Amidst ongoing conversations about the #MeToo movement, an overwhelming majority of Louisiana residents agree that not only are gender discrimination and sexual harassment major issues but also more cultural shifts are needed to put women on equal footing with men in the workplace.
That’s according to the fourth installment of the six-part 2018 Louisiana Survey, a project of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU.
Released this morning, the survey of 852 Louisianans, age 18 and older, reveals an overwhelming majority—70%—believe women face “a lot” or “some” gender-based discrimination, up from 63% last year.
Also, a majority of respondents—61%, up from 58%—say women face significant obstacles that make it harder for them to get ahead.
And three-fourths of respondents believe additional cultural shifts need to take place within the United States to create gender equality in the workplace.
“These results underscore that people in Louisiana see gender discrimination as a very real issue in our state and feel like there is much work to be done in that arena,” says Michael Henderson, director of the Public Policy Research Lab, which conducted the survey. Additional results include:
- 52% of Republicans now say women face gender discrimination, up from 42% last year. The shift was even larger among Republican women, up 16 points, than Republican men, up 11 points.
- There was significant growth in the shares of Democratic men—up 7 points—and Republican men—up to 11—who believe further change is necessary to bring gender equality to the workplace. Democratic women had reached near unanimity on this issue a year ago while the share of Republican women who believe this notion has declined by 7 points since last year.
- Two-thirds of Louisianans say recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault against prominent men in entertainment, politics and the media mainly reflect widespread problems in society.
- Nearly three-fourths of Louisiana residents say elected officials who are accused of sexual harassment or assault by multiple people should resign rather than stay in office.
Conducted annually since 2003 and twice in 2006, the 2018 Louisiana Survey measures public opinion on an array of issues in Louisiana. This year’s survey was conducted between Jan. 26 and March 3, and has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
To continue the conversation about gender discrimination and sexual harassment, the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs is hosting “Hear them Roar: Voicing the Truth on Sexual Harassment in Media and Politics,” from 7-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12.
The discussion, moderated by former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, examines the role of power, money, media and politics in the #MeToo movement and other stories of sexual harassment. Read the fourth installment of the 2018 Louisiana Survey. Be sure to check out past stories on the first, second and third installments of the survey, which examines how Louisianans feel about the direction of the state, tax changes and government.
