80% Men Feel #MeToo Impacted How Women Are Treated at Work: Survey

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, almost 80 percent of men have become overly cautious in their interactions with women colleagues, according to a report.

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One of the consequences of the #MeToo movement has been that almost 80 percent of men have become overly cautious in their interactions with women colleagues, a recent study has found.

The survey, carried out by market research and analysis company Velocity MR, was executed online with over 2,500 respondents across metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.

Speaking to The Quint, Velocity MR added that a small percentage of the respondents were also from Tier 2 towns, such as Lucknow and Jaipur.

Methodology of the Survey

According to the company, the respondents were selected from a larger pool of volunteers, selected after screening on the basis of age and socio-economic factors such as income. The final 2,500 respondents were males and females within the age group of 18-60, and had a minimum monthly family income of Rs 20,000. There was no screening on the basis of education and occupation, the company said.

Velocity MR noted that despite no screening on the basis of occupation, most of the respondents were well-educated and working people, with few businessmen and self-employed people.

The survey was executed online through questionnaires. Respondents were asked to answer 13 central questions, apart from 15 questions meant to provide demographic details. While there was no cut-off time, most respondents took between 10 to 12 minutes to complete the survey.

According to Velocity MR, the entire process of collection of data took approximately eight to 10 days.

‘The Fear is Still There’

The study noted that eight out of 10 respondents said the #MeToo movement has had an impact on formal workplace interactions.

According to the study, close to 80 percent of the respondents said fear of losing their career, family reputation, social stigma and skepticism could be some of the reasons for the victims not reporting the cases earlier. “The fear is still there,” Velocity MR noted.

The survey also had questions addressing the varying opinions about reporting a case late. The study observed that close to 50 percent of the respondents disapproved of victims reporting the abuse later, while two in five males supported the victims saying they are right in reporting the abuse later. However, one out of two respondents said that late reporting was also okay, adding that it was good that the issue had come out.

Another finding of the survey was that around 70 percent of the respondents agreed that even after reporting the cases, victims still face threats.

Abuse Not Restricted to Powerful Men

About seven in every 10 respondents said encouraging the affected women to be independent can possibly help them speak up about the abuse.

“Although a majority of cases coming up in #MeToo are from the media-Bollywood industry, other industries are not considered safe by close to 77 percent of the respondents,” it said. However, the respondents did not name these industries.

Respondents were asked whether the abuse was only restricted to men in power, but seven out of 10 said such cases cut across socio-economic strata and are not limited to “powerful men”.

While 40 percent of the respondents felt working women were the prime victims of sexual harassment, 53 percent women believe that housewives and working women were equally vulnerable. Half of the concerned respondents were female.

Another important finding of the survey is that three out of five men feel that men are not talking enough about the #MeToo campaign, and are not coming out in support of the movement.

The survey also revealed that while 80 percent of the respondents feel that false allegations cannot be ruled out in the wake of #MeToo, an equal number felt that the movement on the whole may bring positive and definite change, Velocity MR told The Quint.

"In spite of respondents feeling that there are false allegations, four out of five are hopeful that this would bring about a good change," they said.