Gender sensitivity works in favour of economic growth

Gender inequality is a global reality. In 2020, women represented only 38.8% of all participants in the labour force (World Bank). One reason is sexual harassment at the workplace, to which “young, financially independent and single women are the most vulnerable” (ILO).

More than one in five people in employment have experienced violence and harassment at work, whether physical, psychological or sexual, according to a 2022 ILO global survey. A study that reviewed national laws on gender equality in 193 countries found that “sexual harassment by co-workers, supervisors or employers, either in the form of sexual behaviour-based or sex-based, may happen at every stage of employment” and it cuts across geographies and occupations. Studies also indicated that it is mostly ( 72% of cases) by someone more senior in the organizational hierarchy. While men have been victims, women are more than twice at risk of falling prey to gender harassment and sexual abuse.

Evidence from past research and individual accounts of the #MeToo movement outline the negative impact of harassment on women’s economic opportunities and career trajectories.

It all adds up to a sizeable economic hit. No less than 75% of the world’s 2.7 billion women (18 years and above) and 600 million men (by a conservative estimate) have been affected by the menace; and its overall financial impact was placed at around $2.8 billion by one study (Chamie, 2018). In case of affected individual women, the lifetime financial costs were estimated from $600 to $1.3 million or more, depending on their earnings (Institute for Women’s Policy Research and Time’s UP Foundation, 2021). Another study of 2.5 million cases found a $2.6 billion loss, with 70% of it borne by employers; the government was found to lose tax revenue, while individuals suffered lost income (Deloitte Access Economics, 2019). Yet another study found that the long-term consequences of it include depressive disorders, decreased engagement, earlier departures from jobs than planned and disruptions in career advancement. However, there has been no attempt to assess the losses that women incur due to systemic discrimination that limits their career growth, gaslighting them to think their ideas aren’t worthy enough while rewarding even the mediocre ideas of men. (Harvard Business Review, 2020).

Global surveys consistently suggest that incidents of workplace sexual harassment are grossly under-reported, either for fear of retaliation or because of the belief that it won’t find redressal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, US, reported that a majority (59%) of harassed employees (1995-2016) did not report it. In 2017, a BBC survey showed that more than half of all victims stayed silent. Such data is often shrugged off as an unpleasant aspect of life. Some women even accept it as part of a bargain. Nevertheless, in 2021, the number of countries offering some protection against retaliation rose to 103, and employers in 53 countries are now required to take specific steps, like disciplinary action. However, about 500 million working-age women in 70% of economies in the Middle East and North Africa, half in East Asia and the Pacific, and one-third in Latin America and the Caribbean still have no legal protection. (World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018)

In the post-#MeToo era, employers are more aware of their corporate image and the risks of litigation and criminal proceedings, apart from adverse effects on staff productivity, recruitment and retention. A few countries have implemented legislation to restrict or eliminate the use of confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements which can be used to silence victims. In some US states, new sexual harassment prevention policies have been adopted. Hong Kong recently expanded the scope of its protection with a new code of practice. The UK has made it a legal duty to prevent harassment with a statutory code of conduct for employers. Megacorps like Microsoft have created an employee advocacy team.

India has a codified law, the PoSH Act. However, it has been criticized for looking at violence against women in a piecemeal way and overlooking other forms of sexual harassment at work. The Act has also had little bearing on India’s vast informal-sector female workforce. Even in the formal sector, a contract worker may be ineligible for some legal provisions. Ambiguities in enforcement remain. A recent BBC online survey found that more than 52% of surveyed Indian women and girls had turned down education and job opportunities on account of feelings of insecurity. Other researchers once estimated that Indian GDP could jump to nearly $6 trillion by 2050 if our employment gap of 58 percentage points between men and women is eliminated (Bloomberg Economics). The global economy also loses trillions each year to gender disparity.

In 2019, the ILO adopted a landmark international treaty (C190) on violence and harassment at work, setting out a benchmark for nations to establish safe workplaces for everyone. India voted for it in 2019, but is yet to ratify it. The world’s commitment to a no-harassment work culture through regulatory and perceptual changes seems too weak for comfort. Gender sensitive policies at every level are imperative to close gender gaps and attain higher economic growth—which would deliver dividends not just to women, but everyone.