It's an important moment for women but will #metoo create lasting change? | Rebecca Huntley

Like so many women I know, I’ve closely followed the national and international stories about powerful men in politics and the media and their alleged involvement in sexual harassment.

I’ve followed #metoo on social media. I’ve watched as stories of sexism, discrimination and assault (so many stories, all too familiar) have “crossed over” from the status of confidential disclosures between friends to national news headlines.

It feels as if this is an important moment for women but while we are in the middle of it, it’s hard to predict how important. How widespread and how evenly distributed will this reckoning and redistribution of power be? How lasting will any change be? Will it be legal, cultural and structural? Will it only serve to benefit the kinds of women already well positioned within the workplace?

The results from this and last week’s Essential Report offer some insight into how #metoo is playing out in the community.

Each year we run the following question on the Essential Report: how much sexism and discrimination against women do you think currently occurs in the workplace, the media, sport, advertising, politics and schools?

There isn’t much difference in the results when it comes to the location of sexism and discrimination. It’s just as likely to happen in politics as in advertising as in the workplace.

We tend to think schools are the least likely places where sexism and discrimination occur. Perhaps that’s because we have high hopes for the next generation; perhaps because it’s wishful thinking if we have daughters still at school.

Where the clear difference lies is in the views of men and women. Men are consistently less likely to think sexism and discrimination exists and this gender gap holds fast, regardless of context.

What’s more, if we go back and look at the results on this question in previous years , the numbers haven’t really moved. In terms of workplace sexism and discrimination, 57% of those surveyed this year thought there was a lot or some. In 2016, it was 61%. In previous years, it has always been around 55% to 60%.

It seems huge amounts of media exposure about these issues hasn’t done enough to shift attitudes. While raising awareness about sexism and discrimination is important, it’s clearly not enough.

This week’s Essential Report results are more encouraging reading – at least if you have some belief in the willingness of men to empathise and change.

A strong majority – 71% – of those surveyed agreed with the statement: “It is important that these cases of harassment and discrimination are exposed and those involved take responsibility for their past behaviour.”

Yes there is a gender gap, but only a slim one, at about 4%. No gender gap in those undecided. Men were only 4% more likely to be worried about unfair allegations and exaggerated claims.

The more important question however – the results that intrigued me the most – related to lasting change.

Would the current media attention trigger a significant shift or was it all a fleeting scandal? The results here were the most ambivalent and fascinating.

Just about half of all surveyed – 55% - believed this would bring about lasting change, with no real gender gap in the results. But close to half were either unsure or believed it would all blow over soon with no lasting outcome. Men were 5% more likely to believe this than women.

If you scrutinise the results in relation to how men and women respond to a battery of statements relating to sexual harassment and the workplace, you might sink into greater cynicism about the possible progress of gender equality.

There are yawning gender gaps on almost all the attitudinal statements. While at some level the attitudes of men on this don’t surprise me, they still dismay me. That 40% of men agree that women often exaggerate stories about sexual harassment in the workplace (a result somewhat at odds with the response to the question about “lasting impact”). That nearly 40% of men believe discrimination is no longer a serious problem in Australian workplaces. That half of men believe that, compared to previous generations, women have little to complain about in the workplace.

The stories we’ve heard about sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace will continued to be shared but the impact of those stories needs to be amplified. Can I suggest a new hashtag?

#lastingchange