Harassment in the workplace (2007)

The 1996 film, The Associate, saw Whoopi Goldberg play the financial whizkid Laurel Ayres. In the first ten minutes we see her trying in vain to close a deal at a stripclub where her male project partner has chosen to entertain their clients. The next morning she walks in late to a meeting - that was moved forward without anyone telling her - to find her project partner taking credit for closing the deal. She is later written off by the board for her lack of commitment to closing the deal because she left the stripclub early.

Harassment and bullying at work takes many forms. It ranges from unwanted physical contact, unwelcome remarks about appearance, offensive language, gestures and pictures, and being disrespectful about someone's culture, sexuality and religious affiliation, to failing to safeguard confidential information, setting impossible deadlines and persistent criticism.

Although that film came out ten years ago, it is doubtful whether any progress has really been made on ensuring that women are not subjected to humiliation and harassment at work. In a 2004 survey of 3,000 full-time professionals aged 18 - 44, only one in seven women believed there were equal opportunities at work, compared to four in ten men. Six in ten of the total sample - eight in ten women - believed that men have better career opportunities. In a 2006 survey carried out by Personnel Today, three out of four women said they were bullied because of their gender. When compared to the same survey in 2002, 85% of women said that male bias still existed in their workplaces compared to 82% in 2002, and 72% of women said that they felt intimidated by a fellow colleague because of gender compared to 67% in 2002. Most importantly, only 8% said they would tell their managers if they were being harassed and four out of five said that they wouldn't do anything.

Cyber bullying is as much a disturbing phenomenon in our workplaces as it is in our schools. Bluetooth, e-mail and IRC chat programmes, like Yahoo messenger and MSN Instant messenger, can all be used to circulate offensive jokes and explicit pictures can be posted on the company's Facebook site without prior knowledge or consent.

Much legislation has come into force but these statistics show that women neither feel safer at work nor secure in their future career opportunities compared to men, and have little faith in their employers to take action.

Anti-discrimination law passed in 2003 on a number of grounds including disability, colour, ethnicity or national origin, sexuality and religious belief. The Equal Treatment Amendment Directive was implemented in October 2005 which, within the Sex Discrimination Act, prohibits all harassment, including sexual harassment.

Contained within the Equality Act 2006, the Gender Equality Duty came into force in April 2007. All organisations carrying out public functions in England, Wales and Scotland are required to eliminate harassment and discrimination and to promote equal opportunities between men and women. EVAW has created a number of fact sheets that highlight the financial costs of gender inequalities in the workplace and can help organisations implement the GED. Click here for more information.

At a time when women today are still earning around £1,000 less than men at the start of their post-university careers (Hesa, 2007) it is important that conditions are rectified in order for us to thrive. Most immediately, this includes keeping women safe at work. Bullying and harassment only adds to the other stress that we have to deal with at work, which ultimately hampers productivity… and the bottom line.

ORGANISATIONS

End Violence Against Women

http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/

Fawcett Society

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/

Women & Equality Unit

http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/

POLICY & REPORTS

Factsheet: harassment and bullying at work
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Women in the boardroom: a bird's eye view (PDF, 544kb)
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

A guide to the Equal Pay Act 1970
Women & Equality Unit

NEWS ARTICLES