Introduction

dignity: harassment and discrimination :
Introduction

Tips and Tools

Recognizing general harassment

Recognizing sexual harassment

Recognizing discrimination

Recognizing abuse of power

General principles for stopping inappropriate behavior

Overview – reporting complaints

Overview – investigating complaints

Sample statement of Center values

Sample statement on responsibilities of staff/code of conduct

Advice to Investigating Panels

The Gender and Diversity Program (G&D) recognizes that existing practices for managing harassment and discrimination often do not cover the scope of issues that need to be dealt with in today's Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Traditionally, most guidelines for handling harassment and discrimination have covered incidents after they have occurred.

These guidelines, developed to assist the Centers of the CGIAR system refine existing practices, emphasize prevention of harassment and discrimination. We also include a section designed specifically to enable victims of sexual harassment to understand their situations and to seek appropriate avenues of assistance.

These guidelines include a model policy ready to be adapted or adopted by the Centers as well as related sample practices, tips and tools, and associated alerts and cautions that flag hot issues for particular attention. All are linked to make it easy to tap into our best recommendations for any aspect of preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination.

Many Centers have shared best practices with G&D to help us develop these guidelines. This Inclusive Workplace e-Resource Center is designed to serve as a platform for ongoing exchange and improvement.

Overview
This Overview deals with the following harassment and discrimination issues:

the connection between dignity and innovation
the challenge for multinational, multicultural organizations
recognizing inappropriate behaviors
preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
the role of senior management in preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
the role of line managers in preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
the role of HR in preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
the role of individuals in preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
inappropriate behaviors directed at non-Center staff
recognizing the contradiction: when victims don’t complain
what the guidelines provide, i.e. sections on model policy, sample practices, and tips and tools

The connection between dignity and innovation
1 Diversity is one of the great strengths of the CGIAR Centers of the CGIAR system. Centers are staffed by women and men from many countries, ethnic groups, racial backgrounds and educational disciplines. They bring their wide range of cultural, professional and personal experience to bear on the complex problems of development-oriented science.

2 To use this strength to best advantage, all staff members must be able to contribute to their full potential. They must work in an environment that stimulates innovation rather than stifles it. Therefore, Centers have to ensure that they create and sustain a “workplace of dignity”. This means an environment where all can work:

in openness and trust, and
in ways that demonstrate they respect and value differences.

3 Dignity is one of the four core values of the Inclusive Workplace. A workplace of dignity is not only pleasant, it has a positive effect on individual and organizational performance. When staff members feel valued and respected, they tend to:

be more productive;
feel more empowered;
have more trust in senior managers, supervisors and co-workers; and
be more committed to the Center, its mission and its goals.

4 Harassment, discrimination and other inappropriate behaviors, as listed in the box: “Recognizing inappropriate behaviors”, have no place in a workplace of dignity. A workplace of dignity requires all staff members:

to treat each other with respect; and
to act in ways that create an atmosphere in which everyone feels that her or his talents and skills are valued.

If these conditions are not met, then staff members will not be more productive, feel more empowered or committed or have more trust, as described above. Staff performance will diminish and, with it, so will the performance of the Center.

Dignity Alert: Recognizing inappropriate behaviors
Quite simply, inappropriate behaviors include any behaviors which show disrespect, intimidate or create a hostile work environment including:
• general harassment
• sexual harassment
• discrimination
• abuse of power

The challenge for multinational, multicultural organizations
5 The multinational, multicultural composition of the CGIAR Centers creates a special challenge to defining inappropriate behaviors because actions that might be regarded as acceptable in one culture may give offense in another. Individual differences also create ambiguities. Behavior that is offensive to some might not be offensive to others. People who make certain remarks or gestures may not be aware that they are offending others.

6 Misunderstandings often arise from differences in perception (see dignity alert on dimensions of difference). They also arise from stereotypes – false assumptions related to factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation.

Impact rather than intention

Dignity Alert: Was harassment intended?
With all types of inappropriate behavior, the key factor is the impact on the victim/s, not the intention of the perpetrator.

7 If a behavior is reasonably perceived as offensive or intimidating by the person who is the target of that behavior – whether or not the person initiating the inappropriate behavior intended to be so – it should be stopped. All staff members have a responsibility to communicate clearly to their colleagues about behavior they find offensive and ask that it be discontinued.

