Sexual harassment in the workplace

Sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, legislation has been a firm part of equalities law in the UK for several decades. However, CIPD research in 2020 shows that 4% of employees said they had been sexually harassed at work over the past three years, with younger employees more likely to report this experience: 8% of employees aged 18–34, compared with 4% aged 35–44 and 3% aged 45-64. Women are significantly more likely than men to report they have experienced both bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace (17% versus 13% and 7% versus 2%, respectively). Further, almost a quarter (24%) of employees think that challenging issues like bullying and harassment are swept under the carpet in their organisation. 

These findings show that regulation alone – although very important in setting standards and providing a route for individuals to bring a claim for harassment – is not enough to stamp out discriminatory attitudes and behaviour towards women in the workplace. 

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