In a survey conducted by an advertising industry trade group, more than half of its 400 respondents who worked in the field said that they had experienced sexual harassment on the job. Furthermore, roughly half felt that they were vulnerable to sexual harassment while 40 percent said that their gender had led to being excluded from the decision-making process at work. One-third said that they had been passed over for a job because of a perceived bias against women.
While the group’s entire report will be released at a later date, it felt like releasing the summary now would help stimulate a discussion about sexual harassment in the workplace. In July 2016, an executive at Saatchi & Saatchi was forced to resign after saying that the debate regarding gender equality was “all over.” He also said that a lack of women leaders was the result of a lack of ambition among young people.
A representative from 4A said that releasing a portion of the report now would show that the issue of sexual harassment is not an isolated one. While the advertising industry may no longer be what was portrayed in “Mad Men”, the representative said that comments like those made by the executive from Saatchi & Saatchi are fairly common.
Those who feel as if they have been subjected to sexual harassment at work may wish to file a lawsuit against their employers. It may be worthwhile to do so with the assistance of legal counsel. An attorney may be able to gather evidence to help verify claims of sexual harassment such as copies of emails with lewd text. It may also be possible to solicit witness testimony from those who may be able to verify a victim’s story.
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