CE 480

Sexual Harassment

 

Part I:  Jim Grimaldi

 

1.  Early situation

Jim Grimaldi, projects manager in the Sunnyvale division of the Universal Corp., has just learned that in two weeks the headquarters in Los Angeles will be sending him a project engineer, Joan Dreer.  Her job will be to supervise small groups of engineers involved in automotive brake design.  The Los Angeles headquarters is anxious to move women into all levels of the company, and it has targeted Grimaldi's engineering division at Sunnyvale as a good place for Joan Dreer.

 

Joan Dreer will be the first woman engineer at Sunnyvale.  On learning that their new supervisor will be a woman, several of the engineers inform Jim Grimaldi that they don't like the idea of a woman supervising their work.

 

Question:  What, if anything, should Jim Grimaldi do to prepare for Joan Dreer's arrival?

 

2.  skip ahead a few months

Joan Dreer has been with the Sunnyvale division for several months now.  As project engineer she has been supervising the work of several engineering groups involved in automotive brake design.  As a projects manager, Jim Grimaldi is Joan Dreer's supervisor.  The contracts Joan Dreer's groups have been working on have tight deadlines and allow only extremely narrow margins for error.  So the engineering groups have had to work at maximum speed and under a great deal of pressure.  Deadlines have sometimes been missed.  Joan's supervisor, Grimaldi, has become increasingly concerned about the work of the groups under Joan Dreer's supervision.

 

3.  Jim's Comments

"A couple of months ago I was sent a new engineer from our plant in Los Angeles, Joan Dreer, and told t put her to work right away as a project engineer.  The company was making a push to move women into all company levels but had apparently run into a lot of problems with their engineers down in Los Angeles.  They had decided that our place would have the fewest problems adjusting to women and they were pretty insistent that we find a way to work things out.  When I first took Joan around our plant so she could get to know the men and the kind of work we do, several of the engineers took me aside and let me know in no uncertain terms that they didn't want a woman to supervise their work.  To make matters worse, Joan came on as a pushy and somewhat aggressive feminist.  When one of the young engineers asked her if she was a 'Miss" or a 'Mrs' , she retorted that her private life was her own affair and that he should get used to calling her 'Ms'."

 

Jim has not found any of the groups under Joan's supervision outrightly refusing to work.  But they seem to have been dragging their feet in small ways so that sometimes they miss their deadlines.  The other groups have also been showing some reluctance to cooperate with the groups under Joan Dreer's supervision.  So Jim has been increasingly concerned about how this might affect his own career.  He is also worried about the safety factor involved in the brake design.  He needs to have a talk with her about the performance of the groups under her supervision.  This performance evaluation is about to take place.

 

As Jim ponders his dilemma, he considers several issues:

 

"I agree that it's important to move women into supervisory positions in the company, but I don't know whether we can really afford to do it just yet.  I don't want to fire any of my engineers.  That would be unfair since they have worked hard in the past under a lot of pressure.  Women aren't really suited for this kind of work.  What should I do?"

 

Question:  Consider how Jim might prepare himself for this performance evaluation.

 

Part II:  Joan Dreer

 

1.  Early situation

Joan Dreer will be the first woman engineer manager in the Sunnyvale division of Universal Corp.  The headquarters in Los Angeles will be sending her to Sunnyvale to be a project engineer.  Her job will be to supervise small groups of engineers involved in automotive brake design.  The Los Angeles headquarters is anxious to move women into all company levels, and it has targeted Grimaldi's engineering division at Sunnyvale as a good place for Joan Dreer.  Her new boss will be Jim Grimaldi, projects manager in the Sunnyvale division.

 

Joan Dreer was excited about her transfer to Sunnyvale. But she was also apprehensive.  Although she had received very high marks for her work at the Los Angeles headquarters, she had just gone through an unpleasant experience. Her immediate supervisor made it very clear that, in return for her recent promotion in Universal, he expected sexual favors.  When she resisted, he became verbally abusive and tried to do his best to make life miserable for her at work.  His derisive remarks about women engineers did not go unnoticed by others -- several of whom found them quite amusing.  Fortunately, her complaints to the corporate ombudsman were taken seriously.  Disciplinary action was taken against the supervisor.  Joan Dreer also requested to be transferred to a division that might be expected to be more receptive to women engineers.  So, she hoped that the Sunnyvale division would give her a fresh start.

 

Unfortunately, Joan Dreer's first day at the Sunnyvale division proved to be quite a challenge.  She took a small group of engineers by surprise when she entered the lounge.  A young engineer with his back to the door was commenting that he didn't like the idea of being told how to do his work by a woman, but that he would figure out how to handle the situation once he found out whether she was a 'Miss' or a 'Mrs'.

 

The laughter ended abruptly when Joan Dreer's entrance was noticed.  Realizing that she was facing her first challenge, she tersely announced, "Mr. Johnson, my private life is my own affair.  You'd better get used to calling me 'Ms'."

 

Question: 

(1)  What do you think are the major concerns?  And how would you suggest they be approached?

 

2.  Skip ahead a few months

Joan Dreer has been at the Sunnyvale division for several months now.  As project engineer she has been supervising the work of several engineering groups involved in automotive brake design.  As a projects manager, Jim Grimaldi is Joan Dreer's supervisor.  The contracts Joan Dreer's groups have been working on have tight deadlines and allow only extremely narrow margins for error.  So, the engineering groups have had to work at  maximum speed and under a great deal of pressure.  Deadlines have sometimes been missed.  Joan's supervisor, Grimaldi, has become increasingly concerned about the work of the groups under Joan Dreer's supervision.  Joan is aware that a performance evaluation is about to take place.

 

Question: 

(2)  Consider how Joan might prepare herself for this performance evaluation.

(3)  How subtle can harassment be?  Must you be involved directly with the incident to be harassed?  or part of the harassment?

 

The following examples of conduct potentially creating a hostile environment include:  off-colored jokes; suggestive pictures, posters or calendars; repeated requests for a date; comments about body parts or sex life; excessive attention in the form of cards, gifts, etc; grabbing, pinching, violating space; threats of job loss

 

(4)  What role does the supervisor play?

(5)  What constitutes sexual harassment:

·      continual requests for a date

·      male employee brushes against female worker as she distributes mail

·      catcalls or whistles when a woman passes by

·      swearing

·      sexually explicit photos displayed in public area and offices

·      writing love notes to another employee

·      supervisor puts hand on employee's shoulder while explaining work

·      male supervisor asks female employee about details of her sex life

·      group of men rating a woman's appearance