Discrimination in the workforce: how it impacts a business

Discrimination, in its best form, is a hard concept to fathom as an employee or ordinary citizen. In the workplace, there are times when discrimination is necessary due to extenuating circumstances that revolve around the form or act of discrimination. It could be conveyed to save a life or avoid future conflict. However, it must be clearly stated as a written law that the act is lawful. When unlawful discrimination occurs, it stages an entirely different tone, as it is mainly conducted out of malice, hatred, greed, control, or ignorance. Over the last few decades, discrimination has existed in the workplace, although Federal laws mandate that it does not occur. It does not exist in just one geographical area or is country specific, but covers a wide spectrum, linking countries together from their points of view to creating rifts amongst those who are affected and those who are not, not only from a business perspective, but social humanistic relationships as well. This thesis will use quantitative and qualitative data to support discrimination of sexual harassment, race or color, and gender issues, as well as personal experiences, and how it has and will continue to impact businesses if the acts do not cease, permanently. Leadership, from the Presidents and Heads of Countries, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), managers, lowest-ranking supervisor, and employees should make it their personal goal to ensure these issues do not continue or arise in their perspective areas of responsibilities. When employees understand that they are valued, will be taken seriously when reporting acts of discrimination, and that some form of action will be taken, performance and productivity will escalate, and morale will increase in the workplace, resulting in higher productivity and subsequently higher profit margins for the company.

Formal complaints of workplace sexual harassment lodged with Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissions - 1 July 2009 - 31 December 2009

This report presents an analysis of quantitative data collected from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Discrimination Commission of Queensland, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales, the Equal Opportunity Commission of South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunity Commission Western Australia, the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission, and the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (Tasmania) (hereafter referred to as the Commissions). The data comprise formal complaints lodged under the various federal, state and territory anti-discrimination laws in the period 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2009 where a complainant had alleged sexual harassment in the area of employment.

Action or inaction: bystander intervention in workplace sexual harassment

A promising approach to the persistent problem of workplace sexual harassment (SH) is encouraging interventions by bystanders. Adopting a typology developed by Bowes-Sperry and O'Leary-Kelly that considers the level of immediacy and involvement of bystander interventions, this study explored 74 detailed descriptions of SH events that occurred in Australian workplaces. The findings reveal that despite the hidden nature of SH, there is significant involvement of actors who are not direct targets but their actions are frequently delayed, temporary or ineffective. The study makes two contributions to the study and practice of HRM. First, it provides important evidence of the different ways that bystanders respond to SH in real workplaces and the relative likelihood of these actions. Second, the study points to relevant contextual features evident in the scenarios described which determine if and how bystanders intervene. We discuss the utility of the bystander framework for future research and practice, including the development of bystander interventions as a potentially innovative response to the persistent and damaging problem of workplace SH.

A proposal for a corresponsible intervention on sexual harassment at work

Sexual harassment at work is a form of gender violence barely made visible but still present in labor organizations, where it keeps generating high levels of suffering, discrimination and inequality mainly affecting women. To address it properly it is necessary an organizational change towards equity arising from the knowledge of the subjective meanings that stakeholders (staff, union representatives, employers, public administration, etc.) attribute to that reality. In this article we present the main findings of a qualitative study on the social perception of sexual harassment. The work highlights the existence of many strategies aimed at legitimize and minimize the relevance of the problem, blaming the victim, justifying the lack of support from the environment and / or the involvement of the organization in the solutions. Among the conclusions we underline the need for new models of business management involving all stakeholders in the prevention and control of the in a responsible way.

Framing sexual harassment through media representations

This article examines mainstream news media texts reporting sexual harassment in four industrialized countries. The study first identifies the aspects of sexual harassment cases considered newsworthy by asking how the media texts characterize such cases. Second, the study illuminates the discourses evident in these texts, which are theorized as a mode by which understandings of workplace gender (in)equality shape, and are shaped by, individuals, organizations and the community. The analysis reveals that the media most frequently reports “classic” sexual harassment and emphasizes scandalous allegations and overtly sexualized conduct. The hegemony of a discourse of sexual harassment as an individualized problem of inappropriate employee behavior is also evident. By contrast, discourses presenting sexual harassment as a systemic issue, or as symptomatic of broader gender inequality, are less frequent. We argue that these media representations limit opportunities to frame sexual harassment as dynamic, complex, and part of the practice of gendering in and beyond organizational boundaries.

