What Is Sex Discrimination In The Workplace?
Sexual harassment in the workplace can be very hard to define, as is not always obvious what qualifies as harassment and what does not. It is important to educate yourself on the facts before you unknowingly become a victim or a harasser.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a legal term which is defined as the unwanted, unwelcome sexual advances of another person. While sexual harassment is never acceptable, it becomes an even larger problem when it occurs in the workplace or at school, and in those environments are the only places laws cover. There are many situations in which sexual harassment can occur, but the following are the most commonly reported.
Facts About Sexual Harassment
The victim does not have to be the opposite sex of the aggressor. Same-sex sexual harassment complaints are receiving more and more attention nationwide. Same-sex harassment is accepted as a valid and punishable form of harassment in the workplace.
A common misconception is that the harasser is typically the supervisor or in some way superior to the harassed. Anyone can be harassed by anyone else that they work with, regardless of their situation or station at the place of employment.The harassment must be unwelcome. A prior relationship between the aggressor and the harassed should not have taken place, or the validity of the claim may be questionable.
The victim is not necessarily the one who was harassed but could, in fact, be anyone who was affected in a negative way. Another office worker who was offended by the conduct or comments of his or her co-workers could in fact file charges against and receive restitution from their company and co-workers.
Two Types Of Sexual Harassment That Are Legally Recognized
There are two legally recognized forms of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment.
The most common is Quid Pro Quo, which roughly translated from the Latin means "something for something." This type of harassment occurs when a persons' acceptance or rejection of the sexual advances of another individual determines the victim's economic advancement or job advancement. In proving this type of sexual harassment, the victim needs to demonstrate that there was a threat of economic loss due to the harassment. Putting employees in that situation not only affects those involved with the harassment, but also affects overall job morale and productivity.
In employment law, hostile environment sexual harassment refers to a situation where employees in a workplace are subject to a pattern of exposure to unwanted sexual behavior from persons other than an employee's direct supervisor where supervisors or managers take no steps to discourage or discontinue such behavior. It is distinguished from quid pro quo sexual harassment, where a direct supervisor seeks sexual favors in return for something within the supervisor's powers, such as threatening to fire someone, or offering them a raise. While this type of harassment doesn't impact on your job promotion it creates stressful and unhealthy working environment.
Sexual Harassment In The Workplace Examples
- Pervasive sexually suggestive or crude jokes, gestures, comments on appearance or clothing.
- Repeated unwelcome intentional touching such as scratching or patting a coworker's back, grabbing employee around the waist, or interfering with an employee's ability to move. If the conduct is severe, such as grabbing one’s breasts, then one or two incidents are probably enough.
- Requests to engage in sexual activity or for sexual favors.
- Continued unwelcome requests for meetings outside the workplace after you have made it clear that they are not welcome.
- Repeated transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other harassment-related nature, especially after there has been an objection.
- Repeated display of sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or posters.
- Combination of several of the above.
Having a sexual harassment policy in place does not protect a company in lawsuits, though companies with strong, effective policies against harassment are less vulnerable to successful suits. Companies must disseminate these policies to employees and provide adequate training or be held legally accountable.