Dignity Alert: “I don’t see any problem”
How dimensions of difference effect perceptions or behavior
CULTURE: people may be unaware of cultural factors that create differences in how behavior is perceived. For example, in some cultures it is considered an insult for a man not to compliment a woman on her appearance while in others, it is inappropriate for a man to remark on a woman’s appearance.
GENDER: women and men may interpret behavior differently. Men tend to see harassment in terms of overt behavior, such as yelling or crude sexual advances, whereas women tend to include more subtle behaviors.

Based on research by Frieda Klein and Associates

Recognizing inappropriate behaviors
General harassment
8 General harassment is any unwelcome verbal or physical behavior that unreasonably interferes with work or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

9 A more detailed explanation of general harassment appears in Tips and Tools: “Recognizing General Harassment”.

Sexual harassment
10 Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favor or other verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that:

unreasonably interferes with work;
is made a condition of employment; or
creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

11 A more detailed explanation of sexual harassment appears in Tips and Tools:“Recognizing Sexual Harassment”.

Discrimination
12 Discrimination is the unjustifiable differentiation between individuals or staff groups. Discrimination can be based on one or more characteristics including – but not limited to – race, caste, color, culture, ethnic background, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, political views or sexual orientation.

13 A more detailed explanation of discrimination appears in Tips and Tools: “Recognizing Discrimination”.

Abuse of power
14 Abuse of power is the misuse of authority in the course of performing work.

15 A more detailed explanation of abuse of power appears in Tips and Tools: “Recognizing Abuse of Power”.

Preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors
16 The responsibility for preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behavior rests with all staff, particularly senior management and line managers. The HR Manager also has a key advisory role. However individual staff members have an important role not only in avoiding inappropriate behaviors themselves, but in making it clear to colleagues who overstep the boundaries of acceptable behavior that their behavior is inappropriate.

The role of senior management in preventing and stopping
inappropriate workplace behaviors
17 Senior management is responsible for establishing and implementing the policies and practices that make it clear across the Center that no form of general harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination or abuse of power is acceptable.

18 These policies and practices include (but are not limited to):

establishing a Center policy on harassment and discrimination;
including a reference to a workplace of dignity in the Center’s value statement;
including a reference to harassment and discrimination in the Center’s Code of Conduct;
ensuring that, as part of their induction, new appointees are introduced to the policy and to the consequences of breaching it, early in their appointment;
ensuring that line managers live up to their responsibilities in preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination in their workgroups;
establishing avenues of assistance at all duty stations to assist staff members who have experienced harassment or discrimination;
ensuring periodic re-education of the Center’s workforce on harassment and discrimination issues; and
acting promptly and decisively if cases of harassment or discrimination are reported.

19 A more detailed explanation of the role of senior management appears in Sample Practice: “The Role of Senior Management”. A more detailed explanation of avenues of assistance to staff who have experienced harassment or discrimination appears in Sample Practice: “Avenues of Assistance”.

The role of line managers in preventing and stopping
inappropriate workplace behaviors
20 Line managers and supervisors are responsible for promoting and enforcing a workplace of dignity and must take every action necessary to prevent and stop inappropriate behaviors. They are obliged to make clear that such behaviors will not be tolerated and to act promptly when incidents come to their attention.

21 More detailed guidelines about line managers’ responsibilities for preventing and stopping harassment are described in Sample Practice: “Line Managers’ Responsibilities”.

The role of HR in preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace
behaviors
22 The Center’s HR group, particularly the HR Manager, has a key role in five aspects of preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination. These aspects are:

supporting management by developing Center policy and procedures for preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination;
educating staff, particularly through induction and retraining, with specialized training for line managers;
assisting management in establishing avenues of assistance at all duty stations for assisting staff members who have experienced harassment or discrimination;
providing support and guidance to people directly involved in harassment and discrimination issues; and
providing guidance to committees investigating harassment and discrimination complaints.

23 A more detailed explanation of the role of HR in preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination appears in Sample Practice: “The Role of HR”.

The roles of individuals in preventing and stopping inappropriate
workplace behaviors
24 A set of general principles, applicable to preventing and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviors, is presented in Tips and Tools: “General Principles for Stopping Inappropriate Behavior”. These principles cover circumstances in which:

a staff member believes that someone has behaved disrespectfully towards her/him;
a staff member believes that she/he may have behaved disrespectfully towards someone else; or
if a third party, e.g. a colleague, is contacted by a person who has been the object of disrespectful behavior.

