Background

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At the heart of sexual harassment in the workplace is the exploitation of power imbalances, leading to violations of fundamental human rights. This pervasive, and often normalized, pattern of behavior, harassment often occurs along gender lines, impacting workers’ mental and physical health, threatening their livelihoods, and perpetuating a cycle of gender-based discrimination and violence. In Asia, approximately 30-40% of women in the workplace have experienced sexual harassment.[1] Despite this widespread issue, pathways to remedy are riddled with obstacles for women survivors who are often re-victimized and face threats of reprisal, intimidation, and ostracization should they seek remedy. This form of violence has human rights and economic implications, with the Asia Pacific region losing an estimated 42 – 50 billion USD annually due to sexual harassment and gender discrimination. 

 

Acknowledging and directly addressing sexual harassment remains a taboo subject within the private sector, yet it poses a major risk to not only human rights and the achievement of gender equality but also business productivity and ultimately economic growth. Robust and transparent mechanisms to prevent, address and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace can be a strategic advantage for businesses: It can not only decrease employee turnover and increase productivity, but it also builds brand reputation and creates a more equitable work environment[2]. 

 

The Gender Dimensions of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights make clear the obligations/responsibilities of both States and businesses in preventing, combating and remediating instances of sexual harassment at work. Companies must implement and operationalize robust policies and practices to prevent and address sexual harassment, as well as putting in place gender-responsive grievance mechanisms that account for systemic nature of harassment.[3] However, these essential duties are often neglected, resulting in a fragment application of these fundamental principles. A study by the World Benchmarking Alliance found that while 66% of companies have publicly available policies on ending workplace violence and harassment, only 4% disclose how women workers can access remediation processes.[4] Indeed, the absence of effective legislation and access to effective remedy (A2R) mechanisms have left this issue unaddressed, impacting millions. Where policies are present, ineffective application have led to seismic gaps in enforcement and oversight. 

 

In seeking to transform the private sector landscape in Asia-Pacific for gender-responsive business conduct, UN Women leverages the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a set of seven principles guiding business to develop and implement gender-responsive business conduct across their value chain. Preventing, addressing and providing remedy for sexual harassment is key to Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers. Across the region and in diverse industries, UN Women has leveraged the WEPs to convene partners and develop resources, trainings, and programming to create inclusive workplaces free from sexual harassment.

 

Notably, UN Women India and the Government of Tamil Nadu, with the Department of Social Welfare and Women’s Empowerment and Department of Textiles, has launched the Textile Industry Coalition (TIC) in February 2024. Despite significant interventions in the textile and garment sector to address issues of discrimination and exploitation of women workers including gender-based violence, abuse and harassment, the industry/sector has time and again witnessed incidences that highlight the need for a continuous engagement. The TIC is a multistakeholder membership-based platform that brings together brands, factories, industry bodies, trade unions and civil society with a vision of ensuring zero tolerance for sexual harassment and violence against women and girls in textile supply chains in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is modelled around collective action along with key stakeholders, to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls. Along with UN Women, the initiative is supported by H&M, as the founding member, with Target recently joining as a key supporter.

 

In addition, under the WeEmpowerAsia and Safe and Fair programme, UN Women and ILO jointly developed the groundbreaking ‘Addressing Sexual Harassment in the World of Work Toolkit.’ Inclusive of a roadmap, three trainings, and a self-assessment tool, the toolkit is designed to guide brands and suppliers to address sexual harassment in the world of work and provides an overview of the steps needed to establish a gender-transformative approach, with a specific focus on women migrant workers. The toolkit was first piloted in 2022 with corporates in Malaysia, where sexual harassment remains a significant issue impacting women in the workplace. One recent study indicated that up to 62% of female employees have experienced some form of harassment at work,[5] highlighting the urgent need for effective measures to combat the issue. The passing of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act in 2022 presents an opportunity to mobilize private sector action, as it establishes a more robust legal framework to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

 

This session will unpack the drivers and challenges faced by governments, businesses and other private sector stakeholders in bridging the gaps in fostering safe workplaces that seek to prevent but also provide reliable routes to remedy for sexual harassment in the workplace. At the same time, it will spotlight efforts from government, the textile industry and the corporate sector in diverse contexts addressing sexual harassment across value chains. It will take a cross-sectoral approach, exploring pathways for women, regardless of their work environment, to have access to safe, inclusive workplaces and robust, confidential mechanisms for reporting incidents.​

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Session description

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This session will unpack the drivers and challenges faced by governments, businesses and other private sector stakeholders in bridging the gaps in fostering safe workplaces that seek to prevent but also provide reliable routes to remedy for sexual harassment in the workplace. At the same time, it will spotlight efforts from government, the textile industry and the corporate sector in diverse contexts addressing sexual harassment across value chains. It will take a cross-sectoral approach, exploring pathways for women, regardless of their work environment, to have access to safe, inclusive workplaces and robust, confidential mechanisms for reporting incidents. ​​

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Objectives

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• Raise awareness of the responsibility and opportunity for the private sector to take action to address sexual harassment to promote gender equality.

• Emphasize the business case for safe workplaces, illustrating how inclusivity and equity positively impact employee morale, productivity, and overall organizational performance. 

• Showcase and generate interest in utilizing frameworks, resources, and collaborative modalities available to address sexual harassment in the workplace and ensure access to remedy. 

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Key Questions

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• What risks do women workers in the region face with regards to sexual harassment and violence at work? What can be done to ensure a safe working environment, inclusive of accessible, formal and confidential grievance mechanisms?

• What are some common misconceptions or barriers that organizations in Asia-Pacific may have when it comes to addressing these issues, and how can they be overcome?

• What best practice examples and/or modalities exist to showcase how businesses have effectively addressed these issues and created more inclusive and safe environments? 

• What more needs to be done by public and private actors alike to drive progress in this area?

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Speakers​​

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• Moderator: Jamshed Kazi, Senior Advisor, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

• Jayashree Muralidharan, IAS, Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Social Welfare and Women’s Empowerment 

• Sundar Senthilnathan, Head of Public Affairs, H&M Group India Production

• Liza Liew, Manager, Consulting & Client Services, LeadWomen Malaysia

• Anita Selvaraju, Country Director, Human Resources, Ascott International Management Malaysia

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Additional Reading

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[1] UN Women, ‘Background Paper: Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Harassment against Women Migrant Workers in South and Southeast Asia’ (2022). Available from: < https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/PVAWMW-Background-paper-designed_FINAL.pdf >

[2] U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2016). Harassment in the Workplace: A Survey of Federal and Private Sector Employees. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment-workplace-survey

[3] See Principle 27. Gender Dimensions of the Business and Human Rights Agenda (2019). Available from: < https://www.undp.org/publications/gender-dimensions-guiding-principles-business-and-human-rights >

[4] World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), ‘2023 Gender Benchmark Insights Report’ (2023). Available from: < https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/gender/ >

[5]https://www.vase.ai/resources/blogs/voices-of-malaysian-women-on-discrimination-harassment-in-the-workplace-report