Abstract
Workplace sexual harassment (hereinafter: WSH) is a central and volatile issue in contemporary labour markets. Particularly following the #MeToo movement, incidents of WSH have been frequently reported in the media and fervently/passionately discussed on social networking sites. Despite increased awareness, however, organisations do not seem to have made enough progress in the reduction or prevention of WSH. While the internal role of sexual harassment commissioners has become significant in organisations, there is, however, a gap in the scholarly literature regarding the professional training and development of SHCs, as well as their impact in work arenas. This exploratory qualitative study addresses the role of the third sector in the prevention of WSH, by exploring non-profits’ roles in the training and advancement of sexual harassment commissioners in the Israeli labour market. We have conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 40 SHCs, who are female practitioners in varied business organisations, in terms of size, location and industry type. The SHCs have all received their training in the non-profits, which aims to prevent WSH in the Israeli labour market. The findings demonstrate that while non-profit organisations provide SHCs with the ability to exclusively contend with WSH, counter practices have emerged in business organisations to erode their professionalism at both the micro and macro levels, also negatively affecting their ability to reduce the prevalence of WSH. Therefore, non-profits have to increasingly invest significant resources in the development of complex knowledge and skills in order to enhance the SHCs’ professional toolbox.
Presenters
Shani KunaSenior Lecturer, Human Resource Management Studies, Sapir Academic College, Israel Ronit Nadiv
Lecturer, Managing Human Resource, Sapir Academic College, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Education and Learning in a World of Difference
KEYWORDS
Workplace sexual harassment, Female sexual harassment commissioners, Organisational training
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