Sobering findings, but a suggestion of hope; also, a look at the methodology behind the startling numbers.
We polled women in the entertainment industry. Even we were surprised by the results.
The first number you see is 94% — and your eyes pop with incredulity. But it’s true: Almost every one of hundreds of women questioned in an exclusive survey by USA TODAY said they have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault during their careers in Hollywood. For months now, we’ve all been hearing the horrifying stories of abuse from marquee names like Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek, about what powerful men in Hollywood, like movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, allegedly did to them and other women over decades.
Unwanted sexual comments and groping. Propositioning women. Exposing themselves. Coercing women into having sex or doing something sexual. And, especially pertinent to showbiz, forcing women to disrobe and appear naked at an audition without warning.
It has been deeply disturbing reading, but so far the powerful stories of accusers outnumber plain, hard facts about the extent of the problem in Tinseltown. Until now.
Working in partnership with the Creative Coalition, Women in Film and Television and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, USA TODAY surveyed 843 women who work in the entertainment industry in a variety of roles (producers, actors, writers, directors, editors and others) and asked them about their experiences with sexual misconduct on the job.
The results are sobering: Nearly all of the women who responded to the survey (94%) said they have experienced some form of
“It happens so frequently that it’s just the functioning normal.”
A camera operator in her early 40s
harassment or assault, often by an older person in a position of power over the accuser.
Worse, more than one-fifth of respondents (21%) said they have been forced to do something sexual at least once.
Only one in four women reported these experiences to anyone because of fear of personal or professional backlash or retaliation. This reporting rate holds true for all forms of misconduct addressed in the survey.
Of those who did report their experiences, most said reporting did not help them; only 28% said their workplace situation improved after reporting.
One surprising finding: Even though America has been arguing about workplace sexual harassment ever since the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings in 1991, more than onethird of women surveyed weren’t even sure that what happened to them was sexual harassment.
Still, even though the survey shows that older and more experienced women have been subjected to more incidents of sexual misconduct, younger women with less than five years of experience in the industry were more likely to blow a whistle on misconduct.
And that suggests there’s a chance the status quo — misconduct allowed to flourish because few complain and no one in authority does anything about it — might change as younger women increasingly enter the workforce and begin asserting influence.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center, which maintains a large library of related surveys on the subject of workplace sexual harassment, says USA TODAY’s survey is a first for its focus on Hollywood and for its comprehensiveness.
As with most surveys, there are limitations that could affect interpretations. It was conducted online between Dec. 4, 2017, and Jan. 14, 2018, after emails were sent to members of the Creative Coalition and Women in Film and Television inviting them to participate. As a selfselected sample of respondents, it is not scientifically representative of the entire industry, let alone the broader national population of women working in all industries.
So, says Anita Raj, director of the Center for Gender Equity and Health at the University of California, San Diego’s medical school, the survey should be treated with some caution. But she believes that the results overall are “credible and important” and that people should pay attention.
“The percentages (in USA TODAY’s survey) are higher than what we typically see for workplace abuses, but we know there is variation by the type of workplace,” Raj says. “But it makes sense to me that we would see higher numbers (in the entertainment industry),” where the “casting couch” has prevailed for decades and is considered “normal,” she says.
Women may not always know the line between the demands of showbiz and what constitutes sexual harassment, she says. In fact, Raj says, kissing someone without his or her consent is a crime in California, which, she notes, once happened on live TV in front of millions: Adrien Brody, who won the best-actor Oscar in 2003, grabbed presenter Halle Berry and dip-kissed her at the podium before his acceptance. She was not happy, she acknowledged years later, but everyone else just laughed.
“Yes, I’d like to see more solidity in the scientific aspects of how the data was collected. But 94% does not seem shocking. It says this is ubiquitous in Hollywood,” Raj says. “There is a lack of clarity on what constitutes professional interactions in this (Hollywood) context. So it wouldn’t surprise me if in fact it were 94%.” Other questions posed by the survey:
Most often, it’s someone making unwelcome sexual comments, jokes or gestures: 87% of respondents said that has happened to them at least once. Also, 69% said they’ve been groped at least once, and 64% said they have been propositioned for sex or a relationship at least once.
