Sexual Harassment of Hospitality Interns

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is widely known that the hospitality industry is rife with sexual harassment of especially female employees, yet every year hospitality programs send out thousands of students to complete internships making them vulnerable to sexual harassment, which is a violation of their Title IX rights. The purpose of this descriptive study was to be the first to survey US hospitality students to see if they experienced sexual harassment during a recently completed internship. The majority of the 297 respondents did not experience sexual harassment but a sufficient number experienced sexist and sexual hostility mostly from male managers, coworkers, and customers. The majority of respondents were not informed as to the inappropriate sexual behaviors they may encounter during their internship; over half were given no training by the internship coordinator or employer on what to do if harassed. It is clear that more needs to be done by internship coordinators and employers to protect student interns Title IX rights.