Professional services lags industries such as mining in responding to sexual harassment claims and face pressure to treat these claims as safety issues, as recommended by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
If this change was adopted, accountants and lawyers would be forced to actively reduce the risk posed by offenders, a shift that could end the common situation where male offenders are retained and even promoted, while female complainants leave the firm.
“They’re just so far behind on this issue compared to other sectors such as mining. For example, BHP already views all harassment and bullying claims as hazards under a safety lens,” PsychSafe managing director Rebecca Michalak said.
The extent of sexual harassment in the professional services is not known, but a global study by the International Bar Association found that a third of female lawyers in Australia have been harassed at work. Separately, a parliamentary inquiry questioned big four consultancy KPMG in late 2019 about a dozen sexual harassment allegations by staff.
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