Mean girls are the least of fashion’s problems.
The fashion industry is known for being exclusionary and ruthless, and based on Glossy research, it’s far from repairing its reputation.
A recent survey by Glossy of 58 workers found that discrimination and harassment are rampant in fashion, with 70% of industry workers stating they’ve been discriminated against or harassed over the course of their career. And despite more efforts being made across industries to ensure safety and tolerance in the workplace, fashion has been slow to evolve.
Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said discrimination in the fashion industry is as prevalent as ever. What’s more, 100% of respondents who have been in the industry just one to two years reported already experiencing a form of harassment or discrimination, which shows the lack of progress being made.
Of the 70% of survey respondents who have experienced discrimination or harassment, most cited sexual harassment (63%) or being denied opportunities (63%) as the specific type, followed by verbal harassment (56%). The basis of the discrimination spanned characteristics, with gender (69%), age (44%) and job or salary level (38%) being the most cited.
Though an overwhelming number of survey respondents reported having friendly and kind co-workers, almost one-third (31%) said they have competitive colleagues and 4% described colleagues as being vicious.
