Dive Brief:
- Two recent headlines continued to drive home the EEOC's message that U.S. employers still have a long way to go when it comes to reducing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.
- Not only is the Fox News scandal apparently widening, but the two New York Times articles indicate that two very different organizations are also ensnared in sexual harassment scandals as of late.
- One employer garnering lurid headlines in the Times is the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, and the other is The Tor Project, a nonprofit digital privacy group.
Dive Insight:
In the case of Bridgewater Associates, Christopher Tarui, a 34-year-old adviser to large institutional investors, filed a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities alleging that he was harassed by his male supervisor for a year or so, when the latter propositioned him for sex and talked about sex on business trips.
The complaint also describes Bridgewater's culture as being one of constant surveillance by video, recordings of all meetings and "patrolling security guards" all designed to "silence employees who do not fit the Bridgewater mold." When Tarui complained internally about his supervisor, he said he was, among other things, accused of lying.
Bridgewater told the times in a statement that it looks forward "to operating through a legal process that brings the truth to light.”
In the Tor Project case, an internal investigation had confirmed allegations of sexual misconduct against Jacob Appelbaum, an ex-employee who served as the organization's "public face."
It's clear with high-profile cases emerging with some frequency that the EEOC's concerns about the state of America's workplaces when it comes to sexual harassment is not making very much progress. Among other ideas to combat the situation, the EEOC recommends a much stronger push in promoting respect and civility in the workplace, rather than merely on eliminating offensive behavior.
