This Woman’s Work: Taking Care of Yourself
Updated July 29, 2024
Simone Biles has been all over the news this week. The Olympic gymnast withdrew from the women’s team gymnastics final and the individual all-around competition this week. Biles shared that her mental health was the priority right now. In recent weeks. Biles has stated that the pressure of the Olympics with the extended timeline due to COVID-19 has been difficult to handle. Similar to Naomi Osaka’s choice to step back for mental health reasons earlier this year, Biles has brought an important and long overdue conversation to the forefront – mental health care.
This is the third post in a blog series called This Woman’s Work, which highlights the different challenges that women face as we are asked to bring our whole selves to work. The first post highlighted the large drop in women’s employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second post shared the enormous economic burden that many women carry as caregivers. These previous posts were based on recent report released by the Time’s Up Foundation, Women’s Work: Key Policies and Paradigms for An Inclusive Post-Pandemic Economy. As of 2022, this report was not available. Ugh.
Today I am focusing on another report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and Time’s Up Foundation, Paying Today and Tomorrow: Charting the Financial Costs of Workplace Sexual Harassment. The details behind Simone Biles’ mental health are none of our business; however, some commentators have mentioned the ongoing investigation for the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. Nassar was a former doctor for USA Gymnastics who abused hundreds of gymnasts, and Nassar is not alone. USA Gymnastics had a policy of not reporting any abuse allegations from to authorities. Biles has been a vocal critic of USA Gymnastics and the USA Olympic Committee for their management of this situation.
Unfortunately, this is just one more example of workplace sexual harassment that women face every day. In the newest report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and Time’s Up Foundation, a reported 85% of women will experience workplace sexual harassment over the course of their careers. That’s a lot, y’all. As a survivor of sexual assault, my heart physical hurts when I read that statistic. Workplace sexual harassment is more than unwanted sexual advances; it also encompasses behaviors like staring or leering, sharing sexually explicit photos or posters, engaging in general sexual banter, and asking unsolicited questions about a person’s body.
Beyond the physical and mental upheaval of workplace sexual harassment, women must face economic uncertainties, too. These may include job loss, lower earnings, missed opportunities for advancement, and loss of benefits such as health insurance and retirement savings. If a woman feels comfortable to report a sexual harassment incident, then she may still be treated differently by her coworkers, so much so that she no longer feels safe to work at the company. If the company is not supportive of survivor claims, then many people may fall victim to sexual predators in the same workplace. Workplace sexual harassment directly impacts diversity and inclusion efforts at a company.
Sometimes we can equate workplace sexual harassment to women in top executive positions; however, reports of workplace sexual harassment are higher for women in lower-paying jobs. How is someone making minimum wage supposed to wage a legal fight against an employer guilty of sexual harassment? This is just one example of economic uncertainty. Let’s take it back to Simone Biles. By choosing to not participate in the individual all-around competition, she potentially lost $37,500 if she had won the gold medal. This does not count the endorsements she may lose for her choice. Some risk factors for workplace sexual harassment include physically isolated workplaces (think: Nassar’s access to victims in a medical exam room) and in situations of substantial power imbalance (think: fast food restaurant owner and a cashier).
So, you’ve read this far. You are probably wondering about solutions right now. First, understand your role as a gatekeeper to power. Each one of us has influence with people in our lives, and we can use that influence to help people experiencing workplace sexual harassment. Use your voice and social media accounts to share the stats around workplace sexual harassment. Ask your employer to post the channels for reporting incidents in multiple places, including an online venue for remote only employees. Stand by your colleagues who disclose incidents of workplace sexual harassment throughout the process. Speak out when you hear and see people who exhibit the behaviors of workplace sexual harassment, even when others are not around. Part of this woman’s work is facing daily abuse at work. Part of our work is putting a stop to it.
Photo Credit: Simone Biles from Africa Top Forum