Constitutive Regulation of the Firm: occupational health and safety, dismissal, discrimination and sexual harassment

As many other chapters in this book have noted, until recently labour lawyers have tended not to draaw on regulatory scholarship. In this chapter we look at certain areas of labour law through a particular kind of regulatory lens - regulation that requires firms to reconstitute their management processes and procedures, perhaps even their organisational cultures. In particular, we examine the kinds of regulatory demands made on firms by legal rules in four areas of labour law: (i) occupational health and safety (OHS)regulation; unfair dismissal law; equal opportunity (EO) and (iv) sexual harassment law.

Ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moderated mediation model of affective commitment and authenticity at work

Recently, unethical conduct in the workplace has been a focus of literature and media. Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) refers to unethical conduct that employees engage in to benefit the organization. Given the complexity of UPB, there is an increasing need to understand how and under what conditions this attitude originates within organizations. Based on a sample of 167 employees and seven organizations, results support the moderated mediation model. An ethical leader increases employees’ organizational affective commitment which increases the likelihood to engage in UPB. However, the indirect relationship diminishes when employees feel authentic at work.

Outrage management in cases of sexual harassment as revealed in judicial decisions

Sexual harassment can be conceptualized as a series of interactions between harassers and targets that either inhibit or increase outrage by third parties. The outrage management model predicts the kinds of actions likely to be used by perpetrators to minimize outrage, predicts the consequences of failing to use these tactics—namely backfire, and recommends countertactics to increase outrage. Using this framework, our archival study examined outrage-management tactics reported as evidence in 23 judicial decisions of sexual harassment cases in Australia. The decisions contained precise, detailed information about the circumstances leading to the claim; the events which transpired in the courtroom, including direct quotations; and the judges' interpretations and findings. We found evidence that harassers minimize outrage by covering up the actions, devaluing the target, reinterpreting the events, using official channels to give an appearance of justice, and intimidating or bribing people involved. Targets can respond using countertactics of exposure, validation, reframing, mobilization of support, and resistance. Although there are limitations to using judicial decisions as a source of information, our study points to the value of studying tactics and the importance to harassers of minimizing outrage from their actions. The findings also highlight that, given the limitations of statutory and organizational protections in reducing the incidence and severity of sexual harassment in the community, individual responses may be effective as part of a multilevel response in reducing the incidence and impact of workplace sexual harassment as a gendered harm.

Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on : a review of the literature

Despite its proscription in legal jurisdictions around the world, workplace sexual harassment (SH) continues to be experienced by many women and some men in a variety of organizational settings. The aims of this review article are threefold: first, with a focus on workplace SH as it pertains to management and organizations, to synthesize the accumulated state of knowledge in the field; second, to evaluate this evidence, highlighting competing perspectives; and third, to canvass areas in need of further investigation. Variously ascribed through individual (psychological or legal consciousness) frameworks, sociocultural explanations and organizational perspectives, research consistently demonstrates that, like other forms of sexual violence, individuals who experience workplace SH suffer significant psychological, health- and job-related consequences. Yet they often do not make formal complaints through internal organizational procedures or to outside bodies. Laws, structural reforms and policy initiatives have had some success in raising awareness of the problem and have shaped rules and norms in the employment context. However, there is an imperative to target further workplace actions to effectively prevent and respond to SH.

