New resource pack equips leaders with the tools and confidence to appropriately prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace

Did you know that almost two in five women (41%) and just over one in four men (26%) have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years? This sobering statistic is reported in Chief Executive Women’s (CEW) new resource pack, which seeks to equip leaders with the tools and confidence to appropriately prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Kate Jenkins, Former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission, and CEW Member, welcomes the resources and believes leaders must have the courage to have ‘these urgent and difficult conversations, to match the courage shown by so many survivors of sexual harassment who deserve change.’

‘With the help of these practical materials from CEW, every board and leadership group can now have effective conversations about preventing and better responding to sexual harassment,’ Ms Jenkins said.

With 38% of all sexual harassment cases occurring at workstations, there is a fundamental need to ensure sexual harassment remains a key focus of the board and executive agenda.

The new CEW resources include conversation starters and talking points to initiate and build a culture of prevention, practical advice to turn conversations into action and downloadable templates and tools to strengthen risk management policies, processes, and reporting.

Governance Institute welcomes the resource as an important tool for organisational leaders. We take issues of gender equality and the prevention of sexual harassment in workplaces in all sectors very seriously and have regularly engaged and advocated on these issues on behalf of our members.

As just one example of our advocacy in this area, last year, Governance Institute made a submission to the Attorney General’s Department for a number of initiatives and changes in this space such as an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act to prohibit the creation or facilitation of a hostile work environment on the basis of sex.

Governance Institute welcomes CEW’s resource pack as an important step to eliminate sexual harassment in workplaces.

CEW’s new resource pack can be found on their updated Respect is Everyone’s Business website.