Six Myths

of Sexal Harassment

Recognizing that sexual harassment may be alive in your company is the first step to ridding the workplace of this potentially devastating plague.

JAN BOHREN

Jan Bohren is the director of human resources at the Argonne National Laboratory. He has held senior executive positions in the health insurance industry, with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Department of the Navy, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
he Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings and the Navy's "Tailhook" scandal were eye-openers for many people in this country—not necessarily for those employers that have worked for years to rid the workplace of outmoded male attitudes, but for all the other employers that had ignored the problem for years.
Enlightened companies recognize that their employees, and esPeciallY their manaze
ment teams, need explanations and education about this relatively new subject, and they have moved quickly to fill the gap in information. Others remain skeptical, chalking up sexual harassment as the latest liberal fad and convincing themselves that "this too shall pass."
But it won't—and the stakes are too high to continue to ignore it. Sexual harassment transgressions will continue to be serious liabilities, and those that are overlooked can bring a corporation to its knees, even cause shareholders to question management's ability to manage. And the liabilities are not just careers, but financial. Managers, especially CEOs, who want to avoid these liabilities, need to understand more about sexual harassment than what they may have seen on television, and they need to recognize and dispel the myths surrounding sexual harassment. Here are six of the-m:
MYTH #1:
IT'S NOT A PROBLEM HERE

Several years ago, a senior executive made a comment in a room of senior executives, including one woman, "Well, this kind of thing isn't happening at the top management level, but we need to make sure that it's not occurring at the worker level." The woman executive remained silent. The top executive of that organization had recently resigned over a sexual harassment scandal.
Flash! Sexual harassment is alive (if not rampant) in every organization that isn't paying attention to the issue. Remember, most sexual harassment complaints are lodged against people who have power over employees' careers. They're called supervisors, managers, vice presidents and, yes, even CEOs! The courts are not blind to managerial hierarchy, by the way. Juries generally hold higher-level managers to higher-level standards. Translation: the higher the level of the harasser, the higher the costs for the company.
MYTH #2:
IT'S HUMAN NATURE.
THEY'LL WORK IT OUT

It's not human nature, but it is prevalent. If you're a woman who has worked for five years or more, it is almost certain that you have been harassed in the workplace. If you're a man, it's just as likely that someone has harassed your spouse, your mother, your sister or your daughter in the workplace.
The employee who complains and is not heard will either quit or fight. If she quits, the harasser will continue to harass other employees— and the company loses a valuable person in whom time and money has been invested. In either event, the employer loses.
Sexual harassment is not human nature. It is unacceptable behavior, it's learned, it's illegal and, contrary to what many companies would like to believe, by merely leaving it alone, the problem will not disappear.
MYTH #3:

WOMEN HARASS MEN AS MUCH AS MEN HARASS WOMEN
Yes, women can and do harass men. Remember the Biblical story about Joseph, who was taken captive, sent to Egypt and assigned to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard? Potiphar's wife harassed Joseph, but she claimed it was Joseph who harassed her and presented her husband with a piece of Joseph's clothing as evidence.
Based on this circumstantial evidence, Potiphar would not even listen to Joseph's side of the story. There was no trial. Innocent as he was, Joseph went to jail. But even if there had been an investigation, Potiphar's wife and her "evidence" might have prevailed.
Of course, women can be the harassers. However, the vast majority of sexual harassment cases involve men harassing women. But you will often hear men counter charges of sexual harassment with, "She was the one who harassed me." This is a feeble defense. If he has no documentation, it won't hold up in court. If a man truly is harassed, he can't treat it lightly. He needs to document and report the occurrence immediately.
Some men also counter that the woman dressed or acted provocatively or "came on" to them. That, again, is no defense of the men's behavior.
MYTH #4:
IF THERE'S NO INTENT TO
HARASS, YOU'RE NOT LIABLE

This is one of the most common misconceptions and mistakes. Most sexual harassment involves no intended sexual misconduct or activity. Most men accused of sexual harassment will admit to the behavior, but claim they did not intend to harass the employee alleging the conduct.
The law, however, does not address intent, but focuses on whether the sexually oriented activity occurred. If it did, and it was unwelcome, there was harassment. If it occurred repeatedly or if it was explicitly objected to and occurred again, some very strong action can be expected. If management was aware of the conduct, you and your general counsel will be spending a great deal of time together.
MYTH #5:

IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE GUILT; IT'S ONE PERSON'S WORD AGAINST ANOTHER'S
If the Hill-Thomas hearings supported or created support for one myth, it's the one that presupposes that most sexual harassment is oneon-one, secret or hard to determine. The truth is, even where there are no witnesses, most men accused of harassment admit the conduct, claim no intent, and/or claim ignorance of the law. The bottom line is, when properly investigated, sexual harassment cases rarely end up as "judgment calls." And, while there are cases in which sexual harassment charges have been totally fabricated, these are rare.
MYTH #6:

THERE'S NOT MUCH THEY CAN DO TO US Oh yeah? Ask the automaker that was ordered to pay $185,000 in back pay to a woman whose supervisor told her she was in a male-dominated field and had better get used to her coworkers discussing sex.
Ask the food company that had a manager who commented daily about an employee's breasts, buttocks and physical appearance, who suggested to women that they show him a "good time," and who imposed a dress code designed to show offwomen's legs. What would they have paid to avoid the court award of $625,000?
Ask the publishing company that was told by the court to pay $800,000 in punitive damages and $85,000 in compensatory damages to an employee who proved that she was subjected to lascivious remarks made by a supervisor about women and passed over twice for promotion in favor of younger men, despite demonstrating exemplary qualifications for the particular promotion.
Ask the grocery chain that settled out of court in a $14 million suit by an employee who charged that her supervisor made constant sex
ual advances and had sexual encounters with her. One piece of evidence presented to the jury before the out-of-court settlement was the trousers of her supervisor, which she had taken when he was harassing her.
Preventative Steps

If you have responsibility for employees, you need to talk to them, especially the women, and find out how prevalent sexual harassment is in your workplace. If you have employees with "locker-room mentalities," you are at risk.
How do you make sure the myths surrounding sexual harassment don't prevail in your office or workplace?
· First of all, continue the educational process launched by the Hill-Thomas hearings and "Tailhook"—make sure that your company has a clear written policy prohibiting sexual harassment and that it is included in mandatory supervisory training programs.
· Talk to your managers and your employees, including women—personally. Don't leave this to your human resources people or your EEO manager. Employees need to know that concern about this issue is coming from the top. If you have subordinate managers, it is essential that they know where you stand on this important subject—tell them.
· Walk around. You may be surprised with what you see—like nude calendars, sexually oriented cartoons and offensive or pornographic magazines and literature.
· Make sure that your human resources staff is equally committed to your policies, that it understands its role in overseeing the program, and that it knows what steps to take when sexual harassment complaints are received.
· Insist on being kept informed of all sexual harassment complaints in the company, and the outcomes of investigations, including any corrective action or disciplinary action taken (or not taken).
You can't eliminate sexual harassment from your workplace until you first recognize that you are not immune from it. Once you dispel these myths, you are that much closer to eliminating the inappropriate behavior from your workplace. Your employees will appreciate the sensitivity and demonstrated awareness of management, and stockholders will appreciate the money saved by a strongly enforced policy. Besides, it's the right thing to do.