Sexual Harassment at Work in Canada: Legal and Social Perspectives

This essay delves into the significant issue of sexual harassment within Canadian workplaces, examining its various forms and grave consequences, including psychological and physical distress, and reduced job satisfaction. The discussion highlights the role of organizational practices and gendered expectations in contributing to this problem, while also analyzing the legal and social perspectives. The essay further explores the power dynamics and sociocultural factors that influence the occurrence of sexual harassment, emphasizing the importance of self-direction and autonomy in mitigating its impact. It references Canadian government initiatives, such as Bill C-65, to address the problem. Finally, the essay underscores the need for comprehensive social initiatives, including reinforcing laws and policies to protect employees and create workplaces free from sexual harassment.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK IN CANADA
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Introduction
Scholars are long emphasizing on the role of organizational practices in constraining
career-related outcomes of women and shedding light on the implications of gendered role
expectations. However, the organizational background related to women’s experiences on the job
associated to sexual aggravation obtained insignificant amount of attention (Fitzgerald et al.
2017). Nelson, Debra and Burke (2018) state that sexual harassment undertakes several forms
such as receiving derogatory sexist comments, hostile working environment through odd
gestures, sexually oriented elements and even forced sexual contact resulting to severe
consequences at workplaces. The following essay will evaluate the grave implications of sexual
harassment at workplaces in Canada with elevated level of psychological and physical tension;
reduced contentment with work. In addition to this the paper will propose social initiatives in
order to condense the social problem faced by working women at organizational contexts.
Discussion
The critical character of perspective in social or communal life entails necessity regarding
a theoretical standpoint on sexual harassment which further takes into consideration its
significant organizational groundwork (Mclaughlin et al. 2017). However, in the view of
Fitzgerald et al. (2017), although individuals tend to act out, they perform in that manner within
the organizational context. These illicit acts critically gave a collective liability not only by
modern social scholars but furthermore by sufferers as well as courts of law. Schultz (2018)
posits that institutions are established within the wider range of sociocultural setting involving
patriarchy as well as invasive gender socialization which prime individuals in proceeding and
receiving sexual harassment at workplace. According to Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016),
men typically refer to the socio-cultural prospects in shaping the sense of their feelings which are

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correct for women and ways in order to associate with the women in an organizational context.
Similarly it was noted that women who encounter acts of sexual harassment may refer to the
widespread as well as existing norms and to their point in the patriarchal societal arrangement in
determining whether and ways to advance (Schultz 2018). However, as per the view of Holland
et al. (2015), sociocultural realties are crucial in comprehending the social conditions for sexual
harassment; workplace elements are regarded as important determinants of its frequency and
appearance. Furthermore, in other words, patriarchy along with forms of gender socialization
aids to elucidate the intellectual groundwork fundamental to sexual harassment as well as
reactions of sufferers. But Miner and Cortina (2016) claim that organizational context
fundamentally rules whether and the way sexual harassments actually emerge in a given place of
work.
Reports by Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016) reveal that Canada is acknowledging the
psychological harm resulting from poisoned organizational environment as a ‘term or condition’
of employment. Furthermore, Schultz (2018) recognize the merit if these assertions highlighted
acts of sexual harassment as a discriminatory condition of employment even if it does not be
consequential to detrimental employment outcomes. At this juncture, Nelson, Debra and Burke
(2018) state three sources of power which had significant impending repercussions for sexual
harassment related to self-regulation, official grievance procedures along with job insecurity.
Furthermore, power discrepancies emerging from employees’ relative significance in the labour
development had the propensity to safeguard some workers from acts of sexual persecution
while portraying others further in danger. However the overriding conjecture speculates that
subordinated organizational arrangements of women tend to condense their authority in
association with potential harassers, further signifying them to be highly susceptible or in risk to

