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Sexual Harassment: The Workplace’s Dirty Little Secret Sheridan, Kevin . Legal and Compliance Excellence Essentials ; Aurora (Dec 2017).

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ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) Recent headlines have been littered with numerous stories of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and rape.

Harvey Weinstein. Google. Uber. Silicon Valley. SoFi. Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes of Fox News. Three hundred and

ten accusations against filmmaker James Toback. Mark Halperin. Taylor Swift allegedly being groped by radio

host David Mueller. And for real, our 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush? FULL TEXT 8 concrete steps to combat workplace harassment

Recent headlines have been littered with numerous stories of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and rape.

Harvey Weinstein. Google. Uber. Silicon Valley. SoFi. Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes of Fox News. Three hundred and

ten accusations against filmmaker James Toback. Mark Halperin. Taylor Swift allegedly being groped by radio

host David Mueller. And for real, our 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush?

Sadly, sexual harassment is so pervasive that we sometimes don’t see it. Gender inequality in the workplace has

gotten better over the years, but it’s still a far cry from giving men and women equal opportunities. As a result,

despicable men often use their power and influence to coerce and take sexual advantage of women who simply

want to advance their careers. This puts women in an incredibly difficult place.

They are forced to decide whether to ignore inappropriate behavior that truly should be punished, or risk their

reputation and career by confronting or speaking out against someone who has a much more powerful position.

Many women choose to ignore inappropriate behavior, which makes these despicable men think they can get away

with continuing to act like creeps and criminals. It’s turned into a disgusting cycle. (Hollywood is the perfect

example. So many people knew about the entertainment industry’s dirty little secret, but did not report it.)

As the father of two intelligent and talented girls who will be entering the workforce in the near future, the

prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace terrifies me. It’s hard to know where to start fixing such a big

problem, but a good place to focus is gender equality in the workforce. If more women hold positions of power and

earn similar wages as men, the power balance will shift and sexual harassment should decrease. We need to start

by questioning the status quo.

Shockingly, nearly 50% of men think that when just one in ten senior leaders of their company is a woman, that’s

enough. Nearly, as remarkable is that roughly a third of woman agree. In addition, men and women have very

disparate perspectives on that progress:

My company is doing what it takes to improve gender diversity.1

–Men: 63% agree

–Women: 49% agree

My company often or always addresses disrespectful behavior toward women quickly.1

–Men: 55% agree

–Women: 34% agree

If we can change how we think about gender inequality and demand better, progress can move quicker than the

current glacial pace.

So, what can YOU do to correct this injustice? Here are 8 concrete steps:

1.Make a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and gender inequality as part of your corporate culture.

2.If you’re a senior HR leader, make a compelling business case for gender diversity and link it both to business

results and employee engagement.

3.Help women feel comfortable coming forward so that instances of harassment are reported to human resources,

the harasser’s manager, the Equal Opportunity Employment Officer, and if applicable, police authorities.

4.Safeguard that all incidences are documented, and if possible, videotaped. Be as specific as possible, recording

dates, times, places, and possible witnesses. Also record who the incident was reported to, as well as their

response.

5.Make use of your company resources. Check the company handbook and follow the related company policy

accordingly. If company policies are lacking, ask that they be updated.

6.Recognize the critical role managers play. Given that managers make the day-to-day decisions that influence

women’s careers, they are in the best position to protect and support their fair and equal treatment. Acknowledge

that managers may need more training to properly address issues.

7.Support co-workers who have experienced harassment and encourage them to come forward and report what

happened.

8.Publicly share your experience using the hashtag #MeToo. The more women who do so the better, since it will

give the world an accurate sense of the magnitude of the problem.

No company can afford to leave top talent left out, ignored, and treated unfairly. And in a country founded on the

value of equality, everyone deserves a fair chance, regardless of his or her gender, race, values, background, or

beliefs. L&C

Source

* LeanIn.Org and McKinsey &Co. Women In The Workplace 2017 Survey of over 70,000 men and women

Author Bio

Kevin Sheridan has spent thirty years as a high-level Human Capital Management consultant. He has helped some

of the world’s largest corporations break down detrimental processes and rebuild a culture that fosters productive

engagement, earning him several distinctive awards and honors in the process. Kevin’s newest product, PEER®, is

consistently recognized as a long overdue, industry-changing innovation in the field of Employee Engagement, and

his most recent book, “Building a Magnetic Culture,” made it to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA

Today best-seller lists. DETAILS

Subject: Managers; Gender equity; Power; Sexual harassment; Employee involvement;

Women; Inequality; Sex discrimination

Location: Silicon Valley-California United States--US New York

People: Ailes, Roger Swift, Taylor Bush, George Weinstein, Harvey Toback, James

Company / organization: Name: New York Times Co; NAICS: 511110, 511120, 515112, 515120; Name: USA

Today; NAICS: 511110; Name: Fox News Channel; NAICS: 515120; Name: LeanIn.Org;

NAICS: 813311; Name: Wall Street Journal; NAICS: 511110; Name: Google Inc;

NAICS: 334310, 519130

Publication title: Legal and Compliance Excellence Essentials; Aurora

Publication year: 2017

Publication date: Dec 2017

Publisher: HR.COM

Place of publication: Aurora

Country of publication: Canada, Aurora

Publication subject: Law

Source type: Magazines

Language of publication: English

Document type: Journal Article

ProQuest document ID: 2043613030

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2043613030?accountid=33337

Copyright: Copyright HR.COM Dec 2017

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Last updated: 2018-05-25

Database: ABI/INFORM Collection