There's a terrible truth to what it's like being a female bartender in a college bar. Every shift a female works they risk being harassed, cat-called, and degraded.
Nearly
37 percent of all sexual harassment charges filed by women with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission come from the hospitality industry.
Due to confidentiality, names have been changed.
Students Vanessa Smith and Melissa Johnson share their experiences with being a female bartender here at WVU.
Smith quit her job because she felt that she just wasn't satisfied with how she was being treated at her job by her boss, co-workers, and customers.
Johnson currently is still bartending at her original location of employment.
78 percent of servers and bartenders were harassed by customers. Nearly two-thirds said they ignore sexually harassing behaviors, often for fear of looking harsh in front of other customers or losing tips.
Smith agrees with the statistic. "I have had customers harass me telling me to "give them a chance" or "let me get your number." Walking to/from work I would get cat calls. Co-workers and men of higher positions would sexual me and encourage me to approve it."
"No one has ever been too aggressive with his or her comments to the point that I couldn't brush off. I have been given attitude after not giving someone my number before," Johnson explains.