WASHINGTON 鈥� On Oct. 5, 2017, The New York Times personal accounts from prominent actresses on how, for decades, renowned Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed the women with whom he worked.
In the days and months that followed, more allegations emerged against Weinstein, as well as other men in powerful positions 鈥� NBC anchor Matt Lauer, U.S. Senator Al Franken, and celebrity chef Mario Batali, to name a few. And there鈥檚 one thing that these examples, and most other #MeToo cases, have in common: the harassment happened in the workplace.
Amanda Lenhart, deputy director of New America鈥檚 , said there are 鈥渁 bunch of big factors鈥� that make sexual harassment so common in one鈥檚 place of employment.
鈥淏ut I think the biggest one that we found is, it鈥檚 really about power,鈥� said Lenhart, who is also co-author of the think tank鈥檚 report, 鈥�.鈥�
鈥淲hen we look across sectors, even in sectors that are dominated by women, men tend to have the highest-paying and the most powerful jobs. And so we have this big power imbalance between men and women in the workforce, and that power imbalance ends up enabling these kinds of behaviors.鈥�
In its latest report, researchers at Better Life Lab analyzed decades of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as peer-reviewed literature, to better understand sexual harassment across all industries, 鈥渁nd to try to look for patterns in what we could see about sexual harassment 鈥� what were the factors that contributed to it and what could we really learn from this big view of sexual harassment in America today,鈥� Lenhart said.
What Lenhart and her colleagues found is that sexual harassment 鈥� both sex-based and gender-based 鈥� persists in nearly every sector of the workforce 鈥� from low-wage to high-wage professions.
About 44 percent of Americans say they have received 鈥渦nwanted sexual advances or verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature鈥� both in and out of the workplace; 69 percent of women who have experienced harassment say at least one incident happened in their workplace, .
Better Life Lab鈥檚 study found that the sector riddled with the most reports of harassment is the hospitality industry. (Lenhart cautioned that just because an instance of harassment is not reported, doesn鈥檛 mean it didn鈥檛 happen. According to the , only 6 to 13 percent of employees who experience sexual harassment file a complaint; 87 to 94 percent don鈥檛 for reasons ranging from fear of disbelief to fear of social and professional retaliation.)
Allegations of sexual misconduct have rocked the restaurant industry this year. D.C.-based restaurateur and former 鈥淭op Chef鈥� contestant Mike Isabella filed in federal court brought on by a former employee who alleged she was sexually harassed at work, The Washington Post reports. Well-known New York restaurateur Ken Friedman was also accused of sexual harassment in his West Village restaurant, Spotted Pig, where a space on the third floor earned the nickname 鈥渢he rape room,鈥� .
Better Life Lab鈥檚 report found that while women, especially lower wage earners who hold less powerful positions, are the most common targets of sexual harassment, they are not the only victims. Lenhart said men who 鈥渄on鈥檛 conform to traditional masculine norms,鈥� and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees are also more likely to be targeted. So are minorities.
Attitudes and ideals fueled by a history of gender imbalance and inequality play a big role in harassment cases. Lenhart said 鈥渕yths and narratives that we tell about who does what kind of work and what are appropriate roles for people of different genders鈥� contributes to gender-based harassment. These 鈥渕yths we tell ourselves鈥� are also what鈥檚 helped shield 鈥渢he creative genius鈥� or the 鈥渞ainmaker鈥� from consequences for inappropriate actions.
鈥淸There are instances] where powerful, often men, were protected through their toxic and bad behavior because we believe that somehow they鈥檙e bringing value to a company or they have something that鈥檚 so precious that they have to kind of be protected in this way,鈥� Lenhart added.
But in the last year, things have started to shift. found that since October 2017, at least 200 high-powered men lost their jobs after public allegations of sexual harassment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e beginning to realize that those kinds of behaviors have enormous costs 鈥� both financial as well as social 鈥� and people are fighting back,鈥� Lenhart said.
鈥淚 think what we鈥檙e seeing now is a sense of unleashing 鈥� an opening of opportunity for people to talk about this. And I think that鈥檚 really what鈥檚 changed 鈥� the sense that it鈥檚 time to change the norms around behavior and the myths that we tell ourselves about people.鈥�
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Coupled with its report, Better Life Lab released a for individuals and employers with researched-based ideas on how to revamp trainings and set up third-party reporting structures to help prevent cases of workplace-based sexual harassment going forward. There are also suggestions for legal reform.
鈥淚f you empower people and you teach people how to step up, that can actually make a big difference in people鈥檚 experiences,鈥� Lenhart said.
