25 Years After Anita Hill

Don’t call it a comeback: Sexual harassment is once again making headlines thanks to Confirmation, a new HBO movie that revisits Anita Hill’s testimony at the 1991 hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. It's a convenience that the film starts a freshing conversation on the subject, considering that the original hearings played in raising awareness about sexual harassment to the American public. 

At the time, many people had never really considered the issue of sexual harassment. If they had, they thought of it as necessarily involving assault, rather than the way that Hill described as having unwanted advances, constant badgering, and vulgar conversation. Hill’s testimony, which conjured a shockingly hostile workplace opened the public’s eyes to what goes on behind office doors, infuriating and emboldening many women. Her words are credited for driving more women into public office and unleashing a surge of sexual harassment complaints. But that was 25 years ago. The question now: 

What’s the current state of workplace harassment, and what progress have we made since Anita Hill’s case?

Anita Hill getting sworn in at her testimony

Only 30% of the claims received by the EEOC are made up of harassment claims, including sexual harassment. Race is actually the most frequent basis of harassment charges and sex-based harassment is the second most frequent. Last year, there were over 6,800 charges alleging sex-based harassment; that can include unwelcome advances or it can include gender-based harassment, which might be comments that are demeaning to a particular gender. About 17% of charges are filed by men- this shows that it is not an issue that only faces women. Same-sex harassment cases are also on the rise. For example, the EEOC v. Boh Bros. Constr. Co. LLC case involves a supervisor who sexually harassed an worker inferior to him because he thought this male employee was feminine and didn’t conform to the gender stereotype of a “rough” iron worker. Although that case serves as an example of same-sex sexual harassment, the most common trends occurring in cases of sexual harassment still mostly involve women. 

Many cases have involved the restaurant industry and particularly young women. There is a case against Burger King and [franchisee] Carrols Corporation that shows an example of how most of the cases reported to the EEOC involve the restaurant industry and young women. This specific case involved 89 women, including many teenagers. Based on this example, we can conclude that sexual harassment usually occurs in work environments where isolated work is involved and there is a severe imbalance of power. Many sexual harassment cases occur in white collar fields, including finance like the case against JP Morgan Chase in 2014.

Not long after Anita Hill’s case, in 1998 the EEOC resolved one of their most transformative cases. This case involved a real environment of systemic discrimination. It was the largest-ever resolution of any sexual harassment case. According to Jenny Yang, Chair of the EEOC, “it really raised awareness of the problem of environmental sexual harassment and the ways in which employers can allow that to occur.”

The EEOC considers a number of factors before getting involved in a case. This includes: the seriousness of the violation, what legal issues are raised in the case, and the wider impact the lawsuit could have on our efforts to combat workplace discrimination. There are so many women are afraid to come forward. There have been studies that say that about 25% of women say they’ve experienced harassment at work, but among that percentage, 70% said they never reported it. Many times, people experience retaliation for coming forward and because of that, the EEOC gets involved because of how big of an issue that is.

There are many misconceptions that people have towards sexual harassment. People primarily think of sexual harassment involving sexual advances, but while that is certain, it also can include lewd or demeaning comments that can create a hostile environment. I think that majority of the population doesn’t recognize that sexual harassment can affect men as well. This goes back to gender norms and masculinity. Because of masculinity and the expectations that society has of men, many people don’t believe that it is possible for a man to be sexually assaulted (also rape culture mentality). Another misconception is that often, people don’t realize that harassment doesn’t have to be perpetuated by a supervisor or even by a co-worker. It can also be the result of a customer, a third-party supplier, or others whom an employee has to interact with. For example, there is a case against Fred Meyer, a grocery chain involving a male customer harassing female employees daily. The employees reported it, but the employer really didn’t take action. Many won’t associate this as sexual harassment in the workplace because there is a misconception that it has to occur from employee to employee or supervisor to employee. 

If you are being sexually harassed at work, the EEOC suggests that it is very important to explain to the harasser when their behavior is bothering you and to stop. Make sure that is very clear. It can also be helpful to keep a journal of what’s happening to you- when the harassment occurred, how, were there witnesses, who perpetrated it- so that the timing and the substance is very clear when you’re reporting it. It’s also important to look at and be updated with their employer’s anti-harassment policy and to report the harassment according to that policy. People are also encouraged to contact the EEOC promptly to learn more about their rights and to file a charge.

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