#MeToo Survey Reveals How Far the Sexes are Apart.
A survey of 3,000 employees at businesses and law firms in 2018 reveals both an astounding level of sexual harassment in the workplace and a huge gulf in experience and perception between men and women.
According to the survey by Working Mother and the ABA Journal, 68 percent of female respondents indicated they had experienced sexual harassment at work. In contrast, only 19 percent of male respondents reported that they had experienced it.
And while 52 percent of women said they didn’t report the harassment because it would negatively impact their jobs, only 27 percent of the affected men felt that way.
When asked if men and women were allies in reaching gender equality, 54 percent of the men said yes, while just 31 percent of women responded affirmatively.
How to combat harassment and these differences? The report advises the tried and true: clearly identify what constitutes harassment and prohibit it, provide training programs, promote honest conversations about the topic at all levels of the business, and create a culture of respect.
For a more complete discussion of this topic, see my article here: “And the Survey Says . . .” Insights from Jury Polling in the #MeToo Era to Aid Questioning in Depositions and Cross-Examinations in Sexual Harassment Casespresented at the American Bar Association’s 2018 Labor and Employment Law Conference in San Francisco in November.