By Mark Baker, CEO, Psychologist, Mygrow
The recent killings of women in Ekurhuleni and sexual assault allegations at Cornell University have brought women’s safety into public conversation again. For many women, thinking about safety is already part of an ordinary day, including how they get home after working late or how they respond to attention that makes them uncomfortable.
That awareness does not disappear when someone arrives at work. Her experiences influence how she reads a situation and whether she feels comfortable around her colleagues. An interaction that seems insignificant to a manager may leave her wondering how carefully she needs to manage that relationship.
Employers can examine whether the environment they create gives women a sense of security or adds situations they have to navigate with caution. This requires understanding what working in their organisation feels like from a woman’s perspective.
What women have to weigh up
Consider a woman whose senior colleague repeatedly comments on her appearance. She may be uncomfortable but uncertain about responding, particularly if that person influences her career. Before saying anything, she may consider whether she will be taken seriously and how the relationship will change afterwards.
Similar uncertainty can arise at work functions, where professional boundaries become less clear but differences in seniority remain. Unwanted attention can be difficult to refuse when the person involved will be allocating work the following morning.
Leaving a woman to handle these interactions herself assumes she can respond without consequences. Leaders need to consider whether the organisation’s past behaviour gives her reason to believe that.
Where emotional intelligence helps
Emotional intelligence involves the skills we use to understand and manage ourselves, and to interact effectively with others. It helps leaders recognise why an exchange that felt harmless to one person left another uncomfortable.
A manager may become defensive when someone questions a trusted colleague’s behaviour or describes the impact of something the manager said. Recognising that reaction creates space to listen before reaching a conclusion, without requiring the employee to manage the leader’s feelings as well.
Empathy also helps leaders account for differences in power. Someone with secure standing may find it easy to challenge a colleague. A junior employee on a short contract may experience the same conversation differently.
If someone withdraws after an exchange, a private check-in can help a manager understand what happened. The employee should be able to explain in her own terms, with that understanding informing any action that follows.
What everyday responses tell employees
Women learn about an organisation through what happens around them. When an inappropriate comment passes unchallenged, the person affected may be unsure whether objecting would receive support. A leader who addresses it helps establish a boundary and reduces that uncertainty.
Colleagues contribute through their own responses. Challenging a comment or supporting someone who raises discomfort means the woman affected does not have to carry the full responsibility for addressing it.
When leaders make mistakes, acknowledging a dismissive response and returning to hear the concern properly can help repair trust. Employees need to see a change in behaviour afterwards.
Giving policies credibility
Formal policies provide a process for addressing harassment and misconduct. Their credibility depends on whether employees trust that using them will protect their position at work.
A woman considering a complaint may remember a colleague who spoke up and was subsequently excluded from important work. That experience can discourage others, even where formal procedures were followed.
An absence of complaints therefore needs careful interpretation. It may reflect a respectful environment, or employees may have little confidence that raising a concern will help. Leaders need to understand what happens after someone speaks up, including any informal consequences within her team.
Support that women can shape
Employers can acknowledge that experiences outside work affect people while respecting their privacy. Asking what would help at work gives an employee control over the support she receives.
A concern about travelling after a late event, for example, can be addressed through practical arrangements without requiring her to explain every experience behind it. Knowing that a manager will respond respectfully can make it easier to ask for help.
Executives should create opportunities for honest feedback, paying attention to whether women feel safe participating. What they hear should lead to specific changes, followed by a conversation about whether those changes have helped.
Employers cannot control every threat women face. However, they can take responsibility for conditions within their organisations and reduce situations in which a woman has to weigh her safety against her livelihood. Doing so requires listening to women’s experiences, including when those experiences challenge a leader’s view of the workplace they have created.