10 Ways to Eliminate
Sexual Harassment at Work

Power.

If a woman can’t afford to lose her job, hours or benefits, this puts her in a vulnerable position for an unscrupulous boss or colleague. In the age of COVID-19, this makes some employees even more vulnerable due to limited employment opportunities.

Attraction.

When 30% of couples meet at work, we shouldn’t try to stop workplace romances. As long as it’s a mutual attraction, and there’s no conflict of interest, you don’t have a problem. However, if one person is interested, while the other is not, you have a problem.

Gender harassment.

This is a form of sexual harassment when men or even women treat women negatively, just because they are women. It could involve: depriving women of opportunities; paying women less than men; giving women less hours than men; segregating women into certain jobs; or treating women badly.

Creeps.

There’s no other way of putting it. There are some men who are just creeps, believing they have the right to hit on women and they don’t care about the consequences.

If you want to eliminate sexual harassment at work,
here are 10 suggestions, some pro-active and some re-active.

Being pro-active. I remember one case of a store owner in Winnipeg who did a great job taking action after an allegation of sexual harassment was made. His financial penalty was relatively low, yet he was still found liable for the behaviour of his employee. However, if he’d been pro-active, there may have been no sexual harassment in the first place.

Here are simple ways to be pro-active:

1 - A policy.

A policy is a good start if you spell out: what is and is not sexual harassment; what steps people can take; who employees can go to for support; what happens with an informal and formal complaint; consequences for violation of the policy; and what happens with vexatious complaints.

2 - Be clear.

Be crystal clear to every employee – staff and management – about which behaviours will be allowed and which will not. When someone joins your workforce, they get tonnes of information, and some information gets lost. Make sure this information doesn’t get lost.

3 - Repeat.

A month or two after an employee starts work, talk to them again about the importance of a sexual harassment-free workplace. This alerts any potential harassers, but it’s even better for someone who might be subject to harassment. Newcomers will know they can take action on their own, or bring it to someone’s attention.

4 - Don’t take crap.

Call out inappropriate behaviour before it becomes a big deal. Sexist jokes, or demeaning comments can be quickly put to rest with a “hey!” When you address the “small” stuff, it’s unlikely to get bigger.

5 - Power doesn’t matter.

When there is a whiff that something might be going on, don’t let a person’s status get in the way of taking action. When the CEOs of Best Buy, Hewlett Packard, and McDonald’s were let go due to inappropriate behaviour, I bet they wished someone had said something. The scrutiny on people in powerful positions is intense…and should be.

6 - Be true to your word.

Policies, training and coaching are useless if you’re not true to your word. No one will seek advice if they know your words are hollow and you don’t actually do anything when an incident takes place. Ensure any allegation is given the attention it needs and if you do, when the truth comes out, act on it. 

Being re-active. Let’s say despite your best efforts, there is a legitimate allegation of sexual harassment. It’s not too late to take action. Here are simple ways to re-act:

7 - Get all the facts.

When people say, “believe the victim” who doesn’t want to believe and support a person with a claim of sexual harassment? However, until you know all the facts, you must reserve judgement. Most informal complaints don’t need a lot of investigating, while a formal complaint needs a thorough investigation.

8 - Be open but neutral.

I’ve seen many a case where someone was swayed one way or another, and then skewed the facts to support their bias. Listen, be open to asking more questions, and follow any leads. Draw conclusions after you have all the facts.

9 - Seek advice.

Whether you need more assistance, or you just want another opinion, don’t be afraid to talk to someone who can help. That might be inside your workplace, such as a more senior person, or human resources or it might be outside your workplace, working with investigators, experts in the field, educators and lawyers.

10 - Take action.

Too many workplaces don’t take the action to remedy an incident of sexual harassment and they get in big legal trouble. For employers, it’s a balancing act, where you have to protect the rights of everyone. However, when you know someone is in the wrong, you must take corrective action. If you’re not sure exactly what to do, seek advice.