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Industry conferences are often marketed as opportunities for connection, collaboration, and career growth. Employees are sent across the country to attend panels, network with peers, and develop new business relationships. Yet for many women these events come with an unspoken risk of sexual harassment.
While most people attend conferences with professionalism and good intentions, the combination of alcohol-fueled networking events, being away from home and family responsibilities, and power dynamics tied to business deals creates conditions where harassment too often occurs.
What should be an environment of opportunity and inclusion can quickly become one where women feel pressured to tolerate inappropriate behavior, boundary crossing, or blatant harassment and assault.
How Common Is Harassment at Conferences?
The numbers are startling. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) published findings from the Women’s Professional Conference Experience & Impact Study: Examining the Impact of Professional Conferences on Women’s Careers.*
The study found that 45% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment or unwanted advances at professional conferences. That means nearly one in two women who attend these events face boundary violations that can range from unwanted comments to physical assault.
The Many Forms of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment at conferences is not always blatant, but even the “smaller” incidents can add up to an unsafe and exhausting environment for women trying to advance their careers. Common behaviors include:
- Verbal harassment, such as leering, staring, inappropriate remarks about someone’s appearance, or sexual innuendos passed off as jokes.
- Unwanted advances, including sexually suggestive propositions or being pressured to meet privately, or insisting on walking you to your room then forcing themselves into the room.
- Physical harassment, such as unwanted touching, grabbing, or groping during networking receptions, taxi rides, and after parties.
- Extreme incidents, which unfortunately do occur. For example, reports from a 2024 legal tech conference detailed serious assaults and threats of violence. A reminder that harassment is not “just” inappropriate comments but can escalate to physical danger.
Why Conferences Create Higher Risk
Several factors make conferences uniquely vulnerable environments for harassment:
- Power Dynamics and Expectations: Attendees are expected to schmooze prospective clients and upper management, attend dinners, and after parties.
- Alcohol consumption: Sponsored happy hours, receptions, and late-night events often normalize heavy drinking, which can blur boundaries and embolden inappropriate behavior. NOTE: If you are too drunk to drive, you are too drunk to consent. Even if you had been drinking, you do not deserve to be sexually harassed. It is not your fault.
- Unfamiliar settings: Attendees are far from home, away from trusted support networks, and often navigating hotels, bars, and convention centers alone.
- Lack of clear reporting channels: Unlike a traditional workplace, conference attendees may not know who to turn to if they experience harassment—or whether organizers will take their concerns seriously. This silence leaves survivors feeling isolated and unsafe.
The Impact on Attendees
The personal and professional toll of sexual harassment at conferences is profound. Many women describe feeling pressured to “play along” with inappropriate behavior in order to maintain professional relationships or avoid retaliation. Others withdraw from networking opportunities, avoiding social events or one-on-one meetings that could advance their careers.
This creates an unfair trade-off: women must choose between protecting their safety or seizing career opportunities. In the long run, this not only harms individuals but also perpetuates inequality in professional advancement.
What to Do If You Experience Harassment at a Conference
If you experience harassment while attending a professional event, it is not your fault. You have the right to safety and respect. Here are some steps you can take if you choose to:
- Trust your instincts: If someone makes you uncomfortable, you do not owe them your time, attention, or politeness. It is okay to walk away.
- Document what happened: If you can, write down the details of the incident, including names, dates, times, and locations. Text a trusted friend outside of work to let them know what you experienced.
- Seek support: Identify a trusted colleague, mentor, or friend at the conference who can accompany you or help you navigate next steps.
- Report to HR or management in writing: Follow your workplace policy for reporting, if available, and send an email or text. If you report it verbally, follow up with an email outlining what you discussed. Keep it short and focused on the behavior of the harasser.
- Know your workplace rights: If the harassment involves a colleague, supervisor, client, or business contact, it may still be considered workplace harassment under the law. Consult with an attorney who specializes in sexual harassment and employment law.
In California, employees are protected by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which prohibits sexual harassment in all forms, whether it happens in the office, at a company event, or offsite at a conference. Federal law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also protects workers from harassment tied to their employment. This means your employer could still be responsible for harassment that occurs at a professional event if it is connected to your work.
You Are Not Alone
Above all, remember that you are not alone. Sexual harassment thrives in silence, but when survivors are supported and believed, it becomes possible to build safer professional spaces for everyone.
As advocates for survivors, we know that silence benefits only those who perpetrate harm. Raising awareness about harassment at conferences is the first step toward systemic change. The next step is accountability—ensuring that the professional spaces designed to grow careers never compromise dignity, respect, or safety.
*Source:
Women’s Professional Conference Experience & Impact Study: Examining the Impact of Professional Conferences on Women’s Careers Study from co-authors Brady Hahn and Emerald M. Archer, Ph.D. https://www.pcma.org/female-conference-attendee-opportunities-harassment/.
