Key

Key Findings
Findings

What #MeToo
What #MeToo
Means
Means for
Corporate
for
America
Corporate
America
Research Leads
Research Leads
Why
Why We Studied#MeToo
We Studied #MeToo
Ripa Rashid,
Ripa Rashid Co-President
, Co-President
Laura Sherbin,
Laura Sherbin Co-President
, Co-President The #MeToo movement
The #MeToo movement gavegaveaamuch-needed
much-neededplatform
platformtotomany
many victims
victims ofof sexual
sexual
misconduct who had
misconduct who had been
beenignored,
ignored,silenced,
silenced,and
anddismissed
dismissedbybythose
thosearound
around them.
them.
For
For decades,
decades, aaculture
cultureofofsilence
silencearound
aroundsexual
sexualmisconduct
misconducthas
hasprevailed
prevailed
at at work,
work,
Research Team
Research Team
thanks to three
thanks to three drivers:
drivers:
Colin Elliot,, Senior
Colin Elliot Senior Associate
Associate
Isis
Isis Fabian, SeniorResearch
Fabian, Senior ResearchAssociate
Associate Speak
Speak no evil.
no evil. See
See no evil.
no evil. Hear no evil.
Hear no evil.
Cristina Francisco-McGuire,
Cristina Francisco-McGuire Senior
, Senior Associate
Associate
Few victimsreport
Few victims report their
their Until recently,companies
Until recently, companies could
could To date,there
To date, therehas
hasnotnot been
been a a
Pooja Jain-Link,, Senior
Pooja Jain-Link SeniorVice
Vice President
Presidentand
andAssociate
AssociateDirector
DirectorofofResearch
Research experiences.
experiences. The The Equal
Equal look theother
look the otherway.
way.
AsAs long
long comprehensive
comprehensive studystudy of sexual
of sexual
SilviaMarte
Silvia Marte, SeniorCommunications
, Senior CommunicationsAssociate
Associate Employment Opportunity
Employment Opportunity as theytrained
as they trained employees
employees on on misconduct within
misconduct within white-collar
white-collar
Commission (EEOC) found their anti-harassment policies, occupations. White-collar employers
MichaelRizzotti
Rizzotti, ResearchAssociate
Associate
Commission (EEOC) found their anti-harassment policies, occupations. White-collar employers
Michael , Research
that nearlythree
that nearly threeoutout
of of four
four they couldmount
they could mount a strong
a strong don’t havebenchmarks
don't have benchmarks by which
by which to
Nina Stoller
Nina Stoller, ResearchIntern
, Research Intern employees
employees who who experienced
experienced legal defense
legal defense against
against claims
claims to assess
assess the rates
the rates of sexual
of sexual
sexual harassment diddid
notnot report of employerliability,
liability, thus harassment and assault within
theirtheir
Julia Taylor
Julia Taylor Kennedy
Kennedy, ExecutiveVice
, Executive VicePresident
Presidentand
andDirector
DirectorofofPublication:
Publications sexual harassment report of employer thus harassment and assault within
it
it to
to aa supervisor,
supervisor, manager,
manager, or or separating their
separating their reputations from
reputations own companies.
own companies.
Emilia Yu,, Research
Emilia Yu ResearchAssociate
Associate union representative.
union representative. 1 1 those of bad
from those actors.
of bad 2 2
actors.

Advisors
Advisors As a
As result, companies
a result, companies tell
tell us
us they
they remain
remainunsure
unsurehow
howto torespond
respondpost-#MeToo—and
post-#MeToo—and
lack the
lack the information
information they
they need
need toto do
do so.
so. ItIt is
is imperative
imperativethat thatemployers
employersaddress
addresssexual
sexual
Ellen Dwyer,, Partner,
Ellen Dwyer Partner,Crowell
Crowell&&Moring
MoringLLP
LLPNicolas
misconduct, especially
misconduct, especiallygiven
giventhethecosts
costsassociated
associatedwith withit.it.Not
Notonly
onlyare
areleaders
leadersousted,
ousted,
Nicolas Erni,
Erni, Chief Former
Risk Risk
Officer, Management
Orbit Executive, Citigroup and Nomura
Banking Group
share prices
share pricestopple
toppleand
andcompany
companyreputations
reputationssuffer.
suffer.
3 3

We
We set
set out
out to
to provide
provide companies with the
companies with the information
information they
they need
need to
to understand
understandthe
the
Louisa Smith,, Data
Louisa Smith DataVisualization
Visualizationand
andIllustration
Illustration breadth of sexual
breadth of sexual harassment
harassmentandandassault
assaultatat work,
work, both
both forfor women
women andand
forfor men.
men. With
With
Afsoon Talai,, Creative
Afsoon Talai CreativeDirection/Design
Direction/Design our
our nationally representativesurvey,
nationally representative survey,we
wegathered
gathereddata
datafrom:
from:

