Photograph: Barbara Gindl/REX Shutterstock
Less than one in five big Australian companies assign their directors responsibility for preventing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace, according to new research.
The study, conducted by the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), also found that, despite a wave of sexual harassment cases across corporate Australia, more than half of company boards are not regularly discussing the issue.
Instead discussion around the board table, where the policy and direction of companies is set, was usually sparked by allegations made within the company or reports of misconduct at another organisation.
The Respect@Work report on sexual harassment in the workplace, which was also conducted by Jenkins and released in 2020, was another trigger for boardroom discussions, cited by 16% of respondents.
“Workplace sexual harassment is a systemic and costly issue that is flourishing under the guise of confidentiality and secrecy,” Jenkins said in the report of the most recent study.
“Workers, customers, investors, journalists and the community, especially women, have had enough.”
ACSI works on governance issues for its members, large super funds, who are increasingly concerned about the damage done to companies in which they invest by harassment scandals.
Last year, the chairman of financial services group AMP, David Murray, resigned after shareholders protested his handling of harassment allegations against executive Boe Pahari.
Other companies hit by allegations about sexual harassment in recent years include ANZ, IOOF and IFM Investors.
Louise Davidson, the chief executive of ACSI, said some companies were now taking sexual harassment more seriously but some “haven’t really started”.
“There’s definitely plenty of room for a greater level of focus on this.”
She said sexual harassment was not just a gender equity issue but also a health and safety issue.
“If people can’t be safe within their workplace, then that is a very significant issue, but I don’t think it’s been seen in that way traditionally.
“It’s kind of the secret that’s been whispered in the corridors.”
She said the practice of companies using non-disclosure agreements, which gag victims from speaking in return for money, helped perpetuate the silence.
“They tend to remove any discussion or any openness about what’s going on from an organisation, and that’s not a good thing,” she said.
“Men who continue to get promoted and are benefiting from the fact that the women they harassed signed a NDA are just completely unacceptable.”
She said there was no doubt that boards had primary responsibility for dealing with sexual harassment.
“It doesn’t mean they have to be the one who talks to everyone involved in sexual harassment, by any means, but they have to have proper systems of reporting coming up to them, and an understanding of what is driving occurrences of sexual harassment within their organisation.”
Only 19% of organisations surveyed said their board had primary responsibility for dealing with sexual harassment. Most companies instead thought the chief executive or the head of human resources was responsible.
The survey also found that two-thirds of companies were reporting sexual harassment to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency – but 14% were doing no external reporting at all.
Executives interviewed by Jenkins as part of the research said it was vital that directors show leadership to curb sexual harassment.
“The question our board is asking is, if this was another safety issue, would it take you this long to respond to it?” one interviewee said.
The report made eight recommendations for companies, which include sharpening up board accountability and setting gender diversity targets, and using executive pay targets to focus the minds of bosses on the issue.
It also recommends investors question companies about their processes for dealing with sexual harassment and push for public disclosure of incidents.
The survey received responses from 118 of Australia’s top 200 listed companies. Jenkins also conducted detailed interviews with representatives of 16 of the companies.
