harassment

Public Affairs industry should take women as seriously as men

29 October, 2019 By WiC

Inaugural WiPA survey reveals there is still more to do.

Research published by Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) and Opinium Research reveals that the Public Affairs industry isn’t working for many women. WiPA is calling on the industry to do more.

1 in 4 (27%) women in the sector say they have experienced sexual harassment at work. The results found that nearly 1 in 3 women (30%) rated the industry as poor at protecting and helping women deal with sexual harassment, with only 4% rating the industry as good. This is unacceptable and needs to be tackled.

There is a myriad of areas the industry needs to make significant improvements on to promote an inclusive culture and help women succeed at work. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of women feel their company is not transparent about progression and pay, and nearly half (44%) believe their pay differs from their male counterparts in their company.

Results also show that over half of women (56%) feel uncomfortable asking about a company’s maternity policy in an interview. Furthermore, while 4 out of 5 women (80%) said they were allowed to work from home, a third (36%) of those only feel comfortable doing so in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

In response to the findings, WiPA is today launching a campaign to raise industry standards. The campaign will include roundtables with senior leaders to discuss the results and create deliverable actions. WiPA will also be adapting their offer to ensure events, training and resources are best tailored to members to support the progression of women in the industry.

WiPA Chair, Laura Sainsbury said:

This research should be shocking but sadly it isn’t. Our research has shown not only that the industry must do more to modernise and support women to reach the top – from advertising salary bands to normalising modern working trends such as flexible working – but it also needs to address other diversity issues such as race or socio-economic background. This is an urgent wake up call for our industry. We look forward to working with partners on our campaign to improve standards and will be announcing a series of roundtables over the next few months.

Opinium Chief Executive, James Endersby said:

While the Public Affairs industry ticks the boxes for women being offered more flexible working options and being interviewed by more gender-balanced panels, there is still a long way to go. With half of women in PA believing the industry is only average at supporting women’s progress, Public Affairs has an opportunity to address these issues, starting with better training and more transparency on pay, progression and maternity leave. The male cohort within Public Affairs can help – by supporting the 1 in 2 women who experience discrimination in the industry, and confronting sexual harassers, as still a quarter (27%) of women in PA admit to having experienced sexual harassment in the industry.

The survey received 263 responses from women working in the industry and the breakdown revealed a lack of diversity with 83% of respondents identified as White and 23% from a minority group.

The socio-economics also revealed that most women in the industry are based in London (78%) and that over half (55%) went to a comprehensive school, with 24% attending private school. Furthermore, 99% have an undergraduate degree, with 43% having higher than an undergraduate.

When asked about barriers in the industry and what needed to change, many women described a “laddish” culture or a persisting “old boy’s network”. One respondent said “it’s still a very ‘macho’ industry, which seems to require out of hours networking and ego”. There were also calls for “more profile to female leaders as role models” and “women to be taken as seriously as men” as well as changes to ways of working.

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It’s time to call an end to sexual harassment in the City

15 October, 2019 By WiC

In this article, Kaajal Nathwani, Senior Associate, Employment Law, Curwens LLP gives an overview of the law in relation to sexual harassment.

#Metoo

Since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in October 2017, the #MeToo hash tag continues to trend across social media on a global scale revealing the widespread prevalence of sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
The floodgates have stayed open with countless scandals dominating the media, outing even the rich and famous, bringing both the unsuspecting and respected professions into disrepute.

British actresses Emma Watson and Kate Winslet, amongst others signed an open letter of intent at the height of the furore stating:

This movement is bigger than just a change in our industry alone. This movement is intersectional, with conversations against race, class, community, ability and work environment, to talk about the imbalance and abuse of power.

Say no

They, together with others have called for an end to what appears to have been ‘tolerance’ of sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination across all industry sectors, instead of saying no.

Thousands of women have found the strength through the public rise of the movement and the countless support groups which have been created, to speak out about the appalling extent of discrimination they have suffered. However there remain an even larger number who are still too scared to speak up, and continue to believe what they went through could never truly be (sexual) harassment; the silent victims. Many struggle to deal with the mental and physical effects of discriminatory treatment which is often the reason why they stay quiet for so long.

What is sexual harassment?

The Equality Act 2010 generally defines sexual harassment as unwanted conduct related to sex (behaviour) which has the effect of violating dignity or creating a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

There is a second definition which relates to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the same purpose or effect as in the general definition. Whilst there is clearly some overlap, conduct of a sexual nature covers verbal and non-verbal physical conduct including unwelcome sexual advances, touching, forms of sexual assault, jokes, display of pornographic photos or images, and sending emails with content of a sexual nature.

Even if the conduct may not have been carried out by the perpetrator with the ‘purpose’ of having that effect (for example: ‘joke’ messages, or expecting the female to always pour the tea in meetings), if it has that ‘effect’ (someone is offended by it and does feel violated), it is deemed unlawful, if it is ‘reasonable’ for the conduct to have had that effect.

This gives another layer to the law, whilst this is considered a controversial test the law prevents those who may be oversensitive making claims in situations which no one else would consider as offensive.

What is unwanted?