3,213
3,213Survey
Survey Respondents
Respondents
Trudy Bourgeois,
Trudy Bourgeois, Author,
Author, Equality
Equality

“Sexual misconduct
“Sexual misconduct at work
at work is a secret
is a secret in plaininsight.
plainButsight. But because
because Working full-time
Working full-time Ages 21–65
Ages 21-65
of thesystems
of the systemsin in place,
place, and and individual
individual fears,
fears, we’ve we’ve
turned turned a deaf
a deaf
ear anda ablind
ear and blind
eye.eye.
We Weneedneed to develop
to develop the samethe samewe’re
muscle muscle we’re
developing
developing forfor implicit
implicit bias, bias,
and toand to call
call out out misconduct
misconduct when we when we White-collar
White-collar Bachelor's degree+
Bachelor's degree+
experience it see
experience it or or see it happening.”
it happening.”
More Than11 in
More Than in 33 Women
WomenHave
HaveBeen
Been Harassed
Harassed Men HaveaaDifficult
Men Have DifficultTime
Time with
with Misconduct
Misconduct
Sexual misconduct affects
Sexual misconduct affectsaabroad
broadswath
swathofofthe
thecorporate
corporateworkforce.
workforce. Women
Women inin Although #MeToo
Although #MeToo showcased
showcased femalefemalevoices,
voices,male
malevictims
victimsofofharassment
harassment and
and assault
assault
white-collar occupationsbear
white-collar occupations bearaasignificant
significantriskriskofofsexual
sexualharassment
harassment in in the
the workplace.
workplace. also suffer
also suffer social
social stigma. Blackmen
stigma.55Black menininour
oursample
sampleareare more
more likelytotohave
likely have been
been
We
We also see gender
also see gender and
andhierarchical
hierarchicalpower
powerdynamics
dynamics at at play
play in in sexual
sexual harassment;
harassment; sexually harassed
sexually harassedby byaacolleague
colleaguethan thanwhite,
white, Latino,
Latino, oror Asian
Asian men.
men. WeWe hypothesize
hypothesize
nearly all female
nearly all femalevictims
victimshave
havebeen
beenharassed
harassed bybymen.men. Women
Women whowho have
have been
been one reason
one reason for
for this
this disparity
disparity isis black
blackmen's
men’scomplex
complexdualduallegacy
legacyofofbeing
beingfeared
feared and
and
sexually harassedare
sexually harassed arealso
alsohighly
highlylikely
likelytotobe
beharassed
harassed byby someone
someone with
with a rank
a rank higher
higher desired.6
desired. 6

than their own.

than their own.
Meanwhile,
Meanwhile, menmeninin our
oursample
samplewho
whohave havebeen
beenharassed
harassed areare less
less likely
likely to to
bebe
Women who have
Women been
who havesexually harassed
been sexually or assaulted
harassed byby
or assaulted a acolleague
colleague
satisfied with their
satisfied with their jobs
jobs than
than women
womenwho whohave
havebeen
beenharassed.
harassed. Unlikewomen,
Unlike women, menmen
may not have
may not have any
anyexpectation
expectationofofbecoming
becomingvictims
victimsofofsexual
sexualmisconduct.
misconduct.Because
Because
Harassed
Harassed 34% Assaulted
Assaulted 7%
there’s
there's no
no social script for
social script for male
male victims,
victims, experts
expertstelltell us,
us, they
they often
often feel
feel the
the misconduct
misconduct
compromises their masculinity.
compromises their masculinity. As
As aa result,
result, they
they don't
don’t talk
talk about
about it,
it, remaining
remaining isolated
isolated
and ashamed.
and ashamed.
Women whowho
Women have been
have sexually
been sexuallyharassed bya a
harassed by colleague
colleague (by (by
race)race) MenMen
whowho
have been
have sexually
been sexuallyharassed
harassed ororassaulted
assaultedby by a colleague
a colleague

White
White 37%
37% Latina
Latina44 37%
37% Harassed
Harassed 13% Assaulted
Assaulted 5%

Black
Black 25%
25% Asian
Asian 23%
23%
Menwho
Men whohave
have been
been sexually
sexually harassed
harassed by a colleague
by a colleague (by race) (by race)

