The Implications Of Sexual Harassment At Canadian Workplaces

Choose a social issue from the list below.  First, describe the social issue in relations to Canada.  Second, provide three sociological explanations as to why it is happening.  Your sociological explanations should be from your research.

Aboriginal drug use  

Low income among immigrants   

Sexual harassment at work  

HIV prevalence among LGBT communities   

Depression among international students

Discussion

Scholars are long emphasizing on the role of organizational practices in constraining career-related outcomes of women and shedding light on the implications of gendered role expectations. However, the organizational background related to women’s experiences on the job associated to sexual aggravation obtained insignificant amount of attention (Fitzgerald et al. 2017). Nelson, Debra and Burke (2018) state that sexual harassment undertakes several forms such as receiving derogatory sexist comments, hostile working environment through odd gestures, sexually oriented elements and even forced sexual contact resulting to severe consequences at workplaces. The following essay will evaluate the grave implications of sexual harassment at workplaces in Canada with elevated level of psychological and physical tension; reduced contentment with work. In addition to this the paper will propose social initiatives in order to condense the social problem faced by working women at organizational contexts.

The critical character of perspective in social or communal life entails necessity regarding a theoretical standpoint on sexual harassment which further takes into consideration its significant organizational groundwork (Mclaughlin et al. 2017). However, in the view of Fitzgerald et al. (2017), although individuals tend to act out, they perform in that manner within the organizational context. These illicit acts critically gave a collective liability not only by modern social scholars but furthermore by sufferers as well as courts of law.  Schultz (2018) posits that institutions are established within the wider range of sociocultural setting involving patriarchy as well as invasive gender socialization which prime individuals in proceeding and receiving sexual harassment at workplace. According to Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016), men typically refer to the socio-cultural prospects in shaping the sense of their feelings which are correct for women and ways in order to associate with the women in an organizational context. Similarly it was noted that women who encounter acts of sexual harassment may refer to the widespread as well as existing norms and to their point in the patriarchal societal arrangement in determining whether and ways to advance (Schultz 2018). However, as per the view of Holland et al. (2015), sociocultural realties are crucial in comprehending the social conditions for sexual harassment; workplace elements are regarded as important determinants of its frequency and appearance. Furthermore, in other words, patriarchy along with forms of gender socialization aids to elucidate the intellectual groundwork fundamental to sexual harassment as well as reactions of sufferers. But Miner and Cortina (2016) claim that organizational context fundamentally rules whether and the way sexual harassments actually emerge in a given place of work.

Reports by Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016) reveal that Canada is acknowledging the psychological harm resulting from poisoned organizational environment as a ‘term or condition’ of employment. Furthermore, Schultz (2018) recognize the merit if these assertions highlighted acts of sexual harassment as a discriminatory condition of employment even if it does not be consequential to detrimental employment outcomes. At this juncture, Nelson, Debra and Burke (2018) state three sources of power which had significant impending repercussions for sexual harassment related to self-regulation, official grievance procedures along with job insecurity. Furthermore, power discrepancies emerging from employees’ relative significance in the labour development had the propensity to safeguard some workers from acts of sexual persecution while portraying others further in danger. However the overriding conjecture speculates that subordinated organizational arrangements of women tend to condense their authority in association with potential harassers, further signifying them to be highly susceptible or in risk to sexual harassment (Fitzgerald et al. 2017). Self-direction is identified as a fundamental constituent of authority in such a context and is thus disagreed as constrain acts of  harassment susceptibility as independent employees are often identified as being more proficient and challenging to replace than other segments of labour force. Furthermore, Mclaughlin et al. (2017) established that autonomy is unconstructively related to the extent to which sexual persecution and exploitation is viewed as workplace issue. Moreover, as self-direction tends to involves at least some autonomy of progress, it may facilitate women employees’ greater capability to constrain their disclosure to chronic harassers.

While in the view of Pateman (2015), self-direction tend to signify certain degree of authority of power offering protection from sexual exploitation, women employees with considerably higher level of influence tends to aggravate resentment and thus become targets of these illicit acts. Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016), at this stage argued that women viewed as individuals seeking status or risks to male dominants on organizational possessions may be besieged for sexual aggravation that is an involved approach which a number of men may utilize in order to affirm their supremacy and further protect their rights and authorities. Studies conducted by Miner and Cortina (2016) found that women with higher level of skills and knowledge with superior levels of job tenure have greater propensity to recognize sexual harassments and other illicit acts of sexual exploitation of women as a grave issue. Schultz (2018) has further found that supervisory authority linked to the heightened exposure towards sexual harassment. Considerably, all these attributes signify autonomy on the employment along with an executive benefit that men dominated whereby they have wanted to prohibit women from workplaces. Sociological investigations provide a number of competing rationalizations of worker dominance. Furthermore, Pateman (2015) has noted that women in gender-amalgamated as well as chiefly male organizational background are disagreed to be at the utmost threat for sexual exploitation while women engaged in principally women settings are recognized to be at lesser threat by good value of organizational structural limitations on the occurrence of their contact with male gender. Nelson, Debra and Burke (2018) have associated this standpoint to criminology’s habitual actions report to the victimization by comparing women’s in primarily male work settings to suitable sufferers in the immediacy of enthused lawbreakers. This further illustrated an assertive association amongst male and women’s propensity of encountering sexual nuisance with net of a assortment of individual as well as organizational aspects. According to Mclaughlin et al. (2017), although contact along with routine activities explanations emphasize the impact of sexual risk in chiefly male organizational settings, the masculinity salience viewpoint implied that sexual harassment has greater propensity where sex allocations are at an angle in either direction. Women engaged in work groupings with greater percentages of women, such as household helpers and waitress are viewed to be positioned at greater risk for sexual harassment in Canada due to their insignificant amount of supremacy and their responsibilities become allied with subordinated female gender roles varied from other life spheres (Nelson, Debra and Burke 2018).

