Recent articles and social media discussions about predatory sexual behavior in the workplace by powerful men point to this good news: we have reached a point, finally, when such unacceptable and illegal behavior can be brought into the open and perpetrators named.
However, they also make clear that much work remains to be done. How do we end the culture of silence that permitted, and permits, predators to pursue their intimidation, bullying, and worse, for decades?
A few suggestions:
First, it remains imperative that more women reach senior leadership and have seats around the board of directors tables in our companies and workplaces.
We need to work to ensure the pipeline is full and that our accomplished women do not simply “drop out” because of frustrations surrounding gender disparities in the workplace. Research shows that companies with diverse leadership are more successful, and thus create more jobs. And the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein’s companies and FOXNews show that a diverse leadership, one that refuses to tolerate abusive behavior, ensures the long-term success of institutions.
Second, we need to call out the confidentiality agreements that have allowed predators to keep their illegal and abusive behavior secret for so many years. As lawyers, we recognize the place of confidentiality agreements. However, they should not be used to mask illegal, bullying, and abusive behavior. To the extent that such agreements exist, or may continue to be a mechanism to encourage plaintiffs to settle, it is time to develop new practices that protect confidentiality without hiding patterns of illegal, bullying, and abusive behavior.
Third, all workplaces need to revisit their policies and procedures to ensure that they effectively provide a safe place for the abused to identify abusers and to seek redress, and for the workplace to prevent patterns of abusive behavior. Effective policies and procedure need a safety mechanism to allow reporting without fear of retaliation and effective investigation. As we have learned these past few weeks, reporting abuse is painful and fraught, even when the abuse is clear. We need, through good governance initiatives and standards applied during the insurance application process, among other things, to make it unacceptable for organizations to ignore the need for such processes. Implementing strong ombuds and other processes that employees and others can use to reassert their autonomy and right to be free of abuse should be not just a best practice, but a required practice.
Fourth, if you see something, say something to change the culture that permits predatory behavior to continue — even if that something didn’t happen to you, even if you’re not the target, and especially if you hold a position of influence. Open secrets about predatory powerful executives that are decades old should not exist. Perhaps you say something to your friend or colleague whom you care about but think has acted inappropriately. Perhaps you provide encouragement and support to someone who has been targeted. Be an ally. Get better at hard discussions.
Women Lawyers on Guard is committed to helping ensure that our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, and friends and relatives of all backgrounds can pursue their dreams and their livelihoods without fear that a powerful boss, client, coworker, or other person necessary to their success can harass and intimidate, and ultimately threaten to derail, the person’s career and success. Surely, this is key to the “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” we all seek. Please join us in this endeavor. Sign up on our site today!
