Why workplaces are failing women
The Workplace Act does exist, however, the inability of many companies to actually follow it leaves a gap
The Workplace Act does exist, however, the inability of many companies to actually follow it leaves a gap PHOTO: FILE
It seems when women are bold enough to speak out against any kind of gender-based discrimination or harassment, the world at large feels uncomfortable. Recently, I had the opportunity of meeting with Captain Rifat Haye, a Pakistan International Airlines pilot who had faced sexual harassment from her superiors and had actually taken this issue to the courts and ultimately to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Women’s Development in 2010. Captain Haye came across as a very articulate and self-assured individual, and on the surface if one starts ticking boxes a woman who had qualified as a professional pilot in a highly male-dominated industry should not be falling prey to any form of sexual harassment. In fact, she should be able to stand up for herself and stave off any such unsolicited or unwarranted advances for after all she is responsible for the safety and lives of hundreds of passengers in the air. As a society, we can’t seem to get our head around such contradictions and every time a woman speaks out we start looking for loopholes to undermine her claim.
Pakistani jobless man jailed for molesting sleeping woman in Dubai
Even though Captain Haye was courageous enough to engage the legal system and stand up for herself and for other women who had been harassed as well while working for PIA, she shared with me that the case did not lead to a positive result. She ultimately left her job, as the higher management at the national airline did not follow through with either the recommendations of the standing committee or the requirements of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act to investigate the complaint by establishing an inquiry committee comprising of at least one woman within 30 days of receiving a grievance. Egregious non-compliance along with a strategy to isolate and shame the victim appears to be the approach followed by many institutions to address sexual harassment claims. The positive in all of this is that the Workplace Act does exist, however, the inability of many companies to actually follow it in letter and in spirit leaves a huge gap in terms of addressing women’s workplace concerns. This is further compounded by the fact that the actual decision-makers in such cases are mostly male, many of whom carry with them pre-conceived ideas of gender relations and of how a woman should behave, thus at times giving a huge benefit of doubt to the actions of the male perpetrator.
Many of us must have watched the period drama series Mad Men, which depicted workplace relations in America in the 1950s. Most women shown in the series are either secretaries or office juniors, and are treated with extreme disparagement and condescension by their male colleagues. Well, it seems in Pakistan we are also struggling with the Mad Men syndrome, as recently I also came across the notion that many working women believe that workplace harassment is part and parcel of the work environment. In order to continue working, the understanding is that all women will be exposed to some form of gender-based discrimination or harassment and the truth is that not much can be done about it. The outcomes of Captain Haye’s high-profile case seem to reflect this overall expectation that despite speaking out against harassment, there will be very little change. This would imply that a majority of workplace harassment cases never get reported as reporting them is considered to be futile. In other words, across the board we have created a culture that tolerates any kind of gender-based discrimination or sexual harassment and victims are encouraged to remain silent. The result of such attitudes is obvious, only 25% of women are part of the formal labour force as opposed to 83% of men. Women are outperforming men in universities, but very few women are translating this into employment; one informal survey tells us that only 25% of university educated women end up with jobs. Equalising the labour participation of men and women in Pakistan will lead to huge economic gains.
Female journalists in Japan join forces to fight sexual harassment
Let me end by saying that sexually harassing someone is not a joke and it cannot be treated lightly. The burden of preventing sexual harassment rests very solidly on the employer. Undoubtedly, it is the responsibility of the employer to create a harassment-free environment and establish anti-harassment policies, which should be clearly communicated to all employees. Employers must understand that if they let sexual harassment flourish in the office, it will ultimately lead to poor business performance, low office morale and low employee retention. There can be no doubt if companies fail to provide an inclusive environment that promotes gender diversity, they will be missing out on a huge talent pool of qualified women. Not only that research has shown that diversity at the workplace spurs innovation and can lead to creating new business opportunities, ultimately not doing anything will have a huge price tag attached to it in terms of lost future possibilities.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2018.
Pakistani jobless man jailed for molesting sleeping woman in Dubai
Even though Captain Haye was courageous enough to engage the legal system and stand up for herself and for other women who had been harassed as well while working for PIA, she shared with me that the case did not lead to a positive result. She ultimately left her job, as the higher management at the national airline did not follow through with either the recommendations of the standing committee or the requirements of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act to investigate the complaint by establishing an inquiry committee comprising of at least one woman within 30 days of receiving a grievance. Egregious non-compliance along with a strategy to isolate and shame the victim appears to be the approach followed by many institutions to address sexual harassment claims. The positive in all of this is that the Workplace Act does exist, however, the inability of many companies to actually follow it in letter and in spirit leaves a huge gap in terms of addressing women’s workplace concerns. This is further compounded by the fact that the actual decision-makers in such cases are mostly male, many of whom carry with them pre-conceived ideas of gender relations and of how a woman should behave, thus at times giving a huge benefit of doubt to the actions of the male perpetrator.
Many of us must have watched the period drama series Mad Men, which depicted workplace relations in America in the 1950s. Most women shown in the series are either secretaries or office juniors, and are treated with extreme disparagement and condescension by their male colleagues. Well, it seems in Pakistan we are also struggling with the Mad Men syndrome, as recently I also came across the notion that many working women believe that workplace harassment is part and parcel of the work environment. In order to continue working, the understanding is that all women will be exposed to some form of gender-based discrimination or harassment and the truth is that not much can be done about it. The outcomes of Captain Haye’s high-profile case seem to reflect this overall expectation that despite speaking out against harassment, there will be very little change. This would imply that a majority of workplace harassment cases never get reported as reporting them is considered to be futile. In other words, across the board we have created a culture that tolerates any kind of gender-based discrimination or sexual harassment and victims are encouraged to remain silent. The result of such attitudes is obvious, only 25% of women are part of the formal labour force as opposed to 83% of men. Women are outperforming men in universities, but very few women are translating this into employment; one informal survey tells us that only 25% of university educated women end up with jobs. Equalising the labour participation of men and women in Pakistan will lead to huge economic gains.
Female journalists in Japan join forces to fight sexual harassment
Let me end by saying that sexually harassing someone is not a joke and it cannot be treated lightly. The burden of preventing sexual harassment rests very solidly on the employer. Undoubtedly, it is the responsibility of the employer to create a harassment-free environment and establish anti-harassment policies, which should be clearly communicated to all employees. Employers must understand that if they let sexual harassment flourish in the office, it will ultimately lead to poor business performance, low office morale and low employee retention. There can be no doubt if companies fail to provide an inclusive environment that promotes gender diversity, they will be missing out on a huge talent pool of qualified women. Not only that research has shown that diversity at the workplace spurs innovation and can lead to creating new business opportunities, ultimately not doing anything will have a huge price tag attached to it in terms of lost future possibilities.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2018.