25 Percent of Women Experience Sex-Based Harassment at Work

This morning the Washington Post reported the findings of a Washington Post/ABC poll that revealed the following:

•25% of women report being sexually harassed at work (9% of men do)
•Nearly 2/3rds of Americans think that sexual harassment is a problem in the workplace
•25% of men report that they fear being falsely accused

So, maybe Katie Roiphe is wrong and we shouldn't learn to take a joke.

There is some really good and interesting news. There is a dividing line drawn in the survey results between men and women over and under 50, where both women reporting harassment and men fearing being falsely accused are dropping.

•Women younger than 50 report fewer incidences of harassment. In 1994 the number of women reporting experiencing sexual harassment was 32%.
•The number of men that report concerns about false accusations has declined since 1994 when 31% of men reported fears. That number is now only 7%.
•And, where as in 1994 25% of men believed that they'd behaved in a way that could be construed as an "unwanted sexual advance" only 10% believe that now.

The bad news is that still, 60% of women who have been harassed walk away without taking action.

And, no surprise here, by a ratio of 2 to 1 "women who say they were harassed at work" view Herman Cain unfavorably and by a ratio of 3 to 1 are "apt to believe Cain's accusers."

And, yes, the article showed up in in the A section, not the Style pages! Thank you Washington Post editors.