Mandatory Sexual Harassment Seminars in the Workplace

Picture this: Young Brittney is tired of waitressing at her local Shoney's to make a living. One day, she notices an ad in the paper that states: HELP WANTED. Secretary needed for Bloomingdale's Sales Department. Starting salary $7.50/hr. Apply in person at 560 Pinetree Ave. Brittney jumps on the opportunity to make more than minimum wage, and the hope of a future better than a Shoney's manager. So, she puts on her best dress and pumps and walks to the department store. On her way up to the fourth floor, middle-aged men stare her up and down as they get on the elevator, and whisper "fresh meat" to each other as their eyes bulge like teenage boys'. But she lets the comments slide, her ex-boyfriend had always told her she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She presents her resume to the executive in the Sales Department and is soon told the job is hers if: she goes to Motel 8 in one hour and waits inside Room #56 for the executive to "show her the ropes" of her new job. Brittney is embarrassed and dismayed at the executive's request and leaves the office quickly. Tears smear her mascara as she asks herself, "Is there no justice?" She goes back to her small apartment, changes back into her Shoney's uniform, and tries to accept the fact that she will remain just another minimum-wage, expendable worker.

Brittney and people of lower power like her shouldn't have to deal with sexual harassment from supervisors and management personnel in the workplace. "How can this problem be solved?" many wonder. Many believe that their bosses are set in their ways and won't change unless "the law" forces them. Law requiring sexual harassment education seminars for all employees and their employers might change that.

With the Industrial Revolution came increased numbers of women working in mills and factories. In 1846, the first documentation of sexual harassment (of "factory girls") appeared in The Factory Girls' Album, the Nashua Gazette, and the Voice of Industry (Jones 56). In the 1890s, "large numbers of women started working in the rapidly expanding retail sales industry" (Jones 56). The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, including Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex (Jones 57). A problem for over 100 years, sexual harassment in the workplace has been accused of senators and the President along with menial wage-earners.

Couldn't mandatory sexual harassment education seminars for all employees and employers be successful in eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace? According to Constance Jones:

Words and/or deeds constitute sexual harassment if:

1. The perpetrator would not say or do them in the presence of a spouse or lover;

2. The perpetrator would not feel comfortable having them reported in the local paper or news broadcast; or

3. They are not necessary to the business at hand, whether it's closing a deal or riding a bus. (36)

Of course there are some exceptions where the perpetrator doesn't care who witnesses their actions. But if all employees and employers were educated on the definition of sexual harassment, they would be more leery of making subtle jokes, remarks, or suggestions.

"Sexual harassment is first about power and second about sex" (Jones 2). In the workplace there are countless examples of people in higher positions of power promising lower wage earners more social and economic power in exchange for sexual favors. In many of these situations, the company where the harasser and victim work has a sexual harassment policy. But because of wording or other misunderstanding, workers and employers are sometimes confused in what constitutes sexual misconduct. As Barbara Spyridon Pope, a Navy assistant secretary, has said, "Having a policy is fine, but by itself it isn't enough." (Fisher 292). Pope's surveys show that 60-90% of all U.S. workers know there is a policy but don't understand what it says.

Even the EEOC Guidelines On Sexual Harassment, from The 1990 Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex states that:

Prevention is the best tool for elimination of sexual harassment. An employer should take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, such as affirmatively raising the subject, expressing strong disapproval, developing appropriate sanctions, informing employees of their right to raise and how to raise the issue of harassment under Title VII, and developing methods to sensitize all concerned. (Jones 200).

So, what kind of programs or workshops should be mandatory for workers and management? According to Anne B. Fisher, "Consultants who design sexual harassment workshops, and managers who have attended them, agree on one thing: The best training gives participants a chance to talk to each other, instead of just listening to a lecture or watching a film. In classes where men and women are asked to compare their impressions of the same hypothetical situation, real revelations can occur." (291). Successful interpretation is evident among at least men. Anthony Guerriero, a pension consultant for the infamous company Aetna, took a sexual harassment course and says, "The guys in the class were absolutely not resistant to it, not at all. In fact, it's a relief to have someone spell out exactly what sexual harassment is. The men in my session were all saying, 'It's about time.'" (Fisher 292).

