Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Is on the Decline Post #MeToo, New Research Suggests
New research from Leeds’ leadership authority and Associate Professor of Management Stefanie Johnson and Ksenia Keplinger, a research associate, along with two Leeds doctoral candidates Jessica Kirk and Liza Barnes, found that in the wake of the #MeToo era, workplace sexual harassment has decreased. However, gender harassment has increased. Importantly, this study also suggests sexual harassment had a weaker relationship with women’s negative self-views (lower self-esteem, higher self-doubt) in 2018 compared to 2016.
According to Johnson, increased scrutiny on the topic of sexual harassment has helped to make a difference in both reducing the number of women who are sexually harassed at work and lessening the isolation they feel when it happens. Interviews suggest this is because it no longer seems to be an experience unique to them—knowing there are others who have endured such acts helps them feel less ashamed or as though it is their fault.
Johnson and her team surveyed more than 500 women in September 2016 and September 2018. Their research was published in PLOS ONE this week.
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