The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements are gaining steam, bringing fresh attention to age-old issues surrounding compensation and fair treatment in the workplace. Last week, a pair of anonymous Google docs began making the rounds, encouraging TV writers, actors and assistants to share how much money they earn on their various projects. While compensation is a complex and nuanced issue, efforts like this are being carried out with the hopes of creating greater transparency and fairness overall.
In that spirit, Comparably tapped its extensive database of anonymous employee reviews to determine how people experience sexual and verbal harassment, pay and gender in the workplace. Respondents come from all industries, but predominantly the tech sector.
Respondents were asked:
— Do you believe you’re paid fairly?
— Do you feel that you’ve been held back in your career because of your gender?
— Have you ever been sexually harassed at work?
— Have you been verbally abused or severely harassed (non-sexual) by your boss at your current job?
— Do you think there are enough females in leadership positions at your company?
The results:
Less than half of women feel they are paid fairly
— Many people feel underpaid, especially women. Just 42% of women say they feel they are paid fairly. Fifty percent of men say the same. The rates are the same in tech and all industries.
— By department. Women in legal and men in administrative roles were least likely to say they feel they are fairly paid. Women and men in HR and executive roles were most pleased with their pay.
— Hispanic and Latino employees least satisfied with pay. Forty-two percent of Hispanic/Latino employees say they are satisfied with their pay, the lowest of any ethnic group. Fifty-one percent of Caucasians say they are satisfied with their pay, the highest of any ethnic group. Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
— Satisfaction increases with age. Forty-two percent of workers 18 to 25 say they believe they are paid fairly. The rate rises from there, hitting a high of 58% of workers aged 51 to 55. Note: Figures are for women and men combined. Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
More than 40% of women feel gender has held them back in their career
— Women in and out of tech feel this way. Forty-one percent of women in all industries and 44% of women in tech say they feel their gender has held them back in their career.
All industries
Tech
— Women in IT have highest rates of feeling gender has held them back. Sixty-one percent of women in IT say their gender has held them back in their career, the highest of any department in the technology industry.
— Minorities feel this way most. African Americans have the highest rates of saying they feel their gender has held them back (34%). Caucasians have the lowest (22%). Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
— Older workers see gender as less of a barrier. The rate of workers who see age as having held them back declines with age. Thirty percent of 18 to 25-year-olds feel gender has held them back, the highest of any age group; the rate declines from there, hitting a low 20% among 41 to 45-year-olds. Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
1 in 4 women say they have been harassed at work
— A problem in and out of tech. Twenty-six percent of women in all industries say they have been sexually harassed at work. That compares to 28% of women in tech.
All industries
Tech
— Women in IT report the highest rates of sexual harassment. Thirty-four percent of women in IT say they have been sexually harassed at work, the highest rate among any other department in the tech sector. Women in executive roles and engineering also reported high levels of sexual harassment (33%).
— Minorities affected more than others. African Americans were most likely to say they have been sexually harassed at work, followed next by Hispanic and Latino workers. Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
— 18 to 25-year-olds report the highest rates. 18% of all 18 to 25-year-olds surveyed reported being sexually harassed, the highest rate among any age group. Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
24% of women and 20% of men say they have suffered other abuse at work
— Men and women almost equally affected. Twenty-four percent of women and 21% of men in all industries say they have been verbally abused or severely harassed in a non-sexual way by their boss at their current job. The rate for women in tech alone is slightly higher at 27%.
All industries
Tech
— Most affected: Women in communications, men in finance. Forty percent of women in communications say they have been subjected to verbal harassment or non-sexual harassment, the most of any department. Women in engineering (37%) and admin (35%) also had high rates. Thirty-five percent of men in finance say they have been subjected to verbal harassment or non-sexual harassment, the most of any department.
— 33% of African Americans say they have been victims of this behavior. Thirty-three percent of African Americans say they have been subjected to verbal and other forms of harassment, the most of any ethnic group. The rate was lowest among Asian/Pacific Islanders (19%). Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
— The youngest most affected. Thirty percent of workers 18 to 25 say they have been subjected to verbal and other forms of harassment, the most of any age group. The lowest rates were among workers 51 to 55 (19%). Note: Figures are for women and men combined.
60% of men and 54% of women say there are enough women in leadership
— A little over half of people say there are enough women in leadership. The rate of women who say there are enough women in leadership is slightly higher in all industries as opposed to tech alone.
All industries
Tech
— Asians/Pacific Islanders most likely to say there aren’t enough women in leadership. 44% of Asians/Pacific Islanders say there are enough women in leadership, the lowest of any ethnic group.
— People in their early 30s are most likely to say there aren’t enough women in leadership. Just 53% of workers aged 31 to 35 say there are enough women in leadership. That’s the lowest rate of any age group.
Methodology
— Questions were in Yes/No and multiple-choice format.
— Results are based on thousands of responses from employees predominantly across the technology sector:
— Have you ever been sexually harassed at work? Responses: 24,034
— Have you been verbally abused or severely harassed (non-sexual) by your boss at your current job? Responses: 3,834
— Do you believe you’re paid fairly? Responses: 122,321
— Do you feel that you’ve been held back in your career because of your gender? Responses: 17,150
— Do you think there are enough females in leadership positions at your company? Responses: 5,794
— Employees hail predominantly from small, mid-size, and large tech companies (VC-funded, privately-held, and public) to household brands like Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Uber, etc.
— Data was collected between March 30, 2016 and Jan. 24, 2017.
About Comparably
Comparably is one of the fastest growing compensation, culture, and career monitoring sites in the U.S. With the most comprehensive and uniquely structured data — segmented by gender, ethnicity, age, location, tenure, company size, equity, title/department, and education — the platform gives employees a more accurate picture of their worth and allows them to anonymously rate their workplace experiences and match with their dream jobs. Since its launch in 2016, Comparably has accumulated more than 3 million ratings from employees across 30,000 U.S. businesses and over 5,000 companies who use its employer branding and jobs tools. For more information on Comparably, go to www.comparably.com. For highly-cited workplace culture and compensation studies, including Comparably’s annual Best Places to Work and Best CEOs lists, log onto www.comparably.com/blog.
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