Taking Collective Action
Collective action is a powerful tool in addressing sexual harassment, as it brings together the voices and efforts of many individuals to elicit change and create workplaces that are free from harassment and discrimination. If you can, unite with one or more coworkers to demand change in your workplace to address sexual harassment.
What does collective action look like? It could simply mean arranging an informal meeting with your supervisor, or sending a petition to your human resources department.
Despite the level of formality, here are some guidelines to address sexual harassment in your workplace through collective action:
Make Your Employer Aware of the Issue
Generate a detailed list of sexual harassment incidents that those in your office are experiencing then arrange a meeting with management to discuss the incidents.
Recommend Solutions
Always remember that you ultimately are not responsible for ending sexual harassment in your office. However, if you have any solutions in mind that may effectively address it, I recommend sharing them with management. Here are some example recommendations:
Management will instruct X to refrain from commenting on the personal appearance of female colleagues.
Management will instruct X to refrain from standing in his colleagues’ doorway or sitting in their office for extended periods of time (i.e., in excess of five minutes). If he needs more time to talk with staff, he will need to be respectful of their time and schedule a meeting time that will take place via phone call, video call, or in person in a common space in the office.
When the supervisor is not available and an acting supervisor is delegated to lower management, rotate through every person on the lower management team equally so X is not the default acting supervisor.
When X is acting supervisor and needs something from staff that are not in his program, he must send his request through the team lead first before going directly to staff.
Document!
Take diligent notes during the meeting, including those present, topics covered, proposed solutions, etc. Send a follow-up email, cc’ing all attendees, that specifically states the purpose of the meeting, the list of incidents discussed, and the action items resulting from the meeting. Add these meeting dates, notes, and emails to your on-going log.
Follow-up with Frequent Check-ins and Updates
Check in with your coworkers frequently to discuss the status of the harassment. Has it improved? Stayed the same? Gotten worse? Be sure to notify management of any further incidents in writing if you or your coworkers are still experiencing issues.
Elevate Your Company’s Awareness
You can also use the collective action of your unified front to raise the overall awareness of sexual harassment in your company through the following methods:
Develop employee-led awareness campaigns to organize workshops and panel discussions on sexual harassment.
Form an employee resource group for individuals to share experiences, provide support, and advocate for change within the workplace.
Schedule bystander intervention training to teach employees how to recognize and intervene when they witness sexual harassment.
Petition for stronger policies that clearly define unacceptable behavior and reporting mechanisms in the workplace.
Request transparency in reporting and investigations, such as the number and outcomes of reported cases of sexual harassment.
Conduct anonymous workplace surveys to gather data on the prevalence of sexual harassment in your workplace.
Invite colleagues to participate in marches or demonstrations against sexual harassment.
Contact human rights groups or labor unions.
Lobby for legislative changes for stronger legal protections against sexual harassment.
If you are experiencing, sexual harassment, retaliation, or any other form of workplace discrimination, feel free to reach out to me at hello@kendallsimon.com for support and guidance.
***Disclaimer: These are merely my recommendations based on my personal experience. I am not legally responsible for any decisions made based on the information provided.***