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  • How Much Does Workplace Sexual Harassment Cost Over a Lifetime? Up to $1.3 Million, a New Study Estimates

    Jul 23, 2021

    By Meera Jagannathan

    Workplace sexual harassment can have many intangible psychological and physical consequences, but survivors also face concrete financial costs in the near and long term, according to a new report published nearly four years after the resurgence of the #MeToo movement.

    On-the-job sexual harassment helps drive the gender wage gap and can result in lifetime costs for survivors ranging from $600 to $1.3 million, according to the analysis of case studies by the Time’s Up Foundation and Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

    “As employers rethink their post-COVID workplaces, we need to ensure that work — whether it’s remote or in the office — is safe, dignified, and equitable,” IWPR president and CEO C. Nicole Mason said in a statement.

    Direct costs — stemming from the harassment itself or potential retaliation — can include reduced earnings from scaled-back shifts, lost bonuses and lost promotions; job loss; lost benefits such as retirement contributions and healthcare; legal fees; forced career change; increased medical fees; and education and retraining costs related to reentering the workforce, the analysis found.

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