Hands Off

"Women refusing to give into sexual demands of male colleagues in positions of power find themselves routinely sidelined when it comes to promotions or bonuses... As for those who manage to break the glass ceiling — disgruntled male colleagues often accuse them of sleeping their way to the top.”

            Being a woman has never seemed to be an easy task in any society, or time in history. To make matters more complicated, now that women are gaining their voices, and urge to hold corporate jobs, we have the issue of sexual harassment in the work place.  It’s sad that dealing with sexual harassment at work seems to be something most women have dealt with. In the article, “Women and Workplace Harassment” the article touches on sexual harassment in the workplace in Pakistan. I wanted to read this article, because I am well aware of the harassment in the United States, but I wanted to see the similarities. Sadly, the similarities were all there. "Women refusing to give into sexual demands of male colleagues in positions of power find themselves routinely sidelined when it comes to promotions or bonuses... As for those who manage to break the glass ceiling — disgruntled male colleagues often accuse them of sleeping their way to the top” (Fatima).  In this one quote, we see how sex, and sexual acts are affecting women in the workplace even in countries like Pakistan. Women are seen as sexual objects, and the fact that men are using the term “sleeping their way to the top” really shows how prevalent this is their society.

Crawford defines hostile work environment as “…obscene remarks, demeaning jokes about women, or suggestive comments about the workers sexuality or personal life, as well as threatening or aggressive sexually-toned materials in the workplace” (Crawford). A liberal feminist would be extremely frustrated by a hostile work environment, and how sexual harassment would label women as easy, and only sexual. A liberal feminist believes in women having equality and being able to fight for their own equality through their own actions and choices. There is no equality between men and women when there is this harassment in the work environment. The aggression towards women shows that they are seen as incapable, and can often times be seen as a joke or waste of space my some, but not all males in any given work environment.

Something that worries me about sexual harassment is the confusing some women have about whether or not it is actually harassment, or a compliment. In the article from The New York Times “It’s Not Just Fox”, they state, “Some (women) don’t report a problem because they don’t think their experience qualifies as illegal harassment.” I believe that even if it was “illegal” women should still be reporting the harassment. They should not have to live with the fear of it not being “bad enough” to be illegal. Especially in the workplace women should not have to live with the fear of losing their job, or being demoted simply because they brought light to a situation that involved sexual harassment. I wish society hadn’t made women nervous to speak up. Sexual harassment is going to be an ongoing cycle if we as women feel like we cannot speak up for ourselves. It doesn’t matter if it was a one sentence sexual remark, a brush of the leg by a coworker or boss, or a consistent move made by a male. If you believe its harassment, report it. If you lose your job, then that is obviously an environment you don’t want to be working in. My hope is that women will just feel like they do have a voice.

References

Crawford, M. (2011). Transformations: Women, Gender and Psychology:2nd Revised: edition. London: McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Fatima, Q. (17, August 06). Women and workplace harassment. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/07-Aug-17/women-and-workplace-harassment

Miller, C. C. (2017, April 10). It’s Not Just Fox: Why Women Don’t Report Sexual Harassment. Retrieved August 01, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/upshot/its-not-just-fox-why-women-dont-report-sexual-harassment.html

            Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. (2013, July 25). Retrieved August 6, 2017, from http://www.legalinfo360.com/sexual-harassment/

            Sickels, S. (2016, October 9). Sexual Harassment Archives. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from http://beingunlocked.com/category/sexual-harassment/