The #MeToo movement has changed how Americans work.
Accusations against high-profile men — including former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — were largely considered one of the major catalysts for the movement, which began picking up speed in 2017. Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault on Monday in a court in New York. He was remanded to jail.
There's no doubt that #MeToo has had a significant impact on workplace culture. One in three US part- and full-time workers changed their behavior in the office in the wake of the #MeToo movement, according to a survey. The survey, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the software company SAP, sampled 1,000 workers. The sample was designed to be representative of the US population.
One third of workers also said they have talked about sexual misconduct in the workplace with coworkers in the past year. The #MeToo movement reached workers from industries all across America — including entertainment, retail, and finance — who called out sexual harassment.
Some working men, however, did not view the movement as a good thing: just over 3 in 10 men view the movement unfavorably. A Lean In survey found 60% of male supervisors are afraid to have one-on-one meetings with female employees.
Here are some other ways workers responded to the #MeToo movement:
- 4 in 10 working Americans say their employer has established new training on harassment in the workplace after #MeToo
- 38% of supervisors changed how they interact with employees after #MeToo
- 53% percent of employees think the emphasis on recent sexual misconduct cases will bring positive change for women in the workplace
- 60% of workers who say they experienced workplace sexual misconduct view the movement favorably
The survey also asked American workers how they think racial and ethnic diversity will fare moving forward — and many workers of color detailed persisting challenges. For instance, just 23% of black employees say working conditions for them will improve in the future.
About 4 in 10 workers think white and male employees have more advantages at their workplace compared to other groups. Over half of black and Hispanic workers considered diversity and inclusion programs before accepting a job, compared to just 27% of white employees.
A separate new report from McKinsey and Lean In found that while white women saw some gains at work, women of color make up just 4% of corporate C-suite. Women of color also face unique challenges at work, and face larger rates of workplace harassment than white women.
