Institutional strategies for dealing with sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is being recognized as a pervasive and highly visible problem at an institutional level. As a consequence institutions are establishing policies and procedures to address this issue. In view of recent legal decisions, sexual harassment can have negative consequences for the institution as well as the harassee; thus, in some institutions, sexual harassment is viewed as a common problem shared by employers and employees. This article addresses institutional strategies that have proven effective in proactively dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace.     

Do Employers' Responses to Crises Impact Men and Women Differently? Firm‐level Evidence from Indonesia

Do employers' responses to crises impact men and women differently? Using manufacturing census data from Indonesia this paper assesses gender differences in the impact of the East Asian crisis and to what extent these were due to differential treatment of men and women within firms and gender sorting across firms that varied in their exposure to the crisis. On average, women experienced higher job losses than their male colleagues within the same firm. However, the aggregate adverse effect of such differential treatment was more than offset by women being disproportionately employed in firms hit relatively less hard by the crisis. The null hypothesis that there were no gender differences in wage adjustment is not rejected.     

Can Minimum Wages Close the Gender Wage Gap?

Using manufacturing plant‐level census data, this paper demonstrates that minimum wage increases in Indonesia reduced gender wage gaps among production workers, with heterogeneous impacts by level of education and position of the firm in the wage distribution. Paradoxically, educated women appear to have benefitted the most, particularly in the lower half of the firm average earnings distribution. By contrast, women who did not complete primary education did not benefit on average, and even lost ground in the upper end of the earnings distribution. Minimum wage increases were thus associated with exacerbated gender pay gaps among the least educated, and reduced gender gaps among the best educated production workers. Unconditional quantile regression analysis attests to wage compression and lighthouse effects. Changes in relative employment prospects were limited.     

Constructive responses to sexual harassment in the workplace

Sexual harassment is a significant problem in the workplace, including the union work environment. A repertoire of positive responses can be called upon to deal with sexual harassment: (1) Complainants can be empowered to become agents of action and to respond effectively, orally or in writing, to sexual harassment. (2) Shuttle diplomacy utilizing a neutral third party can be effective in both stopping harassment and fostering communication between grievant and harasser. (3) Mediation by a neutral third party can provide immediate communication and restoration of a constructive workplace atmosphere. (4) Generic solutions (workshops, seminars, etc.) focus on the problem or on a generalized approach to improve the workplace setting rather than the individual. (5) Establishment of sexual harassment policies or a policy of well-being of staff can establish a supportive institutional framework. (6) As an extension of its sexual harassment or well-being policies, management can convene workshops, seminars, etc. to educate all its constituents. (7) In many organizations, appointment of an Ombudsperson has provided an effective mechanism for dealing with harassment. This ensemble of options can be utilized prior to loding a formal grievance. In many instances, these maneuvers can effectively deal with sexual harassment.     

Using systems thinking to understand the evolving role of technology in the design process

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - Many teaching in higher education whose fields rely heavily on processes using technology can be overwhelmed by the pace of developments,...