Certain types of conduct are deemed unwelcome, unless invited. With less obvious behaviour, case law has provided guidance that the question to be asked in the context of each individual situation is whether the person, by virtue of their words or behaviour, has made it clear that they found the conduct unwelcome. There is no need to draw public attention, for example walking out of the room may be sufficient to demonstrate that the conduct was unwelcome. The test is that a “reasonable person” needs to understand that the recipient was rejecting the conduct.

On our doorstep

Whilst the #Metoo movement is global, the City of London is no stranger to the culture of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. Most recently, the insurance giant Lloyds of London has been publically vilified for condoning and even covering up an institutional culture of sexual harassment. A report revealed that 1 in 10 staff had witnessed sexual harassment whilst working for the City veteran.

A feature by Bloomberg Businessweek contained testimonies from female executives, with one referring to the office environment as a “meat market”, and another saying the harassment against women was “constant.” When has it ever been acceptable to hire the most attractive female assistants, or call females names such as “girls” or “totty”? Never is the answer, but this is the carry on, day in day out.

Silenced

The legal sector is also vulnerable to allegations of harassment. Historically renowned as a male dominated profession, there continues to be a gender imbalance at the top. Several women were interviewed by the Financial Times and one lawyer is reported to have said;

You don’t want to be labelled a troublemaker, someone who is not part of the banter, part of the club”; whilst a pupil barrister who endured groping by a senior staff member as well as a barrage of bouquets and sexually explicit letters from a client who became obsessed with her said “It never occurred to me that complaining was a possibility.”

Last week, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that a male magic circle Partner groped an ‘exceptionally drunk’ junior female colleague after a night of drinking. The female in her twenties told the tribunal that on the same evening, he commented on her body, touched her and climbed on top of her after entering her flat following a shared taxi ride, to use the bathroom. When he continued to touch her she said she ‘tried to stop him’ but ‘couldn’t really push him off’.

The victim said that the events had left her feeling “numb” and not “brave, strong or senior enough” to raise a complaint during her time at the firm; an all too familiar story.
As the case concluded this week, the tribunal panel found that the Partner had breached two of the 10 Solicitors Regulation Authority principles: that lawyers must act with integrity; and behave in a way that maintains the public’s trust in both the profession and in the provision of legal services and ordered that the male partner pay a fine of £35,000, court costs of £200,000. He subsequently resigned from his position.

How can the law change

The Government Equalities Office consultation on Sexual Harassment in the workplace concluded on 2 October 2019. One of the questions asked was whether there should there be a change in the law, to extend time limits to bring claims of sex discrimination in the Employment Tribunal?

Surely, an extension to the current 3 month time limit (excluding any extensions applied by participation in the ACAS Early Conciliation process) is needed to account for the reality of sexual harassment and the impact on victims which inevitably results in months if not years before they feel strong enough to speak out, let alone bring any legal claim? Just look at the Weinstein allegations which recently surfaced but which stem back decades; time which has stood still for his many victims. Time should not play a factor in the ability to have access to justice in such sensitive circumstances.

The consultation report documents that anecdotal evidence suggests in cases of sexual harassment, that it may be some time before an individual comes to terms with the incident, and/or is able to even identify it as an unlawful (often criminal) act. Once someone has identified an act as unlawful, and decided that they wish to take formal action, their first step will be to engage their organisation’s internal grievance process. If the internal process is unsuccessful, they may then seek legal advice before progressing further. All of this could take months, if not years.

Whilst there is a compelling case for extending the Employment Tribunal time limit for discrimination cases, especially Sex Discrimination and Harassment, the real question remains, how long will ever be enough? Should there be a time bar at all?

If you have been a victim of sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace, you are advised to raise an internal complaint to your employer via the grievance procedure and/or seek legal advice. In certain circumstances, it may be appropriate to report the matter directly to the Police.

The current time limit for issuing a claim in the employment tribunal is 3 months less one day from the alleged act of discrimination. It is mandatory to initiate the ACAS pre claim conciliation process before legal proceedings can be issued. Extensions to the three month time limit will be applied depending on the time spent in the early conciliation process. For further details please see the ACAS website.

Sources of help

Sexual Harassment Help Line
(Confidential Help Line run by Rights of Women)

Talk to Spot
(A confidential way for you to log experiences of harassment. Some companies subscribe to and use Spot internally, but you can use it for free as an individual.)

CONTRIBUTE TO SURVEY BY RIGHTS OF WOMEN ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Sexual harassment at work, points of contact for advice and support

19 August, 2019 By WiC

Despite being nearly two decades into the 21st Century women still experience sexual harassment in the workplace. No, it shouldn’t happen, men need to behave better, but it does and making a complaint, let alone taking the matter further, can be difficult, traumatic even.

Here are some organisations you can contact that may be able to help.

USEFUL HELPLINES AND WEBSITES

Rights of Women – specific sexual harassment help line

List of Law Centres

YES Law – specifically for employer/employee issues

RECORDING INCIDENTS

If you want to record incidents, try Talk to Spot, a website and App that’s secure. No “human” sees what you’re saying, but it’s a way of getting it off your chest and ensures you have all incidents recorded. You can also record what you see happening to others.