Below the ‘tip of the iceberg’: extra-legal responses to workplace sexual harassment

Despite longstanding and explicit legal frameworks for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, only a small proportion of those sexually harassed use legal avenues of redress to seek justice. In contrast to legal cases which constitute the ‘tip of the iceberg’, this study examines extra-legal strategies — the less visible but more frequent, ‘everyday’, formal and informal organizational practices. We report on a national prevalence survey conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission which examined how ‘targets’ use formal organizational grievance mechanisms, and/or other informal methods to redress, resist or avoid workplace sexual harassment. The findings revealed that the majority of targets do not formally report it because of fear of retribution or that nothing will be done, but they sometimes use apparently proactive or assertive alternative strategies, such as seeking informal assistance and ‘dealing with the problem themselves’. These responses occur in the context of extra-legal facets of organizational life which affect the extent to which sexual harassment and other unfavorable and discriminatory acts are tolerated.

Settling sexual harassment complaints through conciliation : what complaints settle and what complaints don’t?

This paper explores why some complaints of sexual harassment lodged under Australian anti-discrimination laws might settle during the conciliation process while others do not. It draws on an analysis of data collected from files of sexual harassment complaints lodged with all state, territory and federal human rights agencies in the area of employment over a six month period. The analysis suggests that complaints that conform with the stereotypical image of sexual harassment, where a woman is physically sexually harassed by a senior man, are more likely to settle as are complaints where the complainant is in full-time, secure employment and where complainants are not legally represented. However, sustained Australian research, including by human rights agencies, is vital is to further explore these issues.

Settlement outcomes in sexual harassment complaints

This article examines the dispute resolution process of conciliation through a detailed study of Australian workplace sexual harassment complaints. It links two data sets: settlement details of a census of conciliated complaints lodged under all federal, State, and Territory anti-discrimination laws in a six-month period; and interviews undertaken with 71 professionals who have extensive, first-hand experience of conciliation processes in anti-discrimination jurisdictions. The article provides a critique of the effectiveness of conciliation as a form of ADR within the individualised constraints of current anti-discrimination laws.

Workplace sexual harassment at the margins

Men are overwhelmingly responsible for sexual harassment against women in the workplace. However, the literature also points to less typical manifestations, including sexual harassment by men of other men and by women of men or other women. This article examines these atypical forms of sexual harassment, drawing on a census of all formal sexual harassment complaints lodged with Australian equal opportunity commissions over a six-month period. The analysis reveals some important distinctions and similarities across groups of atypical complaints, as well as between atypical groups and ‘classic’ sexual harassment complaints where men harass women. The article contributes to the relatively undeveloped literature on these less visible forms of sexual harassment and highlights both theoretical and pragmatic challenges in better understanding workplace sexual harassment ‘at the margins’.

Sexual harassment in the medical profession: Legal and ethical responsibilities

Sexual harassment of women in medicine in the Australian medical profession is a serious problem which presents substantial legal, ethical and cultural questions for the medical profession. Women have enforceable legal rights to gender equality and freedom from sexual harassment in the workplace. Both individual offenders and their employers face significant legal consequences for sexual harassment. Individual medical practitioners and employers need to understand their legal and ethical responsibilities in this context. This article analyses four areas of legal liability in every State and Territory which apply to individual offenders and employers: criminal law, discrimination law, civil law, and contract law. It also analyses ethical duties owed by doctors towards their colleagues under professional regulatory schemes. The analysis shows that individual doctors and their employers have clear legal and ethical obligations to prevent sexual harassment. On legal and ethical grounds, medical employers, professional colleges and associations, and regulators need to improve gender equality and professional culture in medicine. A five-step model for cultural change is proposed.

A Human Rights Triumph? Dictatorship-Era Crimes and the Chilean Supreme Court

This article assesses the dramatic shift in Chilean Supreme Court jurisprudence toward accountability for crimes committed during the dictatorship and sets it within the context of judicial reform and political change. Chile's experience has been identified as emblematic of delayed justice, but an examination of key case law identifies the narrow scope and instability of Supreme Court decision-making. The Court has been uncharacteristically assertive in its application of human rights norms yet vulnerable to external influences. The Chilean example underscores the need for political leadership to address past violations in post-conflict societies. Political inertia impeded justice claims and, as a result, change required significant judicial innovation.