue in the late 1970s, all written by feminist activists. These works, which argued that sexual harassment was a serious, widespread, and devastating phenomenon for women, contributed significantly to the development of feminist understanding and analysis of sexual harassment. Through this work, feminist activists placed the issue of sexual harassment squarely within the larger feminist struggle to eliminate sexism throughout society. As the growing movement gained media attention for the issue of sexual harassment, this coverage often incorporated feminist understandings of the issue.