UNLIVABLE
Increased Sexual Harassment and Wage Theft Continue to Drive Women, Women of Color, and Single Mothers Out of the Service Sector
April 2022
Prior to the pandemic, the restaurant industry reported the highest rates of sexual harassment, largely due to the subminimum wage for tipped workers. Now, two years into the pandemic, One Fair Wage conducted a new sexual harassment study in which women and women of color in particular report that harassment has gotten even worse. Unlivable conditions such as low wages, lessened tips, and increased harassment are driving women and women of color out of the restaurant industry. These conditions weigh heavily on single mothers who are the sole breadwinners in their households and must tolerate inappropriate behaviors in the workplace to make ends meet.
As featured in The 19th News here