Some useful tips when reporting sexual harassment

Very strict time limits apply. You have only 3 months from the date of the discrimination to start a claim in the employment tribunal and only 6 months in relation to education or goods and services.
If you’re a member of a union get in touch with your Union Representative.
Check your house insurance for legal expenses insurance (an underused resource).

If you’ve experienced harassment and have (or haven’t) brought a claim against your employer, please share any tips or experiences (good, bad and ugly) you have with us and we’ll add them (anonymously if that’s your choice) to this page.

1 in 4 workplace harassment perpetrators are customers or clients

29 January, 2019 By WiC

2 in 5 UK Business Directors Lack Workplace Harassment Training, study finds

Leading ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global® highlighted research finding more than 44 percent of UK business directors have never received training on workplace harassment, and 21 percent have only received one training session, according to the report available here.

Twenty-eight percent of the UK non-managerial level workforce have either never been trained or only received one session on workplace harassment. This represents a significant proportion of the workforce inadequately trained to be aware of and spot harassment, as well as what constitutes such behaviour. The comprehensive report, Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, indicates UK organizations require a continued focus if sexual harassment is to better addressed.

11pc increase in workplace harassment reports

A promising finding is an 11 percent increase in workplace harassment reports since initial news reports that led to what is now known as the #MeToo movement. Independent research has shown a clear association between increased use of internal hotline reporting systems like those used to report workplace harassment, and improved business performance. The report also found positives in the 57 percent of respondents who stated they expect to improve their training.

It’s reassuring to see an increase in reporting, and employers need to make additional progress with training, procedural changes, awareness and improved company culture, said Bob Conlin, NAVEX Global President and CEO.

Only then will we see a more impactful improvement in our culture. This needs to be supported and led by every organization’s board. Our findings show the higher you move up within a business, the less training and awareness there is of sexual harassment. Given how power and workplace harassment can be a poisonous mix, this is troubling and needs to be addressed.

The report also cites the Young Women’s Trust finding that one in two human resources directors and decision-makers who are women think their workplaces are sexist, and a third of EU women report experiencing sexual harassment at work.

Other key points in the report include:

Building trust in reporting mechanisms was found to be the most pressing harassment issue in UK organisations, followed by basic harassment awareness
One in eight large organisations in the UK are aware of unreported sexual harassment in their workplace (Young Women’s Trust)
The biggest reason cited for not reporting misconduct is fear reports will not be confidential (74%)

We’ve come a long way in the UK and the European workplace, making it safer and more supportive than ever before,” said Conlin.

However, what our report highlights is there’s still a lot of work to be done if we’re to reach our full potential.

Perhaps most shocking of all the Report’s findings are that:

1 in 4 workplace harassment perpetrators are customers or clients
1 in 2 female HR directors think their workplaces are sexist

If you’ve experienced harassment in the workplace you can report it, confidentially, to TalkToSpot

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Street harassment “normalised” for women and girls

23 October, 2018 By WiC

Government failing to address the issue

Following a 9 month inquiry into sexual harassment of women and girls in public, MPs have concluded that while the Government has pledged to eliminate sexual harassment of women and girls by 2030 under its international obligations, there is no evidence of any programme to achieve this.

Moreover, sexual harassment is almost entirely absent in the current cross-departmental strategy for tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.

The Government’s report, published today, finds that harassment in public places is relentless and becomes ‘normalised’ as girls grow up, contributing to a wider negative cultural effect on society.
The report says that social attitudes, including disrespect of women and an assumption by some men that they can behave in this way, underpin sexual harassment.

Next steps

The report outlined seven key recommendations to tackle street harassment:

Force train and bus operators to take tougher action against sexual harassment and block the viewing of pornography on public transport
Ban all non-consensual sharing of intimate images
Publish a new “Violence Against Women and Girls” strategy
Create a public campaign to change attitudes
Take an evidence-based approach to addressing the harms of pornography, along the lines of road safety or anti-smoking campaigns
Tougher laws to ensure pub landlords take action on sexual harassment – and make local authorities consult women’s groups before licensing strip clubs
Make it a legal obligation for universities to have policies outlawing sexual harassment

Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Maria Miller MP, said:

Sexual harassment in public places is a regular experience for many women and girls in the street, in bars and clubs, on buses and trains, at university and online. It is the most common form of violence against women and girls and the damage is far-reaching. And yet most of it goes unreported.

It can make women and girls scared and stressed, avoid certain routes home at night or certain train carriages, wear headphones while out running; women feel the onus is put on them to avoid ‘risky’ situations. It is not acceptable that women have to change their behaviour to avoid sexual harassment. It has a wider effect on society, contributing to a culture in which sexual violence can be normalised or excused. All of this keeps women and girls unequal.

The #MeToo movement shows that we must confront some deeply uncomfortable truths about our society and the attitudes some men hold. Laws alone cannot solve the cultural acceptability of sexual harassment. That is why we have set out a series of practical measures that Government, public transport operators, local authorities and universities should implement immediately. Public places must be made safe for all women and girls.

What you should do if you are harassed in public

Read the Report Summary