Dystopiary
putting up a hook to hang my hopes upon
Sexual harassment of disabled women in the workplace
We know that to effectively address sexual harassment we must hear from all workers who encounter it and ensure their specific experiences are taken into account when designing policies to tackle it.
Our previous analysis has revealed the intersectional discrimination and systemic workplaces barriers that disabled women face in the labour market. Disabled women experience an employment gap of 32.5 per cent compared to non-disabled women and a pay gap of 36 per cent compared to non-disabled men, equivalent to £3.68 per hour.
Given the significant systemic discrimination experienced more widely by disabled women at work and in wider society, we felt that it was important to understand their particular experience of sexual harassment in the workplace.
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We found shocking levels of sexual harassment, with around 7 out of 10 (68 per cent) respondents having been sexually harassed at work. This compares to 52 per cent of women in general. Our research revealed that disabled women experience higher levels of every type of sexually harassing behaviour reflecting the imbalance of power disabled women encounter at work and in wider society.
The research also highlighted that many disabled women workers experience multiple forms of harassment with more than half of respondents (54 per cent) telling us they had experienced two or more types of sexually harassing behaviour, and 45 per cent telling us they had experienced three or more. This points to workplace cultures where sexual harassment is a frequent and normalised occurrence rather than an isolated incident.
Two thirds (66 per cent) of disabled women who were sexually harassed at work did not report it to their employer or supervisor. When we asked why, the most common reason for not reporting was that women did not believe they would be taken seriously. Almost 2 in 5 respondents (39 per cent) gave this reason, with around a third (31 per cent) stating that the barrier to reporting was that they thought it would have a negative impact on their career or work relationships.
We know that to effectively address sexual harassment we must hear from all workers who encounter it and ensure their specific experiences are taken into account when designing policies to tackle it.
Our previous analysis has revealed the intersectional discrimination and systemic workplaces barriers that disabled women face in the labour market. Disabled women experience an employment gap of 32.5 per cent compared to non-disabled women and a pay gap of 36 per cent compared to non-disabled men, equivalent to £3.68 per hour.
Given the significant systemic discrimination experienced more widely by disabled women at work and in wider society, we felt that it was important to understand their particular experience of sexual harassment in the workplace.
...
We found shocking levels of sexual harassment, with around 7 out of 10 (68 per cent) respondents having been sexually harassed at work. This compares to 52 per cent of women in general. Our research revealed that disabled women experience higher levels of every type of sexually harassing behaviour reflecting the imbalance of power disabled women encounter at work and in wider society.
The research also highlighted that many disabled women workers experience multiple forms of harassment with more than half of respondents (54 per cent) telling us they had experienced two or more types of sexually harassing behaviour, and 45 per cent telling us they had experienced three or more. This points to workplace cultures where sexual harassment is a frequent and normalised occurrence rather than an isolated incident.
Two thirds (66 per cent) of disabled women who were sexually harassed at work did not report it to their employer or supervisor. When we asked why, the most common reason for not reporting was that women did not believe they would be taken seriously. Almost 2 in 5 respondents (39 per cent) gave this reason, with around a third (31 per cent) stating that the barrier to reporting was that they thought it would have a negative impact on their career or work relationships.