White
White 13% Latino
Latino 13%
13%
When women have
When beenhave
women sexually harassed,
been sexually here’shere's
harassed, whatwhat
theythey
say say
about thethe
about perpetrator(s)
perpetrator(s)
Black
Black 21%
21% Asian
Asian 13%
13%
Theyhave
They havebeen
been sexually
sexually harassed
harassed by: by: They havebeen
They have been sexually
sexually harassed
harassed by someone:
by someone:

Employees who
Employees who areare satisfied
satisfied withwith
theirtheir current
current jobs jobs

97% 13% 72% 49% 16% Men Women

More Same More
Men Women
senior level junior Not harassed 56% Not harassed 56%

harassed 39% Harassed 48%

female technology architect

female technology architect Michael Kimmel, Professor
Michael Kimmel, Professor of
of Sociology
Sociology and
andGender
GenderStudies
StudiesatatStony
StonyBrook
BrookUniversity
University

“During
“During mymyfirst
firstinterview
interviewas aas a twenty-something,
twenty-something, themanager
the hiring hiring manager “Compared
“Compared to to men,
men, women
women talk
talk about
about more
more things
things that
that happen
happen inin
puthis
put hishand
handononmymy leg leg
andand pushed
pushed it up
it up my myAtskirt.
skirt. At the
the time, time, I didn’t
I didn’t the
the workplace,
workplace, and
and their
their networks
networks have
have created
created more
more channels
channels of
think anythingof of
think anything it. it.
Now,Now, thanks
thanks to #MeToo,
to #MeToo, I’m re-evaluating.”
Im re-evaluating. ” communication
of communication and support.”
and support. ”
People Talk, but
People Talk, but Witnesses
WitnessesDon't
Don’tReport
Report Building SaferWorkplace
Building Safer WorkplaceCultures
Cultures
When
When employees
employees hearhearabout
aboutsexual
sexualharassment
harassmentofofa acolleague,
colleague, about
about half
half of of them
them tell Companies must respond
Companies must respondtoto the
the new
newsocial
socialnorms
norms#MeToo
#MeToohashassurfaced.
surfaced. ToTorespond
respond
tell someone
someone elseelse at work.
at work. However,
However, whenwhen employees
employees witness
witness sexualsexual harassment
harassment at
at work, well requires collaboration
well requires collaborationamong
amongemployers,
employers,further
furtherresearch
research intocorporate
into corporate cultures
cultures
work,
most do most
notdo not report
report to human
to human resources.
resources. Interviewees
Interviewees tell usavoid
tell us they theyreporting
avoid reporting
due where sexualmisconduct
where sexual misconductisisless
lesslikely
likely to
to occur,
occur, and
andexperimentation
experimentationwithwith(and(and
due to mistrust
to mistrust of official
of official reporting
reporting mechanisms.
mechanisms. This mistrust
7 This7 mistrust shows shows
mostmost companies
companies evaluation of) new
evaluation of) newsolutions.
solutions. Solutions
Solutions that
that are
arecropping
croppingupupgenerally
generallyfitfitinto
intofour
four
have yet to
have yet to create
create safe
safeworkplaces—both
workplaces—bothfor forthose
thosewho
whoexperience
experiencesexual
sexualmisconduct
misconduct categories:
categories:
and for bystanders.
and for bystanders.

Of employees who have

who heard aboutabout
a colleague being sexually harassed,
Of employees
harassed,
have heard
who have
thosethose
a colleague
told someone
who have else at
told someone
being
work
else
sexually
at work Take
Take aa Stand
Stand Update Reportingand
Update Reporting andResponse
Response
Reinforce
Reinforce company valuesthrough
company values through Handle reports and
Handle reports and incident
incident responses
responses
49% zero-tolerance policiestowards
zero-tolerance policies towardssexual
sexual more transparently, so
more transparently, so that
that employees
employees
49% 51%
51%
Men
Men Women
Women, harassment,
harassment, oror get
get transparent
transparentabout
about can placemore
can place moretrust
trustin
inHRHRand
andfeel
feelthat
that
what existing policies
what existing policies entail.
entail. their
their concerns will be
concerns will be taken
taken seriously.
seriously.

