In a relatively recent survey of 615 men, one in four admitted to engaging in at least one form of workplace behavior that might be viewed as evidence of sexual harassment or some other form of gender discrimination.
The types of sexual harassment these men were asked about varied from touching or even tying a work-related favor to sex to making inappropriate gestures or asking for a date after having been refused once.
However, the most common type of behavior that got reported were inappropriate jokes about sexual topics, with 19 percent of the men surveyed self-reporting that behavior. A close second was the making of blatantly sexist remarks, with 16 percent of the men admitting that they had engaged in that behavior within the last 12 months.
This survey also showed that, to a large extent, perpetrators of harassing behavior come from all walks of life and all political persuasions. The problem is systemic and does to discrimination from profession to profession.
One thing that was noticed, however, is that one form of harassing behavior was frequently precursor to other actions that some would say could more easily lead to legal trouble both for the perpetrator and his employer. For instance, a man who admitted to telling off color jokes at work was five times more likely to admit to other forms of harassment as well.
In any event, given the number of men who seem willing to admit to harassment, at least when promised anonymity, it is no wonder that over half of all women say they have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work. A Denver woman, or man, for that matter, who has experienced sexual harassment may have legal options available.
