Gender Bias and the Foreign Client
Author(s):
Sohan "Billy" Lall
What Do You Do When a Client Harasses One of Your
Employees?
Background Information
The conventional approach to treating Anorexia Nervosa, was to
take the victim and in isolation, study what the problem was.
Hopefully, then, by observing the individual, perhaps then with a
change in diet, a few drugs, or a psychotherapy session, the
problem could be resolved. More recently, it has come to light that
like most mental aberrations, anorexia is a situational problem,
i.e. it is the context that produces the problem, and therefore one
must also observe that context. This brought rise to looking at
"systems" as a problem-solving approach. It was found that to a
large degree, Anorexia Nervosa, was a social problem, a problem in
the family. Certain interactions in the family produce ideal
environments for Anorexia to develop. It is no mistake or chance
that Anorexia affects young white middle-class women more than any
other group. The importance of this is how this relates to
harassment and discrimination. Like Anorexia, Sexual harassment is
not just the "victims" problem. It must be looked at in context -
this includes the looking at the individual, the family, the
workplace, and the culture among other things. From 1987 to 1991,
Klein Associates of Cambridge conducted confidential
surveys.(Information for this survey was retrieved from "The case
of hidden harassment": by David Niven, H.B.R.1992) of major
U.S.-based corporations to assess employees' perceptions of sexual
harassment and sexual discrimination in the workplace. In national
surveys, when employees are asked if they have been sexually
harassed, the average annual response rates are 15% women and 5%
for men. But when asked in the Klein Associates survey if they have
been subjected to the legally defined forms of unwanted sexual
attention listed in the following chart, employees report
considerably higher numbers: Employees who have experienced sexual
harassment find most organization complaint systems don't offer
enough confidentiality or protection from retaliation. Further, as
employees experience multiple or extreme incidents of sexual
harassment, their opinion of their companies, mangers, and job
declines. This data shows one glimpse of the extent of harassment
in the US. Harassment is a major disabling force and like racism,
and other forms of discrimination, it warrants the attention of
male and female, of black and white, of young and old.
Unfortunately, harassment on the international scene, to a large
degree, is more prevalent than in the US. In Japan, for example,
sexual harassment has only recently become a legitimate word in the
media, and even then it is often trivialized. In fact, up until
April 1992, there have been only three sexual harassment suits
filed. For Americans traveling abroad, harassment on international
soil poses many problems. Some countries simply do not recognize
harassment, some tolerate different levels and have quite different
standards than their American counterparts. Some occupations, such
as consulting, require employees to meet extensively with clients
many of whom are foreign. It is the company's and manager's
responsibility to ensure that its employees are free from harm. But
as a manager, "What do you do when a client harasses one of your
employees? ". This is what I explored in this project.
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Purpose and Motivation
It has been claimed that harassment is an issue of power, not of
gender. While this may be true, this only re-enforces the need to
look at the system or context in which harassment occurs. I decided
to look at harassment i) in the workplace and ii) concerning a
foreign client, for a number of reasons. I foresee myself in a
position some time in the future where I might be supervising, and
perhaps working on international assignments. Harassment concerns
me, because as a victim of racism while growing up, I can relate
distinctly to the experience. Further, I have a twin sister, and am
particularly aware of the different, and oftentimes demeaning, ways
she is treated by the very people who treat me well. I am alarmed
at the lack of men who are concerned or knowledgeable about the
subject. As a male feminist, I have a special stake to educate
myself and others.
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Sources
For this project, I needed to interview persons who were
knowledgeable about harassment, and who had significant experience
in resolving harassment cases. I decided upon Mary Rowe, the
special assistant to the president, ombudsman, and professor at the
Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at M.I.T., who has had
significant exposure both as an academic and ombudsperson to
harassment. And Freida Klein, a national expert on issues
pertaining to sexual harassment, from Klein Associates in
Cambridge.