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sexual harassment (Fitzgerald et al. 2017). Self-direction is identified as a fundamental
constituent of authority in such a context and is thus disagreed as constrain acts of harassment
susceptibility as independent employees are often identified as being more proficient and
challenging to replace than other segments of labour force. Furthermore, Mclaughlin et al. (2017)
established that autonomy is unconstructively related to the extent to which sexual persecution
and exploitation is viewed as workplace issue. Moreover, as self-direction tends to involves at
least some autonomy of progress, it may facilitate women employees’ greater capability to
constrain their disclosure to chronic harassers.
While in the view of Pateman (2015), self-direction tend to signify certain degree of
authority of power offering protection from sexual exploitation, women employees with
considerably higher level of influence tends to aggravate resentment and thus become targets of
these illicit acts. Mcdonald and Charlesworth (2016), at this stage argued that women viewed as
individuals seeking status or risks to male dominants on organizational possessions may be
besieged for sexual aggravation that is an involved approach which a number of men may utilize
in order to affirm their supremacy and further protect their rights and authorities. Studies
conducted by Miner and Cortina (2016) found that women with higher level of skills and
knowledge with superior levels of job tenure have greater propensity to recognize sexual
harassments and other illicit acts of sexual exploitation of women as a grave issue. Schultz
(2018) has further found that supervisory authority linked to the heightened exposure towards
sexual harassment. Considerably, all these attributes signify autonomy on the employment along
with an executive benefit that men dominated whereby they have wanted to prohibit women
from workplaces. Sociological investigations provide a number of competing rationalizations of
worker dominance. Furthermore, Pateman (2015) has noted that women in gender-amalgamated

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as well as chiefly male organizational background are disagreed to be at the utmost threat for
sexual exploitation while women engaged in principally women settings are recognized to be at
lesser threat by good value of organizational structural limitations on the occurrence of their
contact with male gender. Nelson, Debra and Burke (2018) have associated this standpoint to
criminology’s habitual actions report to the victimization by comparing women’s in primarily
male work settings to suitable sufferers in the immediacy of enthused lawbreakers. This further
illustrated an assertive association amongst male and women’s propensity of encountering sexual
nuisance with net of a assortment of individual as well as organizational aspects. According to
Mclaughlin et al. (2017), although contact along with routine activities explanations emphasize
the impact of sexual risk in chiefly male organizational settings, the masculinity salience
viewpoint implied that sexual harassment has greater propensity where sex allocations are at an
angle in either direction. Women engaged in work groupings with greater percentages of women,
such as household helpers and waitress are viewed to be positioned at greater risk for sexual
harassment in Canada due to their insignificant amount of supremacy and their responsibilities
become allied with subordinated female gender roles varied from other life spheres (Nelson,
Debra and Burke 2018).
Reports by Pateman (2015) have disclosed that the Canadian government showing high
commitment of eradicating harassment as well as sexual violence at any types of organizational
settings. Furthermore, the methods Canadian administration is employing will reinforce the laws
and policies to sustain women service employees protected and proficiently deliver on the
assurance to take necessary actions in order to successfully ascertain that workplaces are free
from acts of sexual harassment and violence (Mcdonald and Charlesworth 2016). Miner and
Cortina (2016) noted that Bill C-65 purposefully modifies provisions in the Canada Labour Code

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by reinstating the patchwork of laws as well as policies which seek this social issue within the
Federal jurisdiction, further including federally regulated workplaces along with federal public
service (Mcdermid, Brendan and Low 2018). This social policy further positions an inclusive
approach which entails complete range of acts of sexual harassment and violence against women
at workplaces into concern and further intensifying these policies in order to envelop
parliamentary workplaces namely the Senate and the House of Commons along with the political
personnel on Parliament Hill.
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, it is essential to note that jokes of sexual nature, forced or unwanted
sexual comments, gestures and contact must be realized as abusive and illicit conduct instead of
considering it as a suitable characteristic of interpersonal associations at workplaces. These
determinants act decisive in translating official processes into preventive guardianship. However,
current social policy introduced by Canadian Government is taking significant step but it is
important to note that no government is competent enough to fix this social issue alone until the
victims highlight these acts as highly appalling, intolerable and unlawful.

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