The role of the individual
25 In some circumstances, individual action by the staff member who has experienced inappropriate workplace behavior may be the most effective way to stop that behavior with a minimum of conflict. Individual action might be appropriate when:

the objective is simply to stop the behavior (i.e. not to pursue a grievance);
the offender is unaware that her/his behavior is offensive; and/or
the behavior is at a comparatively low level of severity.

26 More detailed guidelines about an individual staff member’s options for stopping harassment or discrimination are described in Sample Practice: “The Individual’s Options”.

Victims of sexual harassment
27 Specialized guidelines have been drawn up for staff members who have experienced sexual harassment. These appear in Sample Practice: “A Victim’s Guide for Dealing with Sexual Harassment”.

Inappropriate behaviors directed at non-Center staff
28 All staff members have a responsibility to act respectfully towards people outside the Center as well as colleagues. Staff working in the field with local communities, temporary laborers, etc., should treat them with the same respect they show their colleagues. Supervisors should be particularly alert to the potential for harassment of people outside the Center, particularly poor or marginalized people who may be especially vulnerable to abuse of power by Center staff.

Recognizing the contradiction: when victims don’t complain
29 Dealing with harassment is sensitive enough when the inappropriate behavior leads to either an informal resolution or to a formal complaint. However, there is another magnitude of complexity when the victims of harassment:

do not want anyone to know about it, or
hesitate to file an official complaint.

30 This is not an exceptional situation; indeed, it may be relatively common particularly in relation to sexual harassment. Essentially victims do not complain because they:

blame themselves for the situation;
are ashamed that the incident/s occurred;
are unaware that they have the “right” to be treated with dignity when working for the CGIAR;
fear that the risks of retribution may outweigh the benefits of filing an official complaint.

This can include fear of retribution from the offender, particularly if the offender is a more senior employee or supervisor, or from the offender’s friends, associates, family or community. The fear of retribution is especially common if the Center’s Code of Conduct and its avenues of assistance have not been made clear to all staff beforehand.

Why victims don’t complain
“If I ignore it, it will stop.”
“I am the only one to whom it is happening.”
“No one will believe me.”
“My complaint won’t be taken seriously.”
“Management will side with the perpetrator.”
“Complaining will be too stressful.”
“I may be in some way to blame.”
“I will be labeled as a trouble-maker.”
“The harassment may get worse.”
“I don’t know how to complain, or nor to whom.”
“No action will be taken if I complain.”
“I may lose my job.”

31 Understanding this contradiction is essential to effective prevention or stopping of harassment, particularly sexual harassment. If a staff member becomes aware of a situation in which harassment exists and is going unreported, she/he should report the matter to the HR Manager in confidence. The HR Manager is then responsible for further investigation with appropriate sensitivity to the circumstances.

Dignity Alert
Prevention of harassment is everyone’s job

What these guidelines provide
Model Policy
32 The model policy provided as part of these guidelines summarizes the key principles of creating and sustaining a workplace of dignity.

Sample Practices
33 The sample practices included as part of these guidelines cover the implementation of a workplace of dignity, free of harassment and discrimination, including:

These sample practices can be used for briefing various parties in the day-to-day prevention and stopping of harassment and discrimination.

Tips and Tools
34 Tips and Tools cover the following subjects:

The first four of these tips and tools readily serve to educate (or re-educate) staff on the various forms of harassment and discrimination. The flowcharts for dealing with incidents and formal complaints provide a quick understanding of the various options or steps for resolving incidents of harassment or discrimination.

Acknowledgements
The Inclusive Workplace e-Resource Center is based on G&D’s benchmarking of the CGIAR Centers and other international organizations. In this section on the prevention of harassment and discrimination we drew heavily on two World Bank publications: “Working with Respect in the World Bank Group”, and “Preventing and Stopping Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”. We also referred to G&D Working Paper No. 13: “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: How to Recognize It; How to Deal with It” by Joan H. Joshi and Jodie Nachison.

A number of CGIAR Centers shared with us their existing policy material dealing with harassment and discrimination which helped us refine the guidelines presented here. We particularly thank the WorldFish Center for use of its statement of Center values, and IWMI for use of its statement on responsibilities of staff (code of conduct).

This project could never have been realized without G&D’s creative teamwork, bringing together the diverse talents of Bob Moore, Fabiola Amariles and Antonia Okono along with me for content, and Nancy Hart, Joanne Morgante and Roberto Magini for editing, design and programming. I sincerely thank each for their knowledge, artistry and sincere dedication to inclusion.

Vicki Wilde
Leader
CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program