Pew Research Center Publishes Survey On Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

Sexual harassment in the workplace has been in the spotlight since the #metoo movement began. A new survey published by Pew Research Center sheds a light on what some Americans think the main issues surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace are.

The survey questioned 6,251 American adults online about sexual harassment in the workplace and the results offer interesting insight into how gender and politics play into the matter.

Here are the a few of the main takeaways from the Pew survey on sexual harassment in the workplace. To read the full article and results, visit Pew Research Center here.

The two major concerns Americans have about sexual harassment in the workplace are “men getting away with it and female accusers not being believed” (Pew Research Center). Democrats overwhelmingly were concerned about these two issues, while Republicans were significantly less concerned.
The other two concerns that differ the most between political parties are “employers firing men before finding out all the facts or women making false accusations” (Pew Research Center). Republicans were much more likely to be state that men being fired prematurely and women making false accusations were major issues than Democrats. Men and women were fairly equally concerned about these issues.
Another major concern 51% of survey representatives had was that the #metoo movement and spotlight on sexual harassment in the workplace would create “challenges for men as they navigate their interactions with women at work” (Pew Research Center). Older Americans, in particular, stated more concern over how to interact with their female peers after the #metoo spotlight.
Additionally, very few American saw the focus on sexual harassment in the workplace as leading “to more opportunities for women in the workplace in the long run” (Pew Research Center). The ones that did believe that the focus would lead to more opportunities for women were overwhelmingly Democratic leaning.
Women were much more likely than men, in this survey, to be concerned with women not being believed and about sexual harassment behavior going unpunished.
Women with higher levels of education were more likely to report having experienced sexual harassment inside and outside of the workplace.