Did Me Too change the workplace for Gen Z?

Gen Z are the first generation to have their entire adult careers develop in a post-Me Too era. On International Women’s Day, we’re looking at how work has –and hasn't – changed for these young workers, compared to those who came before them.

How young workers are navigating a post-Me Too workplace

On paper, young people are largely entering organisations that have become “much more conscious about the repercussions of bad behaviour at work”, says New York-based organisational psychologist and author Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic . Most large businesses now provide mandatory training designed to prevent workplace harassment, he says, and encourage employees to speak out if they experience or witness unacceptable behaviours.

“I think most employees today feel more empowered that they're able to [speak out] than they were before the Me Too era,” he says.

Research suggests that Me Too has driven an increase in CEO firings for sexual misconduct, and compared with five years ago, data shows workers are more confident that speaking out about sexual harassment or assault will have an impact.

A 2022 study for the Pew Research Center in the US showed that roughly seven out of 10 people polled believe bad actors are more likely to be held responsible for these types of behaviours in the workplace, and at least six out of 10 think accusers are more likely to be believed than they would have been in 2017. In a similar poll for a major union federation in England and Wales, seven out of 10 people who participated agreed that Me Too had allowed employees to be more open about sexual harassment.

There have been significant legal developments as well. In the US, a new law means that employees alleging harassment can’t be forced into confidential – rather than open – arbitration proceedings. Employers in South Korea are now legally bound to investigate any harassment claims involving their staff (including at off-site locations such as karaoke bars), while Spain has toughened its definition of consent.

Many employees themselves have also initiated changes to company culture in the wake of Me Too. This includes setting up women’s support groups, and organising women-focused events, focused on tackling workplace harassment, and empowering more women to take on management positions, which research suggests can help limit workplace harassment.

Despite these strides, Me Too’s impact has been more muted than many of the movement's advocates initially hoped. 

Inappropriate workplace behaviours remain prevalent, according to polls. Almost two out of three women and about one in three men said they’d experienced sexual harassment in the workplace during the past three years, in a recent survey for US HR consultancy firm The Shift Workshop. Notably, the majority said their workplaces had offered training on the problem during the same period.

Chamorro-Premuzic says this feeds into a large body of behavioural science that suggests there is often a “gap between what people say and what they do.” In the context of Me Too, it’s clear that “not all the companies that say they want an inclusive culture and that they're not going to tolerate toxicity … actually manage to do it.” 

Similarly, despite polls suggesting workers feel more confident that sexual harassers will be held to account, that doesn’t mean that everyone who’s experienced inappropriate or illegal behaviour in the workplace has felt comfortable reporting it. A 2019 survey for the Young Women’s Trust charity in the UK found that 25% of 18-to-30-year-olds feared they could lose their jobs by speaking out about harassment. Academic research by several North American Universities in 2021 suggested employees remain reluctant to oppose male leaders who engage in unethical behaviours in the workplace (conversely, women tend to receive more internal pushback, a likely result of gender norms and biases).

Despite these challenges, there is cause for hope: many Gen Zers believe that in the coming years, workplace cultures will continue to improve for women and other groups who may have faced a disproportionate amount of harassment in the past.

Read the full exploration from Maddy Savage .

Thanks for reading. We’ll have more next week. In the meantime, visit BBC Worklife and BBC Business for the latest.

– Meredith Turits , Editor, BBC Worklife