Sexual Harassment Prevention: Changing the Culture and Climate That Drives It

Course overview

Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful workplace discrimination under federal law and sometimes state and local law. Sexual harassment may be based on sexual orientation, self-identified or perceived sex, gender expression, gender identity, and the status of being transgender. Sexual harassment is a global problem that pervades all industries and occupations, including the medical community. Sexual harassment is mostly driven by a culture or climate within an organization that encourages or fails to discourage harassment. There cannot be progress in reducing sexual harassment unless management and employees work together to change the culture and climate within the employer organization. An employer should have a policy that prohibits sexual harassment. Sexual harassment training may be mandatory in some states and should aim at changing the workplace culture and climate that tends to promote harassment.