A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 1 in 4 American women has been sexually harassed in the workplace, Forbes.com reports.
This is a sad statistic, but not all that surprising.
As the article correctly points out, many women are shy about reporting sexual harassment because they are worried that their male bosses could shun them for promotions, training and other perks at work. All of that is also unlawful.
Sexual harassment in Fullerton happens every day and it happens to both men and women. Facing sexual harassment — including getting unwelcome looks and comments, receiving sexually based e-mails or being asked for sexual favors for work — can be intimidating.
Many people feel this intimidation and don’t report the harassment, which can continue. Garden Grove sexual harassment lawyers have seen the frustration and tough work environment this culture of harassment can create.
The article states that in 1992, 88 percent of Americans believed that sexual harassment was a major on-the-job problem. That number has dropped to 64 percent now. Perhaps that’s because in the 1990s, there was a revolution of sexual harassment claims as more women felt empowered to report such abuse.
In 1997, there were nearly 16,000 claims of sexual harassment, with claims staying above 15,000 until 2001, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported.
Since then, claims have dropped steadily to 11,717 in 2010. Still, the amount of money paid out for these claims has remained between $47 and $50 million in recent years.
While the attitude of women in the workplace has change, the more common attitude in recent years, the Forbes article points out, is that women are less likely to report sexual harassment because they feel that not reporting it would hurt their career chances. It could also hurt the efforts of female co-workers, who sometimes pressure them into not reporting.
Another common thinking is that women believe they are “strong enough” to handle dealing with a little sexual harassment and that reporting it is a sign of weakness. They should be able to take a joke, some might say.
But sexual harassment in Irvine isn’t a joke. It’s a power play by bosses, who like to throw their weight around at work. It is pure intimidation and it can’t be stopped unless someone reports it. The longer this environment continues, the longer it takes.
And the more times it goes unreported, the more engrained it becomes in a culture. Think about your workplace. There are most likely patterns that occur that have been the same for years, maybe decades. People settle into a routine and do somethings the same way they always have.
Sexual harassment, in some companies, is one of those everyday occurrences. If it continues to go unreported, it will continue to happen. If you have been sexually harassed in Southern California, don’t sit back and let it happen.
If you feel your rights have been violated and are in need of an Orange County employment dispute attorney, call Trial Attorney Houman Fakhimi at 877-529-4545 to discuss your rights. We offer free consultations in all areas of discrimination and employment law.
More Blog Entries:
Herman Cain Hammered With Sexual Harassment Claims: November 2, 2011
Additional Resources:
Sexual Harassment Still Happens. So What?, by J. Maureen Henderson, Forbes.com