“It happens so frequently that it’s just the functioning normal,” said a camera operator in her early 40s. “For me, this includes everything from misogynistic or sexual comments made over a headset while working, to blatant grabbing to comments about my body. I’ve spent the last 20 years accepting it as the price of doing business in a ‘man’s job.’ ”
Far fewer respondents said they’ve been shown sexual pictures without consent (39%) or have been on the receiving end of someone exposing themselves (29%).
A small but still significant number (10%) of the women in the survey said they have been forced to appear naked — unexpectedly — during auditions or in the course of their professional work at least once.
“There are also little ways women get manipulated into showing more of their bodies on camera,” said a female actor in her early 40s. “Like, I had a friend who was on an HBO show and the producers called her the night before she’s supposed to start shooting and tell her that if she didn’t do full frontal nudity (which they didn’t state that they expected at her audition), they would demote the role from a recurring to a onetime guest star.”
More than one-third (35%) of respondents said they have been asked to hold work activities or meetings in inappropriate environments such as hotel rooms or bedrooms. Many of Weinstein’s accusers said sexual misconduct took place after he lured them to hotel rooms on the pretext of business.
“My boss took me to dinner to apologize for being incredibly insulting,” said a producer in her early 60s. “After dinner he told me to come back to the studio but instead took me to his apartment (that was behind the studio). He then asked me to give him (oral sex). I refused. To which he said, ‘ Why do you think I took you to dinner?’ ”
One-fifth (20%) of respondents said they have been put in a quid pro quo position: provide sexual acts with the implicit or explicit promise of promotions or other forms of career advancement. Also, 65% of respondents said they witnessed others advance professionally as a result of sexual relationships with employers or managers.
“After a job interview over lunch, my potential new boss walked me to my car and put his arm around my waist and pulled me very close to him,” said a writer in her late 40s. “I pushed him away and said I’m not interested in this (job). I came home and cried. I really thought I was being interviewed for a partnership role with equity.”
Women younger than 30 were more likely to report (35%) than those older than 60 (19%). Women with less than five years experience were more likely to report (32%) than those with more than
20 years (24%).
Most sexual misconduct goes unreported largely out of fear. But 40% of respondents said they did not trust the system. More than one-third — 34% — weren’t even sure what happened to them amounted to sexual harassment, and 32% said they had no evidence so it was their word against the accused. And
20% said they felt shame.
“On countless occasions, I have been in position at events with clients, where either the client or a member of the client’s team has made sexually explicit comments, sexual advances and/or touched my body without consent,” says a publicist in her early 40s. “These assailants seem confident enough to know they can become predators without repercussion.”
Of those few who reported misconduct, the result was most often a warning or reprimand (32%) or removal of the harasser (23%). A fraction (8%) of respondents said they were fired after reporting and 4% said there was a settlement in their case. And zero cases were prosecuted.
Also, a quarter of the respondents
(24%) said they left their companies specifically because of incidents of sexual misconduct.
“There was one specific instance where I reported a horrible incident of harassment to superiors and the male boss of the man who harassed me told me that ‘ he wouldn’t do such a thing’ and stopped replying to my emails,” said a director in her early 30s. “Women superiors, though more sympathetic, implied nothing more could be done. I simply couldn’t keep working in an environment that would be both physically and mentally unsafe for me.”
How can Hollywood eliminate sexual harassment in its workplaces?
Accountability from the top down was the solution most often offered by respondents: 75% said employers should be held accountable for their internal cultures of harassment, and
72% said supervisors, managers and human resources personnel should be held accountable, too.
Other solutions also drew strong agreement: 63% want employers to make it easier to report harassment,
54% want more training on workplace policies, and 51% said employers need to implement stricter policies on sexual misconduct.
But maybe the best solution is the simplest solution: More women in power positions in Hollywood.
“The only projects I ever worked on where sexual harassment didn’t happen were produced by other women,” said production manager Beth Powder, 38. “And the first film I ever produced. But I hand-picked and hired the entire crew, and I run a really tight ship.”
“There is a lack of clarity on what constitutes professional interactions in this (Hollywood) context.” Anita Raj Center for Gender Equity and Health