A blog post written by a woman detailing sexual assault by her powerful boss in an upscale bar prompted fifteen women to come forward with their own stories – about the same man.
The blog, The Reality of Sexual Assault in the Cocktail Community, details in graphic, difficult-to-read accounts, their experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the restaurant and bar industry. The homepage contains content wherein the original author explains she wants to start a dialogue about what happened, why none of them have gone public with these allegations and what can be done by women in similar situations today.
A large study conducted in 2014, The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry, revealed there are more than 11 million workers in the restaurant industry, which is one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the economy nationally. It is also the biggest source of sexual harassment complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Women are especially vulnerable in these roles, which are some of the most precarious from a financial standpoint. Approximately 70 percent of all servers are women and more than 60 percent of all tipped jobs are filled by females. Continue Reading ›