The Fawcett Society has published a report, 'Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace', which shows that at least 40% of women experience sexual harassment during their career.
Disabled women surveyed were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment than women in general, 68% compared to 52%. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said that the sexual harassment they experienced increased or escalated while they were working from home during the pandemic. Meanwhile employees from ethnic minority backgrounds, both men and women, reported experiencing sexual harassment at a higher level than white employees, with rates of 32% and 28% respectively.
The report found that of those LGBT employees surveyed 68% had experienced harassment in the workplace.
Amongst other things the report recommends that employers should:
- Take all forms of sexual harassment seriously.
- Treat employees who report sexual harassment with respect and empathy and ensure women feel able to report harassment, including via anonymous reporting.
- Demonstrate leadership commitment to tackling harassment.
- Have a clear and detailed sexual harassment policy.
- Train managers dealing with sexual harassment reports and provide them with support.
The recommendations made in the report will form the basis of a sexual harassment toolkit for employers which will be published in January.
