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dignity: harassment and discrimination
:
The role of senior management
Introduction
1 Senior management is responsible for establishing
the policies and practices that make it clear to all staff that no form
of general harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination or abuse of power
is acceptable.
2 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 statement of its values;
- including a reference to harassment and discrimination in the Center’s Code of Conduct;
- ensuring that new appointees are introduced to the policy, and the consequences of breaching it, as part of their induction, 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 who have experienced harassment or discrimination;
- ensuring periodic re-education of the Center’s workforce on harassment and discrimination issues;
- acting promptly and decisively if cases of harassment or discrimination are reported;
- providing support for victims to access professional counseling where necessary; and
- ensuring that the policy on harassment and discrimination and the Code of Conduct are appropriately linked to related policies, e.g. annual performance evaluation and reward reviews.
Establishing a Center policy
on harassment and discrimination
3 A model policy is provided in these guidelines.
It recognizes the following key requirements for a Center to include:
- Center management’s commitment to a workplace of dignity;
- staff members’ obligations in sustaining a workplace of dignity;
- a clear statement that neither discrimination nor harassment will be tolerated; and
- a clear warning that disciplinary action will be invoked when complaints of discrimination or harassment are upheld.
Including a reference to
a workplace of dignity in the Center’s
statement of its values
4 The Center’s statement of its values
is a potentially powerful tool for influencing behavior among individual
staff members and also among line managers.
5 It provides a clear and concise statement
of the values underpinning the Center’s approach to its work and
to establishing the work environment that the Center believes is essential
to achieving its mission.
6 Consequently, it is highly desirable to
include elements required for a workplace of dignity in the Center’s
statement of values. For example, one Center’s statement of values calls for:
- recognizing the value of staff diversity;
- providing equal opportunity for all staff;
- designing policies that are fair, respect individual dignity and self-esteem; and
- expecting staff to be caring, compassionate and nurturing in work relationships.
7 A statement of Center
values also can serve as a very powerful marketing tool. For this reason,
it is important to include it among the briefing materials sent to a
job applicant prior to an interview.
Including a reference to harassment and discrimination
in the
Center’s Code of Conduct
8 A Center’s Code of Conduct presents
a strong statement of organizational values, but it also can be a very
powerful marketing tool for communicating organizational values and enforcing
compliance with those values.
9 The Code of Conduct is usually the most
concise statement of the principles of behavior required of Center staff.
In some organizations, a staff member’s breach of the Code of Conduct
leads explicitly to disciplinary action.
10 Consequently, it is highly desirable for
the code of conduct to specifically prohibit behavior that undermines
a workplace of dignity. See Tips and Tools for an example of one Center’s
Code of Conduct
11 It is also highly desirable to include
reference to the Code of Conduct (or equivalent) in letters of appointment
to new recruits and to attach a copy of the Code of Conduct. This is a
key step in the prevention of harassment and discrimination, so that not
even new staff members can claim ignorance of this key policy.
Ensuring content and timeliness of induction procedures
12 The Center’s induction procedures
should ensure that new appointees have the policy on harassment and discrimination
explained to them as part of their induction, early in their appointment.
This briefing should present both the positive benefits of the policy
and the consequences of breaching it, i.e. that:
- staff can expect to work in a workplace of dignity, free of harassment and discrimination;
- management will take all steps necessary to guarantee freedom from harassment and discrimination; and
- the consequences of undermining a workplace of dignity by engaging in harassment or discrimination absolutely will lead to disciplinary action and possible dismissal.
13 While this level of education
may not be difficult to achieve at Center headquarters, it can be more
difficult in relation to appointees at regional and country offices. Senior
management needs to assure itself that these risks are properly managed
across the entire Center, not just at headquarters.
Reinforcing line managers’ responsibilities
14 It is often easier for a line manager to
turn a blind eye to instances of harassment or discrimination within the
work group, rather than to take decisive leadership action. This is particularly
the case when the harassment or discrimination appears relatively minor.
Confronting the problem may appear a distraction from core business. Most
line managers feel quite comfortable technical leadership but some may
not appreciate the depth of their responsibility for ensuring a workplace
of dignity.
15 Consequently, senior management needs to
ensure that line managers are periodically reminded of their responsibilities
in preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination in their workgroups.
This is best done through personal contact rather than e-mails, when possible.
16 Many line managers have never faced a serious
problem of harassment or discrimination. They need to understand that
their time spent providing leadership on such issues will be far less
than the time they will spend (and the misery they will face) if harassment
or discrimination results in a formal complaint and investigation.
17 Line managers also must understand that
they need to act decisively if they suspect inappropriate behavior
in the workplace (i.e. taking preventative action without necessarily
waiting for evidence of inappropriate behavior). If inappropriate behavior
within their workgroup leads to a formal complaint from the victim, the
Investigating Panel may hold the line manager partially responsible if
she/he was aware of, or suspected, inappropriate behavior but failed to
act.
