low and nasty, I might quit.” The
executive later resigned. Wolfe,
who declined to comment, ended
up settling with Tinder for an
undisclosed amount. The company
did not admit any wrongdoing.
Despite advancements in
the career space by women, sexual
harassment didn’t fade away with
the Mad Men era. A 2012 study
conducted by the Human Rights
Commission found that one in
four women are sexually harassed
in the workplace. Most of these
harassers (90 per cent) were men
and, sadly but not surprisingly,
the most targeted group is also
probably the most vulnerable:
young women aged 18-24. Over
half the inappropriate behaviour
reported was sexually suggestive
comments or offensive jokes – and
in this new world where the lines
between work and home become
blurrier, this might seem like an
inevitability. But it’s still offensive,
it’s still enough to make someone
uncomfortable (at best) and what’s
more, it’s still illegal.
Work is no longer confined
to our offices, points out federal
sex discrimination commissioner
Elizabeth Broderick. But although
the lines between professional and
personal spaces may be less clear
to some people, the law is there
to protect you. “There is a clear
difference between ‘Did you have
a good weekend?’, which is fine,
and ‘Did you get some on the
weekend?’, which is not,” explains
Broderick. “Unwelcome conduct
that intimidates, humiliates or
offends infringes on your basic
human rights and is illegal,” she
adds. What’s more, if a co-worker
harasses you outside the office
(say in a taxi, or at a bar, or even
when you’re getting your morning
coffee), it still counts as workplace
sexual harassment and you still
have grounds to complain.
Debunking the myth that
it’s the lecherous male boss who
is most likely to sexually harass
women, most women polled – 52
per cent – say they were targeted1 in 4
women have been sexually
harassed at work.
by male co-workers, compared to
22 per cent by male managers and
employers. Another 10 per cent
say their harasser was a female
co-worker. Other women we spoke
to were harassed by clients – in
fact, Broderick says that her own
experience with a client when she
was a young lawyer is what made
her determined to broaden sexual
harassment laws to include this
form of abuse.not just a bum grab
The thing is, many of us still tend
to think of sexual harassment as
quid pro quo offers of a promotion
in exchange for sex – the kind of
thing that happened to Dr Tan.
So when faced with less obvious
forms of harassment – especially
from a co-worker, not a boss –
we sometimes question ourselves
instead of the harassers. Sexually
suggestive emails, messages and
comments on social media are all
becoming more common, making
it difficult at times to know where
you yourself draw the line. Should
you be the “cool girl” at work who
shrugs off your workmate’s stories
about his hook-ups? A survey by
US Cosmopolitan confirms this
confusion: 16 per cent of women
polled answered “no” when asked
outright if they’ve been sexually
harassed at work but said “yes”
to experiencing sexually explicit
or sexist remarks at their jobs.
“A lot of people who call our
hotline aren’t sure if what they’re
experiencing is harassment,” says
Noreen Farrell, executive >Lowe represented Tinder’s
former marketing vice-president
Whitney Wolfe, who just last year
sued the popular dating app for
sexual harassment. Wolfe claimed
that a Tinder executive, whom she
brief ly dated, stripped her of her
co-founder title, saying, according
to her civil complaint, that it’d be
“slutty” to be a female co-founder
of a hook-up app. Her lawsuit also
alleged that he subjected Wolfe
to “sexist, racist, and otherwise
inappropriate comments, emails,
and text messages,” including
calling her a “whore” in front of
co-workers at a company party.
The impact on her was clear from
the texts she sent a friend: “The
shit he says... makes me wanna
kill myself,” and later, “He’s so
“Being told
I needed to be
sexy at work –
breast implants,
bronzer, more
makeup.”- 36-year-old woman in
medical/health care
“A sking
if I’ve ever
wanted
to make
out with
someone
at work .”- 25-year-old
woman in arts/
entertainment
“My boss
told a
female
supervisor
that I had
nice tits
and arse.”- 33-year-old
woman in science/
tech/engineering
industry
“Sexist
comments
like
‘She’s the
beaut y,
I’m the
brains.’”- 28-year-old in
commmunications
cosmopolitan June 2015 69