McKinsey and LeanIn.org have once again partnered to publish the Women in Work annual report. The 2024 edition notes that women continue to face barriers to entry at every level, including low-level positions. And women who work are still likely to face sexual harassment and microaggressions, which can lead to burnout and disengagement.
“It would take 48 years for the representation of White women and women of color in senior leadership to reflect their share of the US population; this is true parity for all women.”
More To Be Done to Address Microaggressions
Microaggressions – and their macro impact – were prominently featured in the 2023 and 2024 Women in Work reports. As a refresher, microaggressions are “demeaning or dismissive comments and actions – rooted in bias – directed at a person because of their gender, race, or other aspects of their identity.”
In addition to causing burnout and disengagement at work, microaggressions can also lead to lawsuits. We’ve certainly seen an increase in lawsuits mentioning microaggressions, with varying success. So, at a minimum, microaggressions can increase your company’s risk of a hostile work environment lawsuit.
Despite more workplace training than ever in the past five years, microaggressions remain a persistent problem. And the research is showing that the training most companies are offering is ineffective at helping workers identify microaggressions.
Companies might consider introducing specific policies and processes to address microaggressions to reduce their negative impact on your workforce, for example:
- Clarifying what microaggressions can look and/or feel like.
- Create a rotating system for administrative and/or ancillary tasks, like notetaking, event planning, placing orders, and cleaning up, so women workers aren’t unfairly assigned these tasks.
- Publish a policy detailing how employees can mention instances of microaggressions with others, including those more senior to them.
- Publish the potential consequences for engaging in microaggressions.
Sexual Harassment Still Far Too Common
The 2024 Women in Work report highlights that sexual harassment is just as common today as it was five years ago, with around 4 in 10 women reporting experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace at some point during their career. And women are significantly less confident than men in their company’s handling of sexual harassment claims.
“In 2024, 14% of women experienced a form of sexual coercion, such as being pressured to engage in an unwanted sexual relationship or touched in a sexual way without consent, compared to just 2% of men.”
We previously published a piece about sexual harassment in the workplace, but for completeness, the key steps employers can take to mitigate risk against sexual harassment claims include:
- Providing proper training to managers and employees.
- Implementing/maintaining policies to deter personal relationships between supervisors and subordinate employees.
- Implementing/maintaining a robust anti-harassment policy communicated to employees and obtaining acknowledgments from them of their receipt of the policy.
- Implementing/maintaining policies that prohibit work-related misconduct.
- Implementing/maintaining policies and procedures to be followed in the event of a sexual harassment complaint, including a confidential complaint process, swiftly commencing an investigation, offering counseling, and (if appropriate) disciplining or terminating the party who is accused of sexual harassment.
Action Items for Business Leaders
- Read the McKinsey and LeanIn.org 2024 Women in Work report to learn more about bias at work and what can be done about it. There are additional takeaways not covered in this post.
- Review your sexual harassment policy and ensure it specifically addresses sexual coercion. Given that instances of sexual harassment have not decreased in the past decade, companies should ensure that sexual harassment policies and legally mandated trainings are provided for and followed.
- Review your hostile workplace policy to determine if it covers microaggressions. If not, consider implementing additional policies and workplace processes to reduce the legal and human resources risk microaggressions pose to your business.
If you need help updating your workplace policies, the CGL employment attorneys are ready to assist you.
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