Study: 27% of men avoid one-on-one meetings with female co-workers

A new study dealing with sexual harassment finds percentages of both men and women now express inhibitions regarding workplace conduct.

The study finds 27 percent of men avoid one-on-one meetings with female co-workers, and 21% of men would be reluctant to hire women for a job that would require close interaction, such as business travel.

Nineteen percent of men and eleven percent of women say they are reluctant to hire an attractive woman.

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some of the behaviors reflected in the study are inspired by the #MeToo movement and Vice President Mike Pence, who has said he refuses to have dinner alone with any woman unless his wife is present.

Regarding workplace behavior, 74 percent of women said they would be more willing now to speak out against harassment, and 77 percent of men said they will be more careful about potentially inappropriate behavior.

The study began in early 2018 and involved one survey for men and another for women working in a range of industries.

Data was collected from 152 men and 303 women total.

Twenty-two percent of men and 44% of women predicted that men would be more apt to exclude women from social interactions, such as after-work drinks.

Fifty-six percent of women said they expect men would continue to harass but will be more careful not to get caught, while 58 percent of men predicted men in general will have greater fears of being unfairly accused.

Because the survey was conducted soon after the #MeToo movement began, a follow-up survey was conducted in early 2019 to see if the passage of time would affect the numbers.

However, the 2019 survey “revealed a bigger backlash than respondents had anticipated,” the HBJ reports.