Making workplace harassment a thing of the past

‘Two steps forward, one (giant) step back’ is a familiar feeling to anyone involved in efforts to encourage women in business. So, when the news broke in April about serious sexual assault allegations at the CBI, for many it wasn’t a complete shock. We have, sadly, been here before and some simply shrugged their shoulders. ‘Oh, that sort of thing just happens all the time,’ one very successful woman suggested to me.?

That is a big problem. Our workplaces (and after-work parties and business trips with colleagues) should obviously, at a minimum, be safe. No one should feel vulnerable to assault, harassment or bullying. As companies proudly wave their Pride flags this month, how can we seriously pursue ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ efforts unless we know that such behaviours are either consigned to the history books or dealt with swiftly??

I chair the Diversity Project, whose mission is to create a diverse and inclusive investment and savings industry. We are addressing every dimension of diversity, from socio-economic to neurodiversity, from racial, ethnic and religious diversity to LGBTQ+. We are also looking at every stage in the career journey. Those are big, broad areas so we create very targeted programmes – such as Pathway, to develop more female fund managers; EnCircle, to mentor black professionals and The Skills Workshop, a course for students from under-represented backgrounds to gain insights into how to apply for and secure a great job. Around forty CEOs from over 100 member firms form an Advisory Council, a sounding board and leadership group. In April, the Council discussed the CBI scandal and although the detail had yet to be worked through, agreed we really needed to know the levels of any similar problems across our industry and to address them.?

The Diversity Project has since launched ‘Safe Space’ , a confidential mechanism for anyone working in our industry to share any experience of poor behaviours. Our member firms have their own reporting helplines, and Safe Space is not designed to replace but to supplement those. There are situations where people feel nervous reporting incidents within their own firms or aren’t sure how to escalate an issue (for example, if they have been harassed by an employee of another firm at an industry event). Safe Space isn’t just a short-term reaction to the CBI allegations; it will be available indefinitely. We aren’t looking to name and shame, but to enable those who have suffered or witnessed bad conduct to come forward without fear, and to be signposted to sources of help.?

The experiences shared are anonymised before being compiled according to type of issue and severity of the incident. We are grateful to those who have already shared their experiences in confidence. We will be reporting initial findings to the Advisory Council in July; depending on the extent of problems, the council will decide upon an industry-wide response aimed at stopping these behaviours.?

I hope that other sectors follow suit, so we can move to a time when assault, harassment and bullying aren’t seen as ‘inevitable’ and are dealt with swiftly if they do occur. It’s only then that our collective ‘D, E and I’ efforts will be authentic and built on strong foundations.?

If you want to report an incident, please?click here ?or email us confidentially on?[email protected] . Feel free to pass it along to someone you think may need it.?

#safespace #diversityproject