Harassment in the Workplace


We can thank the entertainment business for bringing the conversation about this issue to the forefront. 

I have to admit that Kevin Spacey was a hard one for me to accept.   This was based on a profile of him that I saw on 60 minutes years ago.  He was profiled as the "common man's star".  He took the subway in New York and did his own shopping at public markets.  It makes me wonder if some of the pain that he has caused people could have been avoided if they did the profile from an investigative angle rather than as a fluff piece.  

Yesterday, a report can out in Canada about harassment in the workplace.  Not surprisingly, the numbers indicate this happens to the majority of women and they never report.  

I happened to watch a panel discussion on CBC News Network that had a female employment lawyer, a female educator on this issue, and Charles Adler.  They were particularly going to talk about Sexual \Harassment in the Workplace.  I chose to title this entry as Harassment in the Workplace because I believe other forms of harassment are just as devastating for the victim.  For those who don't know who Charles Adler is, well, he is Canada's answer to Bill O"Reilly.  

Before they even started speaking, I felt sorry for poor Charles Adler knowing that he was going to say something outrageous. (It turns out he is not poor Charles Adler.  I googled his net worth.) 

Charles Adler did not disappoint.  He was referring to the sexual harassment in the entertainment industry when he pointed out that it appeared that this sexual harassment had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power and control.  He said this because all of the accused where men of means so obviously they could pay for the finest escorts out there to provide them with sex.  

What bothered me about this comment was that he pronounced it with such triumph.  He had come up with this revelation.   It made me wonder.  Feminists have been saying that sexual assault/harassment has had nothing with sex and everything to do with power and control.  They have saying this for decades, yet, this is news to Charles Adler.  A light bulb moment in fact.  

It is frankly tragic.  The one thing that women should have credibility about is being victims of sexual harassment.  Yet, apparently, we are still not credible.   We have to have a male speaking on our behalf telling us something that we have known for decades.  

Another example of while we may have come a long way baby, we still have miles to go.


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