Not enough is being done to tackle sexual harassment at the workplace, despite the implementation of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別工作平等法) nearly 20 years ago, the Modern Women’s Foundation said on Saturday last week.
Employers should do more to make workplaces safe for both genders, including by implementing harassment prevention measures, and should have proper procedures in place to follow up on reports of harassment, it said.
A survey conducted by the foundation showed that only about half of the sexual harassment cases reported over the past two years involved bosses or supervisors, and nearly 40 percent had not been satisfactorily resolved.
Of the 447 cases referred to the foundation since 2020, 226 cases — or 48.2 percent — involved workplace harassment and 87.9 percent were reported by women, the foundation said.
Of the 226 workplace harassment cases, 18.6 percent involved bosses as alleged perpetrators, while 33.3 percent of alleged perpetrators were supervisors, it said.
This showed that at least half of all sexual harassment cases in the workplace involve employers or workplace seniors harassing employees who work for them, it added.
The foundation gave an example of a woman whose boss made her feel uncomfortable.
“As I was leaving the office he invited me to dinner to talk about work-related things, but during dinner he only asked me about my boyfriend,” the foundation quoted the woman as saying. “He told me women should not give themselves away so easily. I was totally unsure how to respond.”
Another woman complained that her supervisor had commented on her breasts, it said, calling it a common scenario reported by female employees.
The foundation said that in its discussions with the management teams of companies, it found a “serious lack of gender sensitivity.”
Managers often thought that sex-related humor “helps to liven up the workplace atmosphere” and that physical interaction with employees was acceptable, it said.
“Many managers are not even aware of their company’s process for handling harassment cases. They tend to discuss the issue in private with the victim, which causes secondary harm,” the foundation said. “Even when there are personnel tasked with handling such scenarios, they might be reluctant to take action for fear of reprisal.”
Some companies have preventative measures in place that fall short of legal requirements, it said.
Others would do little more than to play a 10-minute sexual harassment awareness video for new employees, it added.
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