A study published in 1981 by the Bureau of National Affairs showed that only 6% of companies provided sexual harassment awareness training to all their employees (Jones 12). True the study was published more than 20 years ago, but one has to wonder if the situation has improved much since then.

The idea of educating workers on sexual harassment has been forced upon some workers. After a female midshipman was chained to a urinal, taunted and photographed by her male classmates during a hazing ritual at a U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, the Pentagon directed all military service branches and academies to initiate programs to eliminate harassment, outlining seven minimum requirements to be made by the programs (Jones 14).

After the famous Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas televised hearings, many companies, corporations, and institutions realized the importance of developing a sexual harassment policy and enforcing it (Jones 16). But this isn't enough, millions of sexual harassment in the workplace cases appear in courts every year. Clearly the perpetrators in these cases need to be made aware of what they have done that constitutes sexual harassment.

As in the Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. case, an employee (Teresa Harris) experienced constant sexual harassment by the president of the company. After two years of enduring her boss's dirty jokes, lewd comments, and sexual innuendo, Harris complained to her boss. He expressed surprise when she claimed that she was offended by his "jokes" and promised to stop (Jones 54).

Even though workshops on sexual harassment for employees and their employers may not prevent all cases of sexual harassment in the workplace, it may eliminate a majority of these cases, as in the case where a woman who was being sexually harassed but who failed to properly notify company officials and lost her case before the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Coates was continually harassed by a co-worker, but since she didn't report it to her manager for six months, the courts denied her case (Fair Measures 1).

The extreme in this situation is companies overreacting in sexual harassment accusations, like in the case of Louis Kestenbaum. Kestenbaum was vice president of a secluded ranch and spa that Pennzoil operated in N.M. In January of 1984, someone wrote an anonymous letter to Pennzoil's top management accusing Kestenbaum of sexual harassment. He denied the allegations but was fired anyway. He sued Pennzoil for wrongful discharge and won. Pennzoil's in-house investigator admitted in court that she had relied on rumor and innuendo in firing Kestenbaum (Fisher 291).

And on the opposite of that, despite sexual harassment policies and/or workshops, 55% of women in a survey by Working Woman say most sexual harassers get off scot-free (Jones 20).

The states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia had no state laws covering sex discrimination or sexual harassment, as of 1994. This is a serious problem. Who knows if workshops or seminars on sexual harassment can correct it, but the alternative is not acceptable.

Companies can no longer afford the alternative. Research by Freada Klein Associates estimates that sexual harassment costs the average large corporation $6.7 million a year (Fisher 290). And Bettina Plevan, an attorney in NYC that specializes in defending companies against sexual harassment lawsuits, says that employers spend an average of $200,000 on each complaint that is investigated in-house and found to be valid, whether or not it ever goes to court (Fisher 290). Richard Hafets, a labor lawyer in Baltimore, believes, "sexual harassment could be tomorrow's asbestos, costing American business $1 billion in fees and damages in the next five years" (Fisher 290).

So, to cut costs, eliminate a "hostile environment", and to keep companies' reputations from being dragged through the dirt, mandatory sexual harassment education seminars for all employees and their employers seems like the right thing for all companies to do.

"Failure to file sexual harassment complaint excuses company delay." Fair Measures. 21 Dec. 2001. http://www.fairmeasures.com/whatsnew/archive/fall/98/new05.html.

Fisher, Anne B. "Sexual Harassment: What To Do?" The Informed Argument: A Multidisciplinary Reader and Guide. Ed. Robert K. Miller. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1998.

Jones, Constance. Library In A Book: Sexual Harassment. New York: Facts On File, 1996.