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9 in 10 Boston women report workplace sexual harassment is a problem, poll says

Associated Press illustration/Associated Press

One in four Bostonians say they have experienced sexual harassment, according to a new poll, but 86 percent call sexual harassment in the workplace a problem.

The Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll found that 24 percent of respondents reported a co-worker making unwanted sexual advances toward them.

The survey of 500 likely voters in Boston was conducted Oct. 19 to Oct. 21 and carries a margin of error of plus/minus 4.4 percent.

In the poll, 91 percent of women called workplace sexual harassment a problem, along with 81 percent of men. Women were four times more likely to say that they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, at 39 percent.

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Hispanic respondents were far less likely than any other demographic to say they had experienced sexual harassment under the definition of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, at just 7 percent.

Black respondents were significantly more likely to say they had reported such behavior, at 50 percent. That was twice the rate of whites and 12 percentage points more than Hispanic respondents.


Jim O’Sullivan can be reached at jim.osullivan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JOSreports.