Washington, D.C. — Today, the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress released a new report exploring how states and localities are confronting sexual harassment. The report highlights different strategies, undertaken by workers, policymakers, and the private sector that are beginning to have a real impact—such as providing workers with panic buttons, requiring comprehensive training, ending forced arbitration, and providing funding for prevention—and offers new ideas for states to fight sexual harassment.
“Empowering workers and employer accountability are essential for curbing sexual harassment once and for all,” said Jocelyn Frye, senior fellow of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress. “While Congress has been too slow to act, important progress is being made in states across the country, led by workers themselves, policymakers, and even employers—all of whom recognize the need for workplaces free of discrimination. Survivors deserve more than lip service. They need concrete change, which is why it is critical for every state to make combatting sexual harassment a top priority.”
State-level policy recommendations outlined in the report include:
- Improving workplace practices through stronger enforcement and employer standards
- Promoting employer prevention efforts, such as high-quality training on harassment and discrimination for all workers
- Exploring the establishment of third-party resource to assist survivors in navigating the reporting process
- Collecting more data on sexual harassment and holding poor performing companies accountable
- Supporting public awareness efforts to educate the public about sexual harassment and how to report it
- Ensuring economic equity in the workplace by combatting pay discrimination and increasing the minimum wage, among other reforms.
Please click here to read “Driving Change in States to Combat Sexual Harassment” by Diana Boesch, Jocelyn Frye, and Kaitlin Holmes.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected] or 202.741.6292.