Sexual harassment in the workplace still common despite #MeToo

‘Sadly, even a hundred years after the first women gaining the power to vote, it’s still a rich man’s world’

The development of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements have seen a multitude of people speak up about their experiences of sexual assault after years of silence.

But while much progress has been made in revealing the prevalence of harassment and abuse across multiple industries, there remains a long way to go.

A new study has revealed that many women still endure sexual harassment at work, and feel unable to report it for fear of losing their jobs.

Young Women’s Trust, a charity that supports women aged between 16 and 30 living in England and Wales who are on little or no pay, conducted a poll that investigated how gender discrimination still affects women in the workplace today.

Gathering responses from 4,010 participants aged between 18 and 30, the survey found that 15 per cent of the women had experienced sexual harassment at work and didn't report it.

It revealed that a third of women don't know how to report sexual harassment if it occurs at work and fifth state that they are too afraid to complain.

Furthermore, 24 per cent of women fear being fired if they speak openly about being a victim of sexual harassment at work.

Dr Carole Easton OBE, chief executive of Young Women’s Trust, professes that much more needs to be done to improve conditions for women in the workplace.

She proposes encouraging employers to deal with sexual harassment claims appropriately, make greater efforts to close the gender pay gap and pay closer attention to the mental health of employees.

“Sadly, even a hundred years after the first women gaining the power to vote, it’s still a rich man’s world. Young women continue to lack workplace power and spending power,” Dr Easton says.

“Our annual survey shows that young women’s treatment at work, pay and wellbeing are trailing far behind those of young men.

“If 2018 is to be a turning point for women’s equality and not just a footnote in history, then it’s clear that we need deeds, not just words.

“We need to be impatient for change: a lot has been achieved in the last 100 years but there’s still a long way to go."

In addition to sexual harassment in the workplace, many women also still face gender discrimination when it comes to their salary, the results found.

A quarter of women aged between 25 and 30 claim that they’ve been illegally paid a lower salary than male colleagues who are in the same or a similar position at work, and a third of women state that they’ve experienced sex discrimination when applying for jobs.