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Roadmap
In the following sections, I will describe the actual up-dated
scenario which I presented to each of the interviewees, and the
questions. Then I will describe the transcript of the interviews. I
met Mary Rowe in person, but could only reach Freida over the
telephone. Finally, I summarize the findings and conclude: Gender
bias the foreign client (This is written form the perspective of a
male manager). You've just been promoted to Senior Consultant at
Klepner Associates, a "start-up" consulting firm. Klepner is a firm
that succeeds by emphasizing the needs of its clients. After a few
years of doing quite well in the already saturated consulting
market, Klepner is now experiencing a downturn and is beginning to
lose business. Everyone in the firm knows that 'maintaining' client
relationships is the key to survival. Indeed there is a sense of
urgency among the consultants to emphasize client satisfaction
above everything else. Recendy, a government mandate required the
acceptance of women into the firm after a complaint of exclusionary
action. As a response, the firm hires Janet, a top graduate from
MIT, and she is placed under your management. You assign Janet to a
new half million dollar project proposal that has just come in from
Techy Inc., a computer firm located in country X. Techy is by far
Klepner's largest single client currently accounting for about 50%
of the business. Although Janet is new to the firm, you feel she is
perfect for the position - to a large degree because of her
excellent computer background, her fluency in "Xish", and her
assertiveness - vital ingredients for a success on this
project.
You have great faith in Janet, and while flying abroad to Techy
in country X you both discuss the strategies you will employ to
help close the deal . By the time you arrive you both feel
confident that every possible outcome has been explored. While
you're there, much to your dismay you notice how awful they treat
Janet - they listen when she talks, but they don't address her at
all, only respond to your ideas, and further, they make demeaning
comments about her. They feel disrespected and uncomfortable with
the fact that she interrupts the men, and say that Klepner is
disrespecting them by sending such a woman. You say she's your best
consultant, but you realise you'll have to be slow and patient to
win this deal. Janet in private tells you how she herself feels her
Engineering Phd is disrespected. You call your boss but he's s not
very sympathetic when you tell him what's been happening:Look,
you're the bloody manager ok! Do what you need to do and stop
pestering me with all these trivialities. If she's causing problems
then take her off the damn project or fire her, ok? Just keep the
Techy's happy! If we lose their business over this, we're screwed,
and you're fired. Before she came in, we never had any problems
before.
A couple days pass. That night one of the males from the client
team informs you that the CEO wants to meet with you - alone. Over
dinner you realise you're close to signing the deal. Then he
enquires about Janet... What do you do? A Few More Twists...The
following day, an hour before the papers are to be signed, Janet
approaches you. She looks awful, and confides in you that she was
harassed the previous night. "Those animals! What can I do?" She
threatens bringing up harassment charges. What can you do?
Eventually the deal is signed. Upon returning back home, you
overhear the other consultants talking about Janet: "I told you,
women just bring problems", "She couldn't handle it", "She's too
sensitive", "We shouldn't send them on these trips", She's not cut
out for the business world." How do you respond to a situation like
this? Finally, a couple months later, it's evaluation time. In your
eyes, Janet has been working really well, and you give her your
highest recommendation. However she fails to get promoted.
Obviously your boss and colleague thought otherwise. Janet,
complains to you about the situation. Being a start-up firm, there
are no policies pertaining to harassment or What do you do?
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Interview #1 Mary Rowe
Special assistant to the president, ombudsman, and professor
Sloan School, MIT So Mary, what do you think? What's your initial
reaction? Janet must conform... to the customs of the local
country. Can she legally bring action against Klepner or Techy? As
far as I know, there is no current law which allows Janet to legally
bring a complaint against Klepner or the individuals at Techy Inc.
You cannot assume that American law will hold in foreign countries.
Nowadays, most companies will not blame Janet. They will send her
elsewhere where she's not likely to be harassed or discriminated
against.What if she refuses to conform? It is important to note
that Janet is usually the first to compromise. I've never met a
Janet that didn't. She doesn't want to endanger the company, and
this obviously might make her even more enraged. Janet has to
behave according to the norms of the country - such as not crossing
her legs, or exposing her arms. Most women in fact do conform to
accepted norms. To be safe and successful, she must conform. As a
manager, what can you do? The manger can raise the issue within the
firm, and some policies which may be against US law might have to
be followed. Specifically, though, how could the manager accomplish
this? I would embark on conversations with Techy team when they
visit the states. I would have them visit my female consultants can
have them as gender free as possible. Over the conversation I would
talk about US law, putting everything in their terms. When there's
harassment or discrimination in the firm, what should the manager
do? Obviously, the manager/senior consultant should not participate
in the harassment or gender-bias. If this is exhibited by the
foreign client, the manager should work on a long term plan to deal
with this. If the harassment comes from above, like from the boss,
then the manager needs to raise awareness in the firm. Don't let it
get to evaluation time. In small or start-up firms such as Klepner,
when there are no policies or procedures for dealing with
harassment, what can a manager do? In the absence of any policy,
there is a defacto policy -- a long term plan. There are also
Federal and State laws. eg When a foreigner visits the US, Janet
cannot be excluded from a meeting on the basis of her gender. ...In
a foreign country you might be acting according to the foreign
countries laws, but not according to US law. In most cases you
should act in accordance with local law. There sometimes arises the
issue of equal rights vs safety. In the New York police force for
example, all automobile patrol persons must fill up the gas tank
before they leave. For women and minorities in certain
neighborhoods, working late shifts can be extremely dangerous.