Reports by Pateman (2015) have disclosed that the Canadian government showing high commitment of eradicating harassment as well as sexual violence at any types of organizational settings. Furthermore, the methods Canadian administration is employing will reinforce the laws and policies to sustain women service employees protected and proficiently deliver on the assurance to take necessary actions in order to successfully ascertain that workplaces are free from acts of sexual harassment and violence (Mcdonald and Charlesworth 2016). Miner and Cortina (2016) noted that Bill C-65 purposefully modifies provisions in the Canada Labour Code by reinstating the patchwork of laws as well as policies which seek this social issue within the Federal jurisdiction, further including federally regulated workplaces along with federal public service (Mcdermid, Brendan and Low 2018). This social policy further positions an inclusive approach which entails complete range of acts of sexual harassment and violence against women at workplaces into concern and further intensifying these policies in order to envelop parliamentary workplaces namely the Senate and the House of Commons along with the political personnel on Parliament Hill.

Conclusion

Hence to conclude, it is essential to note that jokes of sexual nature, forced or unwanted sexual comments, gestures and contact must be realized as abusive and illicit conduct instead of considering it as a suitable characteristic of interpersonal associations at workplaces. These determinants act decisive in translating official processes into preventive guardianship. However, current social policy introduced by Canadian Government is taking significant step but it is important to note that no government is competent enough to fix this social issue alone until the victims highlight these acts as highly appalling, intolerable and unlawful.

References

Fitzgerald, Louise F. And Cortina, Lilia M., 2017, Sexual Harassment in Work Organizations: A View From the Twenty-First Century. Icos.umich.edu [online]. 2017. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://www.icos.umich.edu/sites/default/files/lecturereadinglists/Fitzgerald%20%26%20Cortina%20%28in%20press%2C%20APA%20Handook%29.pdf

Holland, Kathryn J, Caridad Rabelo, Verónica, Gustafson, Amber M, Seabrook, Rita C and Cortina, Lilia M, 2015, Sexual Harassment Against Men: Examining the Roles of Feminist Activism, Sexuality, and Organizational Context. Psychology of Men & Masculinity [online]. 2015. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Veronica_Rabelo/publication/277633061_Sexual_Harassment_Against_Men_Examining_the_Roles_of_Feminist_Activism_Sexuality_and_Organizational_Context/links/597bcb130f7e9b8802a5e0fb/Sexual-Harassment-Against-Men-Examining-the-Roles-of-Feminist-Activism-Sexuality-and-Organizational-Context.pdf

Mcdermid, Brendan and Low, Ellen, 2018, Bill C65: Changing the legal landscape for federal workplace harassment victims | Canadian Occupational Safety. Cos-mag.com [online]. 2018. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://www.cos-mag.com/psychological-health-safety/columns/bill-c65-changing-the-legal-landscape-for-federal-workplace-harassment-victims/

Mcdonald, Paula and Charlesworth, Sara, 2016, Bystander Intervention In Workplace Sexual Harassment. Researchbank.Rmit.Edu.Au [online]. 2016. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:30581/n2006052522.pdf

Mclaughlin, Heather, Uggen, Christopher And Blackstone, Amy, 2017, The Economic And Career Effects Of Sexual Harassment On Working Women. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov [online]. 2017. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5644356/

Miner, Kathi N And Cortina, Lilia M, 2016, Observed Workplace Incivility toward Women, Perceptions of Interpersonal Injustice, and Observer Occupational Well-Being: Differential Effects for Gender of the Observer. [online]. 2016. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00482/full

Nelson, Debra L. And Burke, Ronald J., 2018, Gender, work stress, and health. Dspace.gela.org.ge [online]. 2018. [Accessed 29 November 2018]. Available from: https://dspace.gela.org.ge/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/6683/Gender%2C%20Work%20Stress%2C%20and%20Health.pdf?sequence=1

Pateman, Carole, 2015, Sexual Contract. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies [online]. 2015. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118663219.wbegss468

Schultz, Vicki, 2018, Open Statement on Sexual Harassment from Employment Discrimination Law Scholars. Digitalcommons.law.yale.edu [online]. 2018. [Accessed 29  November  2018]. Available from: https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6304&context=fss_papers