Practical Skills Workshop

Enter the workforce empowered with practical skills to identify, evaluate and confront sexual harassment, three ILR alums who are experts on the issue advised dozens of students Monday.

The workshop followed ILR’s panel on “Sexual Harassment at Work: Policy, Practice, Law,” which drew nearly 500 to the Statler Auditorium.

The dozens of students at the workshop in Ives Hall learned about the value of context, legal approaches, human resource policy and how to react in real time to workplace situations.

Speakers were Diane Rosen, an attorney with Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP, Mark Brossman, an attorney with Schulte Roth & Zabel, and Cornell Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Mary George Opperman.

Rosen told students to assess workplaces they are considering before committing to a job. “Do your due diligence. Make sure it’s a place where you’re going to be comfortable.”

“When in an uncomfortable situation at work, it is important to understand the context of what’s occurring,” Rosen said. “Discuss the situation with someone trusted in your life in order to reality check facts, context and perspectives. Because our memories are not always accurate, keep track of incidents or other matters.” Check in with yourself before making a complaint to make sure that your concerns are realistic and be able to articulate the source of your complaints. Maintaining your equanimity is critical to credibility when reporting harassment. That does not mean you cannot be emotional –– it means being able to clearly express what happened, when and with whom.

Upon entering the workforce, be aware that even though there are laws and company policies around various behaviors, “there isn’t always justice.” Many situations are ambiguous, Rosen said. Part of being a new employee is understanding how things are handled in your company and so think strategically about how and to whom to share your concerns. However, if you are ever in danger or a situation has escalated, do not hesitate to let the appropriate parties in your company know what is happening. If it is a violent attack, call the police, the panelists emphasized.

Rosen also advised students to establish boundaries. “Work is not your family. Your colleagues are not the same as your social friends. Work-related functions are not the same as parties with your friends so avoid getting drunk or out of control. Maintain yourself with dignity.”

Opperman said to strategize in advance of any harassment by identifying confidential resources at your workplace.

When starting in a new workplace, she said, “Learn as much as you can about resources that are available so you know where to go should concerns arise. This will help you remain in control of the situation.” Also, she said, closely examine the workplace environment to understand its culture.

Workplace culture is about more than the policies and procedures in place. It’s about how people treat each other, how they handle issues, she said. “It’s important to figure out that workplace culture.”

“It’s in employers’ best interests to make sure the workplace is free of harassment and discrimination. Policies and processes are designed to ferret out bad behavior. The point of policies is to keep the workplace high performing,” Opperman said.

But only some of the issues that are reported result in formal complaints and employee sanctions, she said.

“There’s a lot an employer might do short of removing someone and sanctions that are designed to improve a workplace and retain individuals are more likely when issues are discovered and dealt with before they become serious patterns. It’s so important to find issues early on.”

Understanding and addressing the range of issues that cause discomfort in a workplace can help organizations recalibrate the climate so that employees can do their best work, Opperman said.

“Talent has power in the workplace,” she said. Don’t wait to address a concern until the issues has impacted you and your ability to do good work. “By then, your capital to the organization has declined.”

And we all need to be aware of our own actions. If you think a comment or action you made might have been offensive to others, steps up and talk about it.  Apologize if necessary, she said. “Be honest. Be open. Be genuine. And move on. That’s how we learn and grow together.”

Brossman said that although sexual harassment problems remain and that most women have been harassed in the workplace, “we are living through a change. Most employers want their employees to go to an environment where they are not uncomfortable.”

“The fact you made a complaint shouldn’t hurt you,” he said. “It’s in the employer’s best interest to make sure their workplace is free of harassment and discrimination.”

Although most corporations have sexual harassment policies, Brossman said, “It’s all about how the policy is enforced.” Smaller companies and new companies are not as likely to have sexual harassment policies.

Supervisors can be uncomfortable reporting harassment, but they have a responsibility and should know that violators are a walking liability for the organization, he said.

If sexual harassment is proven, Brossman said, the law mandates that prompt remedial action be taken.

Most male executives have harassed, knowingly or unknowingly, he said. Some employees don’t realize they were harassing and are regretful when confronted.

Although alleged violators are innocent until proven guilty, “we have to take all allegations seriously,” Brossman said. Most investigations are confidential and can result in a range of actions, including job coaching for the harasser.

ILR Women’s Caucus President Soo Bin Ahn ’18 said, “The ‘Practical Skills for Dealing with Sexual Harassment at Work’ workshop empowered attendees with the knowledge of certain, concrete actions that they are able to take, should they encounter sexual harassment in the workplace.”

“From the delineation between discomfort in the workplace and behaviors that constitute sexual harassment—and methods of personal advocacy addressing the respective situations—to emphasizing the importance of being equipped with the available resources, the workshop was extremely valuable in teaching available next steps,” she said.

“As undergraduate students, most of us have not yet had the experience of working full-time in the workforce, and thus have only discussed the issues of sexual harassment. The workshop provided the actionable complement to such academic discussions, arming attendees with the knowledge of what to know, and what steps to take, should such situations arise.”

See related story here.