Nearly half of male managers are uncomfortable participating in common work activities with women, such as mentoring, working alone and socialising together, according to a new study.
The research, conducted by LeanIn.org and SurveyMonkey, looked into employee attitudes in the #MeToo era. 40 per cent of male managers were uncomfortable participating in a common workplace activity with a woman. This is up 33 per cent from how they felt before widespread reports of sexual harassment.
Similarly, senior level men are now twice as hesitant to spend time with junior women than junior men across a range of basic work activities, including one-to-one meetings, travelling for work and business dinners.
The LeanIn.org research also shows that 64 per cent of women in th UK report that they’ve experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace but only half of all employees – regardless of gender – say their companies have responded to the #MeToo movement by taking action against harassers, updating their policies, or offering employees guidance or training.
Speaking to The Sunday Times STYLE Magazine, Sheryl Sandberg said, “We need to raise the bar on what’s expected for men at work.”
“Don’t harass us – but don’t ignore us either.”
The #MeToo campaign was launched following the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, who vehemently denies all claims of non-consensual sex.
Actress and activist Alyssa Milano sparked an international Twitter trend in October 2017, when she asked all women who have suffered sexual harassment or assault to tweet “Me too.”
At the time, Milano wrote that the campaign was her friend’s idea, in the hope that it would “give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
If you’d like to know more about LeanIn.org and the work they are doing in the UK, please contact Nicole Heard
