Three-quarters of people would consider leaving a job where workplace sexual harassment was not treated as a serious issue, new data from national violence prevention organisation Our Watch has found.
The survey* of leaders and employees in medium to large workplaces commissioned by Our Watch shows 83% of female and 67% of male employees agreed that they would consider leaving a job that didn't treat workplace sexual harassment as a serious issue.
The latest data also shows gender equality is a key issue for attracting female employees in particular, with 75% of women compared to 44% of men agreeing that if they were looking for a new job, the workplace's approach to gender equality would be an important consideration.
Workplace sexual harassment and discrimination is illegal, but recent regulatory changes mean employers are required to proactively prevent and eliminate sexual harassment and discrimination.
However, Our Watch data released last year shows 40% of workplace leaders were not aware of their new legal obligations and only 76% of leaders knew that workplace sexual harassment was illegal.
Our Watch Acting Chief Executive Officer, Cara Gleeson, said the start of the working year serves as a reminder to employers of their legal obligations to make workplaces safe for women.
"Under the Sex Discrimination Act, employers have a positive duty to take active steps to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment and workplace discrimination on the grounds of sex. It is not sufficient just to respond to it," Ms Gleeson said. "But the good news is creating safer, more equal workplaces is actually good for businesses' bottom line, good for their reputation and of course good for staff."
This is something recognised by workplace leaders and employees, with more than eight in 10 people viewing gender equality as important in creating a positive organisational culture.
Ms Gleeson said Our Watch was working with and supporting large and smaller employers to embed equality and respect in the workplace.
"Addressing gender inequality in workplaces is an important way employers cannot only create a positive work culture but also tackle the crisis of violence against women. Evidence shows there's a close association between gender inequality and gender-based violence, including sexual harassment, and with most adults spending a lot of time in the workplace, workplaces can really influence people's views about the issue."
More than 40% of women and 26% of men have experienced workplace sexual harassment in the past five years according to the Australian Human Rights Commission. The rate increases significantly for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (56%), LGBTIQA+ (46%) or younger workers (46% of 15-29 year-olds).
The link between attitudes towards women and sexual harassment is clear. Recent research by ANROWS found that people who held strong sexist and discriminatory attitudes were over 15 times more likely to engage in workplace technology facilitated sexual harassment, making these attitudes the strongest predictor of such behaviour.
As well as the significant personal harm, sexual harassment costs the Australian economy more than $3.8 billion a year.
"Employers have a requirement to make their workplaces safe and equal and in doing so they will also attract and retain good staff, especially women," Ms Gleeson said. "Unfortunately, our latest survey follows reports that many more women than men are leaving their jobs because of abuse they face from customers, so there's never been a more critical time to consider improving workplace equality to help address violence against women."
