9th December 2020: 38% of people in Ireland have experienced workplace discrimination and almost one in five (18%) has suffered sexual harassment at work according to findings from our 2020 Workplace Equality Survey.
Incidence of sexual harassment at work has increased since 2019
Pandemic has created a workplace imbalance says 27% of people in Ireland
77% say becoming a parent impacts a woman’s career progression
Glass ceiling exists for women according to 69%
This annual survey is extremely important, as it helps benchmark and track issues pertaining to inequality and discrimination in the workplace. In some areas, there has been very little movement since the 2019 survey, which is not unexpected, but in others, such as the reported incidence of sexual harassment at work, there has been marked differences. This shows the impact of people-power combined with sound policies and support from industry. As a recruitment team dealing with both job-seekers and employers on a daily basis, this is quite heartening, but we hope that we will see even more movement in the coming years so that we can reach full equality in the workplace.
The third Matrix Workplace Equality Survey was conducted online in November 2020 among 1,400 adults working across a broad range of industries, sectors, and regions. Respondents from the following areas: accountancy, financial services, engineering, manufacturing, quality & laboratory, supply chain, HR, office & IT support and sales & marketing. To view the 2019 results, click here. To view our 2018 results, click here.
Excerpt – Read full 2020 findings here
The incidence of sexual harassment has returned to 2018 levels with 18% of respondents reporting experiencing sexual harassment at work (10% in 2019). Of these, 80% were women, 19% were men, and 1% identified as non-binary.
“It is difficult to identify why we are back to the 2018 findings, but perhaps it relates to increased awareness around what constitutes sexual harassment and a diminishing tolerance for workplace sexual harassment in all its forms,” said Matrix Recruitment’s Breda Dooley.
