Workplace sexual harassment dominated the news last fall when four women accused presidential hopeful Herman Cain of sexual misconduct in the late 1990s -- accusations Cain vigorously denied. Employment lawyers say the widespread adoption of anti-harassment policies and training programs over the past decade has led to a decline in workplace sexual harassment charges filed with federal, state and local government agencies. But plaintiffs’ attorneys say sexual harassment remains a persistent and under-reported problem that boiler-plate corporate policies and training programs often fail to address. And worker-rights advocates say the numbers of charges may be declining for other reasons, including a move by employers to require potential employees to agree to binding arbitration of workplace disputes. Companies say arbitration benefits everyone by speeding up the dispute process, but workers’ advocates strongly disagree.

Barbara Mantel is a freelance writer in New York City whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and Mamm Magazine. She is a former correspondent and senior producer for National Public Radio and has won several journalism awards, including the National Press Club's Best Consumer Journalism Award and Lincoln University's Unity Award. She holds a B.A. in history and economics from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in economics from Northwestern University.