Because of the safety hazard, in some districts, they are excluded
from the late shifts. This could be regarded as discrimination, but
safety is the primary concern. The same applies to harassment. In
general then, what would you recommend to managers as a general
approach to deal with issues of this nature? The trend now is for
managers to be direct. How would I respond if I were a manager? In
1980 I probably would have kept my mouth shut, but now we're in the
'90's. I would talk openly and directly with my boss and
colleagues, and seek help when necessary. The issue needs to be
confronted.
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Interview #2 Freida Klein
National expert on issues pertaining to sexual harassment Klein
Associates, MA Initial reaction: complicated and very realistic.
There's both a legal and a practical matter. The legal matter -
it's not automatically illegal to take Janet off the project
providing you have a comparable project to put her on, such that
her career options or earning are not adversely affected. As a
practical matter - involve Janet in the decision making. How, what
do I say to her? give her options and let her choose, like: "What
kind of backing do you want from our firm to make it possible for
you to succeed?" or " Is this treatment so discouraging that you
want to leave?" But what if the client doesn't want Janet, or any
woman telling them what to do? If the client wants you to replace
Janet, find out from them what their specific concern about Janet
is. "What skills is she lacking?" Force them to articulate
performance criteria and to get away from gender bias. What if the
problem is cultural or religious? this is more difficult. Some
cultures or religions forbid men to interact with women in this
fashion. If it's cultural or religious then the company needs to
address this before hand, as a preventative measure. Legally, what
can Janet do? According to the civil rights act of 1991 Janet does
have a legitimate legal claim - there are laws which cover one's
employment relationship regardless of who the perpetrator is if the
employer forced Janet into this situation.If Janet is physically or
sexually assaulted by a client it depends on country X's law, not
US law. US law does not hold on foreign soil. As in Klepner, a
stifling climate was developing. What can a manager do when his/her
colleague are behaving this way? Good companies train managers
preventably. Be aware of victim blaming. Be very careful in dealing
with the feelings of all parties. I would ask a well respected
sensitive person in the hierarchy of the firm to bring up the issue
at a management meeting and analyze if she's really at fault.
Understanding the climate of the organization is of paramount
importance: Is it one in which people are punished? Or open
dialogue. Again find a powerful ally. In the absence of a policy,
what can a manager do?The absence of policy or procedure is a legal
problem. Stress the importance of prevention. How? for example,
contact the head of Human Resources, someone with knowledge and
power, to help deal with this situation. Stress the importance of
clear performance criteria that are not inherently biased. Make
sure everyone is knowledgeable about the firms policies and
procedure - make sure they get in place soon. If there are no firm
wide procedures then get a team together, talk about the respectful
treatment of others, and the right to challenge a decision.
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Conclusion
This project brought to light a large array of issues, some of
which I would have liked to pursue in more depth. Sexual harassment
is a world-wide problem, akin to forms of discrimination such as
racism. Fortunately, the tide is beginning to turn, and with
education and awareness, employees will know what their rights are,
and not have to fear reprisal. As Freida Klien said, it's all
"about the respectful treatment of others". I benefited
tremendously from this study.
The following describes some of the key aspects that learned,
and which all managers need to know:
- Be aware of the laws - both in the US and in the local
(foreign) country
- Look out for both the client and your company
- Wherever you're going, know the culture
- Be open and direct.
- Try to involve the harassed person in the decision making.
- Respect privacy.
- Get help from above, from someone with power and knowledge in
the hierarchy
- Use preventative measures when possible. Be aware of possible
situations and plan accordingly before they occur. Ugly situations
can be prevented with just a little fore-thought and research.
Sohan "Billy" Lall