The report by the Fawcett Society into the UK’s sex discrimination laws warns sexual harassment in the workplace has created “misery for many women, leading to humiliation and intimidation”.
It follows the FT’s investigation in the Presidents Club event at the Dorchester Hotel, where waitresses were sexually harassed – and further evidence from union Unite that 9 out of 10 workers in the hospitality trade have been abused, including sexual harassment.
“Recent coverage of the issue has raised awareness, but evidence of its prevalence is not new,” the report states.
“TUC and Everyday Sexism Project research finds that 52% of women have experienced it in some form, and that 80% did not report it to their employer.”
The report calls for Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010, which was repealed in 2013 to be reintroduced, which would guarantees legal protection against harassment from third parties, including customers, service users or contractors.
It also recommends introducing a new duty on large organizations to prevent discrimination and harassment in their workplace, as well as making “up-skirting” an office and misogyny a hate crime.
“If we believe that gender equality is good for business, then we must also believe that discrimination and harassment are bad for business,” said Fawcett Society chief executive, Sam Smethers.
“The chances are this will be happening to some extent in most workplaces, so let’s move towards proactive action and require employers to do something about it.”
The chair of the review panel for the report, Dame Laura Cox, commented: “The evidence we received of increasing levels of violence, abuse and harassment against women, was deeply disturbing.
“A lack of access to justice for such women has wide-ranging implications not only for the women themselves, but also for society as a whole and for public confidence in our justice system.
Maria Miller, the chair of the women and equalities parliamentary committee, which has also been investigating family-friendly working rights and sexual harassment, welcomed the report.
“We need a revolution in the workplace to ensure fairness for women, men and their families,” said Ms Miller.
“Closing the gender pay gap, improving take up of shared parental leave and providing more opportunities for flexible working all play an important role as our own reports have found.
“We are currently carrying out work on sexual harassment, and our fathers and the workplace inquiry will be reporting soon.”
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So many stuck in their playground pubescent mind-set having failed the teenage “right of passage” toward emotional and social literacy, no wonder, regardless of Professional PC ‘talking the talk’ that so often Personal Ideologies pop-out when not even trying to ‘walk the walk’ when, developing pro-social working relationships with peers and colleagues or that mysterious unknown quantity women who, some would say, are no better, just keep it, the wicked banter between themselves what what ?