File this one under NEVER TRY THIS AT HOME. Fisher & Phillips latest employment law bulletin documents the "equal opportunity harasser" defense. In a nutshell, the article cites some cases where someone who was equally harassing towards men and women might have an out.
I would never count on this, and probably would never even raise it. Even suggesting this might exist to employers is irresponsible, and might discourage the simpler, more reasonable step of enforcing existing policies.
unlike Title VII (which only outlaws discrimination and thus discriminatory harassment), FEHA prohibits all sexual harassment.
however, i still can’t think of one case where sexual conduct — where it didn’t have a gender impact — was found to violate FEHA. you might be outraged, but can you name california case authority that outlaws sexual conduct in the workplace without finding a gender impact?