It is going to take longer than we hoped for the lessons of the “Me Too” movement to change power relations between men and women in the workplace. In some respects, progress has been made. The survival of the Confederation of British Industry is hanging by a thread after its former director general and other senior staff were accused of sexual harassment.
Whether the CBI deserves to survive is a case that will have to be made on its own merits, but no one can now doubt the potentially serious consequences of sexual misconduct for any organisation.
In parliament, new independent complaints procedures have been set up, and parties have acted more quickly to suspend MPs against whom allegations have been made. No one can be sure how prevalent sexual harassment and bullying were before, but it seems certain that there is less of it now.
