Women frequently experience sexual harassment at work, yet few claims ever reach a courtroom

  Sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including at least three from current or former aides, are a reminder of just how commonplace unwanted touching, propositioning, and other inappropriate behavior is in the workplace.

  My recent research explores the prevalence of toxic work environments – like the one described in Albany, New York – and just how startlingly common sexual harassment at work is.

  I discovered that even when women try to find justice by suing their alleged abusers, their cases rarely see a courtroom.

Sexual harassment in the judiciary: Women’s rights and safety are at stake

  The past two years will almost certainly be remembered as a pivotal time when women fought back against institutionalized sexism. Both the Women’s March and the #MeToo movement, two landmark women’s empowerment efforts that gained global attention, shed light on a terrible truth that most women know all too well: Women in nearly every sector of society regularly face sexual violence or harassment.

Where change happens: The aftermath of sexual harassment

  When sexual harassment occurs, the effects can be devastating and far-reaching for everyone in the workplace. Often the immediate response, quite appropriately, focuses on what should be done to resolve the problem, which includes what actions are needed to protect and empower the survivor and to punish the perpetrator. But, that is only one aspect of the change that must take place.

Schedules that work for working families

  Many workers in the United States are all too familiar with the pressure of managing work demands and family responsibilities. Now, imagine trying to juggle the two while not knowing your work schedule for the following week or how much your next paycheck will be. Unfortunately, this is a troubling reality for many workers with unfair work schedules. For example, among young workers, 38 percent receive their schedule with less than a week’s notice and 44 percent have no control over their work hours. Unfair schedules affect the health and economic security of workers and their families, harm employee morale, and may increase the likelihood of sexual harassment.

Emily L. Hauser: Sexual assault is universal, recovery isn’t

  When news broke of the seemingly bottomless Harvey Weinstein scandal, it released a flood of similarly harrowing tales of sexual harassment and assault in music, academia, science, media, restaurants, government, libraries, on and on and ever on. Near countless numbers of women and a decent number of men shared their own stories in private conversation, public essays, and as part of the #MeToo hashtag on social media. One inescapable fact immediately became manifest: Sexual harassment and assault are everywhere in the human experience, regardless of profession, ideology, ethnic identity, or financial privilege.

Patricia E. Gaston: What Anita Hill’s struggle still teaches women about equality

  How can something that happened nearly 23 years ago feel as if it just happened yesterday? I felt that way while watching the newly released documentary "Anita," which tells the story of Anita Hill, the law professor who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his Senate confirmation hearings.

5 Myths about military sexual assault

  On Tuesday the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Judge Advocate Generals of the Armed Forces testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on various proposals to combat sexual assault in the military. Testimony was offered in the wake of the release of the Defense Department’s annual report showing that despite the military’s efforts to ramp up sexual assault prevention programs in recent years, rates of sexual assault in the military climbed by 34 percent between 2010 and 2012. A total of 26,000 service members are estimated to have experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012 compared to 19,300 in 2010. Moreover, less than 3 out of every 100 estimated sexual assaults in the military in 2012 were ever prosecuted—a shockingly low percentage that has shown no sign of improvement.