When employees have witnessed someone being sexually harassed

harassedby
byaacolleague,
colleague, here’s
here's how
how they’ve
they've reacted:
When employees have witnessed someone being sexually reacted:
Train Differently
Train Differently Track Data
Track Data
Spoke upininthe
Spoke up themoment
moment Vented tofamily
Vented to familyoror friends
friends
Improve
Improve training related to
training related to sexual
sexual Implement
Implement periodic climate surveys
periodic climate surveysand
misconduct
misconduct andand gender
genderdiscrimination,
discrimination, and culture
culture audits
audits to understand
to understand risks risks
of of
27% 31% 13% 42% 1 so
so that
that employees haveproductive
employees have productive misconduct and other
misconduct and other types
types of
of gender
gender
Men Women Men Women i ways to support
ways to support victims
victims and
andpush
pushback
back discrimination.
discrimination.
against perpetrators.
against perpetrators.
Reported
Reported the incidenttotoHR
the incident HR Ignoredititand
Ignored and did
did nothing
nothing elseelse

30% 23% 13% 6%

Men Women Men Women

Josh Levs,
Josh Levs, Author,
Author, All
All In:
In: How
How Our
Our Work-First
Work-First Culture
Culture Fails
Fails Dads,
Dads,
Asha Santos,
Asha Santos, Shareholder,
Shareholder,Littler
LittlerMendelson
MendelsonP.C.
P.C. Families,
Families, and
and Businesses —And How
Businesses —And How We
We Can
Can Fix
Fix It
It Together
Together

“Everyone
“Everyone hashasaastake
stakeinin their
their company’s
company’s culture.
culture. ManyMany of us are
of us are “This isn’t aabattle
“This isn’t battleforfor women
women to wage
to wage alone.alone.
It’s upIt’s upoftousall
to all to of us to
conflict-avoidant,
conflict-avoidant, butbut simple
simple banter,
banter, teasingteasing
commentscomments
can be thecan be the work togetherto to
work together build
build better,
better, safer safer
work work environments.”
environments. ”

gatewaytotomore
gateway more serious
serious behavior.
behavior. That’s
That’s why we whyallwe alltoneed
need get to get
comfortablesaying
comfortable saying something
something inmoment.
in the the moment.”
”
Methodology

The research consists of a survey; an online forum to collect stories (opened on February 20,
2018); an Insights In-Depth® session (a proprietary web-based tool used to conduct voice-
facilitated virtual focus groups); and one-on-one interviews with over 30 women and men.

The national survey was conducted online and over the phone in January 2018 among 3,213
respondents (1,566 men, 1,633 women, 12 who do not identify as male or female, and 2 who
did not disclose their gender) between the ages of 21 and 65 currently employed full-time
in white-collar occupations, with at least a bachelor’s degree. Data were weighted to be
representative of the US population on key demographics (age, sex, education, race/ethnicity,
housing tenure, telephone status, and census division). The base used for statistical testing
was the effective base.

This survey was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago under the auspices of the
Center for Talent Innovation, a non-profit research organization. NORC was responsible
for the data collection, while the Center for Talent Innovation conducted the analysis. In the
charts, percentages may not always add up to 100 because of computer rounding or the
acceptance of multiple responses from respondents.

ENDNOTES

1. “EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace,” Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, June 20, 2016, https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/task_force/harassment/.
2. Claire Cain Miller, “Sexual Harassment Training Doesn’t Work. But Some Things Do.” New York Times,
December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/upshot/sexual-harassment-workplace­
prevention-effective.html; Lauren Edelman, “What’s the Point of Sexual Harassment Training? Often, to
Protect Employers,” Washington Post, November 17, 2017,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/whats-the-point-of-sexual-harassment-training­
often-to-protect-employers/2017/11/17/18cd631e-c97c-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html?utm_
term=.26854f48da84.
3. Brandon Cline, Ralph Walkling, and Adam Yore, “The Consequences of Managerial Indiscretions: Sex,
Lies, and Firm Value,” Journal of Financial Economics 127, no. 2 (February 2018), 389-415,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2017.11.008.
4. For data collected and referenced in this research, “Latina” and “Latino” refer to those who identify as
being of Latino or Hispanic descent.
5. Heather R. Hlavka, “Speaking of Stigma and the Silence of Shame,” Men and Masculinities 20, no. 4
(June 2016), 482-505, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1097184X16652656.
6. Wesley Morris, “Last Taboo: Why Pop Culture Just Can’t Deal with Black Male Sexuality,” New York Times
Magazine, October 27, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/30/magazine/black-male­
sexuality-last-taboo.html.
7. Jana Kasperkevic, “HR is Not There to Be Your Friend. It’s There to Protect the Company,” Marketplace,
October 30, 2017, https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/30/business/human-resources-protect­
employee-employer; Danny Crichton, “HR Has Lost the Trust of Employees. Here Is Who Has It
Now,” TechCrunch, February 10, 2018, https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/10/hr-has-lost-the-trust-of­
employees-here-is-who-has-it-now/; Susan Heathfield, “Reasons Why Employees Hate HR,” Balance
Careers, March 8, 2017, https://www.thebalance.com/reasons-why-employees-hate-hr-1917590.

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