INQUIRY
Is Sexual Harassment Overlooked in the Workplace
Prospect for Success Paper
Submitted to
Ms. Lisa L Rolan
Department of Management
Belk College of Business
UNC Charlotte
Submitted by
Carleigh Elizabeth Parrish
BUSN 1101-006
October 25, 2018
Definition and Purposes of Inquiry
The purpose of an inquiry paper is to discover new information about a topic and solve a problem. These questions can be answered by researching, further questioning, and gaining further knowledge about the said question. By beginning with a topic one is curious about, they begin to find out information they did not know would follow.
The inquiry process may begin by coming up with a question, asking more in depth questions, and then it is followed by beginning investigation into the questions. After research is conducted, new knowledge is formed. This then allows the question to be discussed and further reflected on.
Questions for Research
Sexual harassment in the work place has always proved to be a problem, however it has become more prevalent, especially in today’s society. More specifically, sexual harassment seems to be overlooked within the workplace, rather than addressed. Many employers seem to ignore the issue, as opposed to addressing it head on and give repercussions for the attacker's actions.
Some of the specific questions to consider when exploring if sexual harassment in the workplace is overlooked include:
1. Are certain employees who hold high positions within the business excused from consequences due to committing sexual harassment?
2. Why does sexual harassment go unaddressed?
3. Is sexual harassment not reprimanded because the women do not report it or because employers simply do not care?
4. Would it be ignored if a lower level employee conducted the harassment instead of a CEO?
5. Does one’s role in the company determine if it is overlooked?
6. What are the reasons behind why sexual harassment is overlooked?
Since many of the sexual harassment cases go unreported, findings are limited due to lack of evidence. Through research, cases are available to open the eyes of what is really happening within the workplace.
Sources and Content of Evidence
In Kimberly Truong’s article What It’s Like to Return to Work After Being Sexually Harassed, she states “It was obvious that HR did not think much of it, because the person who harassed me received a verbal warning, a literal slap on the wrist” (Truong, 2018). This is an example of how the Human Resource department did not take the incident seriously and completely overlooked it. Verbal warnings do not have serious consequences for the attacker’s actions, making it easier for the incident to be discounted.
The journal article Why Workplace Sexual Harassment is Under-Reported: SHRM Survey, written by the Insurance Journal hits on points as to why the allegations are not taken seriously, are not reprimanded, and why victims choose not to come forward. Within the article, surveys found that “11 percent of non-management employees said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the past 12 months. Of those, 76 percent said they did not report it for reasons that included fear of retaliation or a belief that nothing would change” (“Why workplace sexual harassment is under-reported: SHRM survey”, 2018). 76 percent of those people not reporting the assault because they believed the assaulter would not be held accountable, this proves that their employers do not take their allegations seriously.
In the newspaper article Beshear, Ags: Lift the Veil of Secrecy Surrounding Workplace Sexual Harassment, Attorney General Andy Beshear said “No one deserves to experience sexual harassment and time is more than up on the secret deals that permit toxic cultures to live in the shadows of our workplaces” (States News Service, 2018). By “living in the shadows of our workplaces” Beshear is hitting on the points that employers are not taking the claims of sexual harassment are not taken seriously, nor taken care of. In Ann Marie Ryan and Jennifer Wessel’s article Sexual orientation harassment in the workplace: When do observers intervene, Bowes-Sperry and O’Leary-Kelly suggest “after deciding to intervene, the level and immediacy of that involvement is dependent on an evaluation of net costs of involvement” (Ryan & Wessel, 2011). Based on Bowes-Sperry and O’Leary-Kelly’s findings, it is proven that most employers take costs associated with consequences of sexual harassment into account before taking action.
Kathleen Raven spoke out about her sexual harassment story in her article, How sexual harassment changed the way I work: as a flurry of interest in workplace discrimination subsides, efforts to raise awareness and eliminate abuses continue. Within the article, she describes how after the assault, “For a year and a half, as often as I defined my boundaries, he trampled over them,” and how she “shut down our avenues of communication.” (Raven, 2013). She later mentioned that “to remove myself from the situation would have meant leaving my chosen profession, science writing” (Raven, 2013). Raven felt forced to leave her passion as a science writer simply because her attacker’s actions were not addressed, and disciplinary actions were not evoked.
Ideas and Conclusions
One way sexual harassment can refrain from being overlooked is for employers to take accusations seriously when they are brought forth. Employers can also take immediate action involving the attacker, instead of waiting weeks, months, or even years after the incident takes place. Employers and Human Resource individuals should also make sure the laws regarding sexual harassment are strictly enforced for everyone in their workplace.
Sexual harassment has proved to be a problem within the workplace, partially because it has been overlooked, or the accusations have not been taken seriously. Most employers do not take action simply because it will cost their company to go forth with the charges. Both women and men would benefit from action being taken, because it will make for a more efficient, safer, and desirable workplace.
References
JOURNAL ARTICLE:
BESHEAR, AGS: LIFT VEIL OF SECRECY SURROUNDING WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT. (n.d.). States News Service.
Raven, K. (2013). How sexual harassment changed the way I work: as a flurry of interest in workplace discrimination subsides, efforts to raise awareness and eliminate abuses continue. Nature, 504(7478), 9.
Ryan, A., & Wessel, J. (n.d.). Sexual orientation harassment in the workplace: When do
observers intervene? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(4), 488–509.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, DISCONTINUOUS PAGES:
Truong, K., & Cannell, L. (n.d.). What It's Like To Return To Work After Being Sexually Harassed.
Why Workplace Sexual Harassment Is Under-Reported: SHRM Survey. (n.d.). Insurance Journal.