December 16th, 2022

“Women should not be forced to accept sexual harassment as the price of admission to a life and career in our world. They should not have to endure unwanted advances and propositions from men in any positions of power to succeed in their lives.” – J.B. Pritzker, 43rd Governor of Illinois (2019)

Workplace harassment has existed since women entered the workforce at the beginning of the 20th century. With movements like feminism and women’s liberation, many believe we have moved beyond workplace harassment of women. However, we risk being too nonchalant as much progress remains to be made and in fact some advancements have been undermined. For example, recent funding decreases to services that support women who experience sexual violence perpetuates discriminatory attitudes towards accounts of women.

 

Women in the Workforce
Women first entered the workforce in North America during the first World War and were treated like second class citizens constantly in fear of assault and assertion by male coworkers with little reliability on authorities to take action against perpetrators. Since then progress has been made with enactment of legislation to protect Canadian women in regards to safety, suffrage, and equality. While these laws improved equality for women, the social aspect of the workplace remained untouched and harassment went unchecked.

 

Social Norms
The social norm of women being subjected and harassed by male coworkers or administration was rampant throughout all industries in North America up until the 21st century. In this new era we witnessed a growing and powerful movement that was determined to uncover the stories of assault and harassment perpetrated against women. This movement, later coined the #MeToo movement, brought about a social movement to support survivors and illuminate sexual violence in the workplace. #MeToo was revolutionary to women in Canada and America and particularly targeted men in positions of high authority who had numerous records of egregious misconduct against women in their employ.

She Said

She Said, a film released in November 2022 recounts the story of women working with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and former United States president Donald Trump. It portrays the appalling stories of women who were subject to Weinstein and Trump’s acts and threats. The accounts of these women were startling and shocking because the events occurred just recently and they were ignored by many in their industry. Just in February 2020, Weinstien was convicted of two rape felonies out of the eighty women who spoke out against him. Furthermore, more than thirty women have accused Donald Trump of groping and rape, yet is unlikely to spend a day in jail for these alleged crimes. There are innumerable other cases of powerful men like Weinstien and Trump who take advantage of their position to subjugate and harm women in their employ, yet few will ever be convicted.

 

Me Too

As the #MeToo movement continues to shine light on women’s experience of workplace harassment, we must continue to advocate for better safety and commitment to ensure that those who commit these crimes are held accountable. Over 450,000 cases of workplace harassment are reported in the United States annually. This statistic clearly demonstrates that we have not achieved equality in the workplace for women. We must remain committed to striving for a workplace where women’s safety is paramount and they can be free from sexual violence and harrassment.

“To end the pervasive culture of sexual harassment, it can no longer be the norm that men look the other way. It only ends when men actively participate in ending it.” – J.B. Pritzker  (2019)

 

By Ethan Parkinson

Categories: Editorials