10.11.17
www.thebookseller.com
THE LEAD STORY HARASSMENT SURVEY
07
said: “I witnessed the same boss harassing numerous junior staff who all eventually left. He’d send inappropriate emails, lean over them, generally skirt the line of what he could get away with . . . He is still at the company in a senior and fêted position.” Another wrote that seeing a man who had been involved in harassing behaviour later promoted to a leading position made her doubt whether there was a place for her in the industry. However, the m.d. of a large
I was directly propositioned by older male colleagues, groped, and asked if I would be interested in having an affair. As the industry is so small I’ve since worked with many of those men again at different companies
–Salesperson
publisher who responded to the survey anonymously commented: “We have really good systems in place to ensure staff are as protected as they can be—and as rigorous procedures for complaint and grievance addressal as it’s possible to have.” A senior publicist noted: “I make it clear with those that work for me that I absolutely will not stand for it and I’m not afraid to publicly point it out or use such behaviour as a reason to examine our commercial relationships with authors.” Some respondents felt the problem was a generational one, caused largely by older men or men in middle age; an “old-school generation in publishing”. Others felt strongly that younger men were equally involved. However, males were also the target of harassment: one respondent described the discomfort of being “felt up” in public by a senior woman in the industry, despite trying to laugh it off; another man talked of being “lunged at” by another man despite the former being heterosexual. Men also responded to the survey commenting sympathetically on the harassment that they had seen female colleagues subjected to.
Some respondents said they had shrugged off inappropriate behaviour, but others have been deeply affected, reporting lasting feelings of shame and humiliation, as well as a loss of professional confidence. One respondent told the survey about an incident of exploitation after being encouraged to drink heavily by a senior colleague, saying she had been too ashamed to share it before. Those who had experienced less severe harassment still resented the “wearying” nature
Male colleagues, frequently much more senior, have made inappropriate sexual comments, for which they are not held accountable . . . Events and parties are the worst. Male colleagues exploit the fact that ours is a ‘relaxed’ industry
–Editor
of having to deal with sexism in the office.
REPORTING BEHAVIOUR Of the 51% of respondents who said they had experienced harassment, sexual assault or predatory behaviour, only 36.8% of men said they reported it, and just 29.9% of women. Reasons not to make a sexual harassment complaint included feelings of fear, shame and embarrassment, as well as anxieties that claims would be dismissed or have an impact on the claimant’s prospects in the future. Others cited the often subtle and
pervasive nature of harassment as a factor for not reporting, with many saying that such behaviour is too widespread to consider reporting. Some were also confused about what constitutes harassment, with 7% of respondents unclear whether or not they had been harassed. One respondent said “growing up with the white noise of daily harassment” made it “difficult to know where you should draw the line”. Many respondents said that the status of their harasser had stopped them from reporting incidents.
THE BOOKSELLER HARASSMENT SURVEY: THE FINDINGS
Have you experienced harassment, assault, or predatory behaviour in the industry?
Yes 50.7% (Female-only respondents) Yes 54% No 38.2%
Unsure 7.2%
Gender of respondents who reported harassment
Female 88.3% Male 10.2% Nonbinary/trans 1.5%
Did you fear that the situation would have an effect on your professional prospects?
Yes 56.9% No 18.8% Unsure 24.3% Did you report what happened? [Harassed respondents] Yes 29.4% No 70.6% Did you report what happened? [By gender of respondent] Yes 30% No 70% Female
Respondents by sector of the industry
Large publisher 35% Small publisher 19% PR/Freelance 14%
Author 12% Bookshop Chain 8% Agent 7%
Indie bookshop 5%
18-24 4%
The statistics are taken from a survey run online by The Bookseller and completed by 388 respondents. Of those respondents, 83.5% were female, 15% male and 1.5% nonbinary/ transgender.
25-34 48%
35–44 31%
45–54 13%
55–64 3%
Roles in which respondents were most likely to have experienced harrasment
Publicity 65.7% Bookseller 61.3% Authors 60.9% Agent 52.2% Editorial 46.1%
]
65–75 1%
Male Age of respondents Yes 37% No 63% Yes 67% Nonbinary/trans No 33%
Witnessed 3.9%
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