Will employers act effectively to curb it?
Executive Summary
In the four months since The New York Times shone a spotlight on sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, a sea change has occurred in the workplace. Dozens of high-profile men have been accused of sexual misconduct, bringing them public shame and often dismissal. Female employees, emboldened by the growth of the #MeToo movement, are speaking up and reporting incidents in growing numbers. Employers are rewriting policy and training handbooks to forestall harassment, seeking to get in front of a problem that has already resulted in nearly $700 million in settlements over a six-year period. Investors are pressuring companies to act and are considering harassment issues as they make investment decisions. Yet some express concern that the changing climate may create unintended consequences that could harm the intended beneficiaries.
Some key takeaways include:
More than one-third of human resources professionals said they have taken a sexual harassment complaint in the past year.
While high-profile fields such as entertainment and mass media have gotten the most publicity, most of the complaints filed with federal authorities are in less glamorous industries such as retail, manufacturing and health care.
Clauses requiring employees to accept arbitration and confidentiality when they file harassment complaints are drawing fire from critics who say the practice makes it harder to address the problem.
Click here to listen to an interview with author Sharon O’Malley.
Resources for Further Study
Bibliography
Books
Bennett, Jessica, “Feminist Fight Club: A Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace,” HarperCollins, 2016. A journalist blends her personal stories of harassment with an assessment of sexism in the American workplace.
Carlson, Gretchen, “Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back,” Center Street, 2017. The former Fox News anchorwoman, who received a $20 million settlement from the network after accusing its former CEO, Roger Ailes, of sexual harassment, shares her experience and those of other women with similar stories.
Elsesser, Kim, “Sex and the Office: Women, Men, and the Sex Partition That’s Dividing the Workplace,” Taylor Trade Publishing, 2013, updated 2015. A Forbes contributor delves into issues that create barriers between men and women at work, including sexual harassment policies, workplace romances and differences in communicating.
Articles
Chira, Susan, and Catrin Einhorn, “How Tough Is It to Change a Culture of Harassment? Ask Women at Ford,” The New York Times, Dec. 19, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Fowler, Susan, “Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber,” Susan Fowler Blog, Feb. 19, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Kim, Crystal, Leslie P. Norton and Lauren R. Rublin, “Sexual Harassment Is Becoming a Serious Investment Threat,” Barron’s, Nov. 4, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Reports and Studies
“Harassment-Free Workplace Series: A Focus on Sexual Harassment,” Society for Human Resource Management, Jan. 31, 2018, http://tinyurl.com/
Feldblum, Chai R., and Victoria A. Lipnic, “Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace: Report of Co-Chairs Chai R. Feldblum & Victoria A. Lipnic,” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, June 2016, http://tinyurl.com/
McLaughlin, Heather, Christopher Uggen and Amy Blackstone, “The Economic and Career Effects of Sexual Harassment on Working Women,” Gender & Society, June 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Parramore, Lynn, “$MeToo: The Economic Cost of Sexual Harassment,” Institute for New Economic Thinking, January 2018, http://tinyurl.com/
The Next Step
Arbitration Clauses
Gershman, Jacob, “As More Companies Demand Arbitration Agreements, Sexual Harassment Claims Fizzle,” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/
Thomsen, Jacqueline, “AGs demand Congress end mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment cases,” The Hill, Feb. 13, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/
Wingfield, Nick, and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, “Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims,” The New York Times, Dec. 19, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
#MeToo
Hendrix, Steve, Ellie Silverman and Marc Fisher, “Lunches, hugs, and break-room banter: Where are the new boundaries at work?” The Washington Post, Jan. 28, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/
Marotti, Ally, “#MeToo revelations have made workplace romances complicated for employers,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/
Smartt, Nicole, “Sexual Harassment In The Workplace In A #MeToo World,” Forbes, Dec. 20, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Organizations
Alteristic
7955 Cameron Brown Court, Springfield, VA 22153
1-571-319-0354
www.alteristic.org
A nonprofit that develops training programs and strategies for prevention of sexual assault and harassment, community mobilization, bystander intervention and response versus prevention.
Center for American Progress
1333 H St., N.W., 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005
1-202-682-1611
www.americanprogress.org
Liberal institute that develops policy ideas, seeks to promote media coverage of important issues and works to shape national debate.
Center for Workplace Compliance
1501 M St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington DC 20005
1-202-629-5650
www.eeac.org
Advises member companies on compliance with equal employment opportunity and affirmative action regulations.
Employers Council
175 W. 200 South, Suite 2005, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
1-801-364-8479
www.employerscouncil.org
Membership organization with six Western locations that supplies companies with attorneys, human resource professionals, researchers, trainers, investigators and other specialists.
Equal Rights Advocates
1170 Market St., Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94102
1-415-621-0672
www.equalrights.org
A nonprofit legal organization dedicated to protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
200 18th St., N.W., Suite 301, Washington, DC 20036
1-202-785-5100
www.iwpr.org
Promotes women’s issues and polices to strengthen families and communities.
Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20202
1-800-421-3481
https://www2.ed.gov/
The federal agency that enforces Title IX, which forbids discrimination based on sex in education.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002
1-800-669-4000
www.eeoc.gov
The federal agency that enforces workplace sexual harassment laws.
DOI: 10.1177/237455680407.n1