Avenues of assistance
18 One of the most important resources for
a staff member who may be experiencing harassment is the “avenues
of assistance” at her/his duty station, or for the duty
station if it has a small staff.
19 When a staff member is harassed, her/his
first questions are likely to be:
- “Was what I experienced harassment?”
- “What should I do?”
- “Whom can I go to for advice and assistance?”
20 “Read the policy
manual” is not an adequate answer to any of these questions, no
matter how well the policy manual is worded. Victims need human contact,
preferably with someone who is familiar with the Center’s policies
and practices for dealing with harassment.
21 Consequently each Center needs an avenues-of-assistance
contingency plan for every duty station – one that provides for
all foreseeable aspects of harassment. In particular, this plan should
answer the following management questions:
- “If one of our staff members is harassed at our duty station at X, what should she/he do?”
- “What resources does our Center have in place to provide prompt assistance for the victim?”
It is not sufficient to assume that the line management
chain will handle the matter effectively. After all, the victim’s
harasser may be in that management chain.
22 A good avenues-of-assistance contingency
plan will have (but not necessarily be limited to) the following:
- one or more Local Harassment Advisors;
- a hotline for reaching Center HR personnel with accessible phone numbers for the HR Manager and a specified alternate for harassment matters (the alternate may be one of the HR staff or, perhaps, Director of Corporate Services);
- documented information about harassment;
- access to professional counseling.
23 The avenues of assistance
should be constantly publicized through posters, intranet pages and induction
programs.
24 The sample practice “Avenues
of Assistance for Staff Who Have Experienced Harassment or Discrimination” contains
a comprehensive explanation.
Ensuring periodic re-education of the Center’s
workforce on
harassment and discrimination issues
25 It is one thing to create a policy; it
is another to communicate it effectively. The creation of a Center policy
on harassment and discrimination will have little or no impact unless
it is accompanied by an appropriate communication strategy.
26 How can senior management assure that staff
members, especially those who already have been employed for many years,
understand and commit to such an important policy? How will they even
hear about it? Through whom? With what effect? Noting the comments above
about the time and misery associated with formal harassment and discrimination
complaints, the cost/benefit of a half-hour workgroup briefing every couple
of years lays heavily on the benefit side of the equation.
Dealing with formal complaints of harassment or discrimination
27 Even a Center with a good policy prohibiting
harassment and discrimination may see its policy seriously undermined
if senior management is seen not to act promptly on investigating any
formal complaint. The same is true if management does not act decisively
if the complaint is established.
28 It is hard to act promptly if no process
exists for investigating complaints. These types of complaints are extremely
urgent. If management waits until it receives a complaint before designing
a suitable investigating process, it can almost be guaranteed that mistakes
will be made and the investigation (and its outcome) tarnished.
29 Two sample practices, “Reporting
Complaints” and the “Investigating
Complaints”,
offer detailed information for assuring that appropriate reporting and
investigating processes are in place that anticipate potential needs.
30 The manner in which complaints are handled
ultimately determines staff perception of the Center’s policy on
harassment and discrimination. If the policy is seen as “just words
on paper”, ignored more than it is practiced, it will be disregarded
by staff and line managers. Victims will remain unwilling to raise harassment
and discrimination issues and this will undermine their commitment to
the Center’s
mission and values.
Providing support for victims to access professional
counseling
where necessary
31 In some harassment and discrimination cases,
particularly sexual harassment, the victims may require professional counseling
for dealing with their trauma and re-establishing their sense of self-worth.
Centers are encouraged to recognize this need, and:
- identify suitable sources of professional counseling at all major duty stations, and
- decide in principle how to meet the needs of potential victims at duty stations where an appropriate standard of professional counseling is not available locally.
32 Note that this access
to counseling may be needed prior to a formal complaint and subsequent
investigation, not just after an investigation is concluded. For example,
if it is evident that a staff member has suffered a serious sexual assault,
she/he needs very prompt access to a suitably qualified counselor.
Ensuring that the policy on harassment and
discrimination and
the Code of Conduct are appropriately linked to related policies
33 HR policies and HR practices need to be
integrated; they should not exist in isolation from each other. For example,
does the Center’s annual performance evaluation system specifically
address serious breaches of the Code of Conduct? Or, would it be possible
for a staff member to breach the Code of Conduct yet still receive a good
performance rating through the performance evaluation process? If the
latter answer is yes, would it also be possible for that staff member
to receive a financial reward (promotion, performance increment, bonus,
etc.) despite breaching the Code of Conduct that year?
34 If these structural weaknesses exist, they
need to be overcome as part of the Center’s overall approach to
preventing and stopping harassment and discrimination.
© CGIAR Gender & Diversity
Program 2006