Sexual harassment has always been a serious topic in the workplace, though recent movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp have helped bring this important conversation more into focus. And recent statistics support the need for even more dialogue.
Today, 1 in 3 women say they have been sexually harassed at work, according to the latest reading of an ongoing query by Comparably. A year ago, that figure was 1 in 4.
Comparably put together a full snapshot of what people say about their experience with sexual harassment. The data comes from more than 24,000 employees from small, midsize, and large public and private U.S. companies, predominantly in the tech sector.
A growing problem
Thirty-five percent of female respondents say they have been sexually harassed at work, according to the latest reading of an ongoing query by Comparably. A year ago, 26% of female respondents said the same.
Perhaps surprisingly, 18% of men say they have been victims of sexually harassment. A year ago, that number was 7%.
Minorities are more affected
African Americans report the highest rates of having been sexually harassed at work (31%), followed next by Hispanic/Latino respondents (28%). The lowest rates were among Asian/Pacific Islanders (18%). Note: The numbers include both women and men.
Biggest targets: Women in engineering, IT and executive roles
Forty percent of women in engineering, IT, and executive roles say they have been victims of sexual harassment at work – the highest rates of women in any department. The highest rates among men were in admin (27%) and legal (26%).
The youngest workers claim to be most affected
Workers 18 to 25 had the highest rates of saying they’ve been subject to sexual harassment (26%). The rate declines from there, hitting a low of 22% among 46 to 50-year-olds. Note: The numbers include both women and men.
Entry-level employees have it worse than experienced employees
Employees in entry-level positions claimed to be subject to sexual harassment the most (30%) while those with more than 10 years of experience claimed to be subject to sexual harassment the least (21%). Note: The numbers include both women and men.
From an education standpoint
The data shows that people with an Associate’s degree or lower tend to experience higher rates of sexual harassment, while people with a Bachelor’s degree or higher tend to experience lower rates of sexual harassment. Note: The numbers include both women and men.
Minneapolis has the highest rates; San Francisco has the lowest
Thirty-three percent of respondents in Minneapolis said they had been victims of sexual harassment, the highest rate of any other city. San Francisco had the lowest rate (19%). Note: The numbers include both women and men.
Methodology
— The results were compiled from the anonymous responses of 24,034 Comparably users
— People of all ages, educational backgrounds, ethnicities and experience levels were included.
— Employees hail 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 February 2018 and March 2018.
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.
