As college students prepare to enter the workforce in a post-#MeToo world, company culture could become a bigger factor in deciding what jobs they accept.
A new survey of 15,010 undergraduates found that a majority of female students worry about encountering sexual harassment in the workplace after graduation. Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) female students say they are at least somewhat worried about sexual harassment in the workplace, compared to 19% of male students. Male students are significantly more likely to say they are not at all worried about experiencing harassment on the job (43% vs. 9%).
Some students who have already experienced sexual harassment in part-time jobs, summer jobs, and internships expect it to continue after graduation. “It’s happened at almost every minimum wage job I’ve worked, so why should I assume it’ll stop,” a University of California, Berkeley student says.
Male students are increasingly sensitive to the issue of false accusations of misconduct. “[I’m] very worried because I’m a male. I know all a [woman] has to do is point at me and say I sexually harassed her. Even if I didn’t. Then I’d never be hirable again,” a University of Alaska student says.
6 in 10 Female Students Worry About Sexual Harassment
How worried are you about encountering sexual harassment in the workplace after graduation?
Deepening the gender divide, female students are also more likely than male students to classify certain behaviors as harassment. More than three-quarters (77%) of female students say a male employee joking about a female co-worker’s sex life would be harassment, compared to 59% of male students.
However, few students say an employee asking a co-worker with a lower position in the company to go out on a date qualifies as harassment (11% of female students vs. 10% of male students).
Male Students are Less Likely to Consider Sex Jokes Harassment
Percent of students who classify the following scenarios as harassment.
Concerns about sexual harassment in the workplace are already shaping the way female college students in particular think about their ideal work environment. The survey uncovered a significant gender gap in preferences for same-gender bosses. Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) female students say they would rather have a boss of the same gender as them, compared to 23% of male students who say the same.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of 15,010 full-time and part-time students attending four-year colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
