From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Measuring Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and Its Costs Description: Many workers experience sexual harassment in their workplace. However, the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment in the United States--as well as the costs to the employee and their employer--are not fully understood. We talk to Cindy Brown Barnes, an expert on employment and equal opportunity issues, and the Managing Director of our Education, Workforce and Income Security Team. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-564, Workplace Sexual Harassment: Experts Suggest Expanding Data Collection to Improve Understanding of Prevalence and Costs Released: October 2020 [Intro Music] [Cindy Brown Barnes:] Understanding the full extent of workplace sexual harassment's prevalence and costs is important. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office-- I'm Holly Hobbs.Many workers experience sexual harassment in their workplace. However, the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment in the United States--as well as the costs to the employee and their employer--are not fully understood. Today, we talk to Cindy Brown Barnes, an expert on employment and equal opportunity issues, and the Managing Director of our Education, Workforce and Income Security Team. Thank you for joining us Cindy! [Cindy Brown Barnes:] Thank you for having me. [Holly Hobbs:] So Cindy, who is collecting data on this and how are they using that data? [Cindy Brown Barnes:] There's little reliable data, but the data that is reliable comes from a few sources. At the federal level, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, collects data on charges workers file against their employers. These data only reflect charges workers file. They do not speak to the overall prevalence of sexual harassment. In addition, the National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health surveys U.S. workers about workplace sexual harassment every four years as part of a general social survey. And for federal workers in particular, the Merit System Protection Board has collected data on sexual harassment for most federal workers. At the private level, the Pew Research Center, and other researchers have also surveyed workers about their sexual harassment experiences. Generally, this information has been used to inform an understanding of the prevalence of sexual harassment with the hopes of influencing workplace policies and practices. That is why collecting accurate data is so important. [Holly Hobbs:] And beyond under-reporting, are there other reasons why the data on workplace sexual harassment might not show the full picture? [Cindy Brown Barnes:] We only found a few reliable national estimates of workplace sexual harassment. And these estimates varied widely in large part due to how they posed the question. For example, the surveys examined different time periods for harassment ranging from experiencing harassment in the past 12 months to ever having experienced it. The surveys also had different question structures. Estimates based on surveys that provided examples of sexual harassing behavior were higher than other estimates that asked directly about whether someone has experienced sexual harassment without providing examples. In order to capture the full picture of workplace sexual harassment, experts that we met with suggested that there needs to be consistent measures and regular data collection over time to compare and to understand the trends. [Music] [Holly Hobbs:] So, we know that workplace sexual harassment can negatively affect those who experience it by hurting their performance and attendance at work, for example. And that the data on sexual harassment doesn't provide the full picture. But, it also sounds like there's a federal effort to better understand the scale and cost of workplace sexual harassment. Cindy, what do we know about the costs to the employer? [Cindy Brown Barnes:] We know the costs of sexual harassment to both the employer and the employee are large. But there haven't been any recent assessments of cost. However, we were able to identify common types of costs associated with sexual harassment. These costs generally fall into four broad categories. Health costs include mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety; physical health symptoms like higher blood pressure; and employer health costs like providing counselling services. Productivity costs include absenteeism, reduced performance and decreased job satisfaction. Career costs include costs associated with changing jobs and employee turnover. Reporting and legal costs include legal fees, time costs for filing and processing complaints, expenses associated with settlement and litigation awards, and damage to employer and employees reputation if the report is made public. [Holly Hobbs:] Cindy, last question: What's the bottom line of this report? [Cindy Brown Barnes:] Workplace sexual harassment can damage the health, career, and wellbeing of its victims and can cost businesses, not only in legal fees, but in lost productivity, job satisfaction and talent. But there isn't a good understanding of its exact pervasiveness and costs. Developing comprehensive estimates would help stakeholders understand the scope of the problem, which could motivate and inform efforts toward reducing sexual harassment and its impacts. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Cindy Brown Barnes talking about GAO's recent review of workplace sexual harassment and its cost. Thank you for your time, Cindy! [Cindy Brown Barnes:] Thank you. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.