Sexual Harassment at Work: Unlawful Discrimination & Beyond - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sexual harassment at work is defined as unlawful sexual discrimination (Howald, Walker, Melick, Albert & Huang, 2018). This may be in the form of verbal, physical, or visual conduct that is based on an individual's sex that creates an unfavourable working environment. A wide array of scenarios could translate to sexual harassment - these range from simple comments about another person's dressing to physical acts such as blocking their movement. One rather dominant form of sexual harassment is issuing threats due to rejection of sexual advances mostly by holders of senior positions to junior employees. Sexual harassment can be directed towards a person of the same or the opposite sex (Howald et al., 2018).

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Sexual harassment is against the law. In the American federal law, this law is found in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Howald et al., 2018). This law applies to all professional fields, including public and private employees. This federal law is reinforced by labour and civil laws that differ in different states. Just as the law states, sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious offence that should be dealt with aggressively. This includes jail terms and termination of employment or contracts.

Ethical Argument

Moral values oppose sexual harassment in the workplace as it violates the workplace ethical code of conduct and is considered a form of discrimination based on sex in the US. It is unethical for employers or other influential individuals in the workplace to expect an employee to tolerate any sexual harassment to keep his or her job, avoid punishment, or even get tangible benefits (Howald et al., 2018). This kind of behaviour should be dealt with sternly since it creates a very hostile environment due to the sexual act which unreasonably interferes with the ability of the employee to work or be productive. The ethical values in modern society uphold human rights and freedom of expression as well as association. The contemporary workforce comprises people with varied beliefs and practices. For instance, more than 4 per cent of the American workforce identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (Howald et al., 2018). Despite these statistics, the LGBTQ community has unfairly faced constant discrimination in the form of workplace sexual harassments as evident from the numerous court cases and historical events. The other types of workplace harassment are said to be direct harassment from the general public after the disclosure of one's sexuality.

The theories of moral reasoning can readily be applied in the determination of whether sexual harassment in the workplace is leniently dealt with. For instance, the deontological theory focuses on the rightness or wrongness of action as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of its consequences or the moral status of the doer, hence can be used to determine that workplace sexual harassment is wrong and it should be severely dealt with.

Explanation and Defense

The Deontological Theory of Ethics

This is a theory of ethics that focuses on the rightness or wrongness of action as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of its consequences or the moral status of the doer (Baron, 2017). This theory was first described by a philosopher, Emmanuel Kant in the late 18th century. Over time, the Kantian way of thinking was criticized by other philosophers such as Sir David Ross who emphasized on the implication of numerous "prima facie duties," as opposed to using of a single principle in determination of right and wrong (Baron, 2017). The deontological theory was, however, internationally applied in many ways, such as protection of human rights.

The deontological theory has been applied in various ethical situations and the resolution of moral conflict. An ideal location would be hunting animals for sport. Using the deontological approach, the action of indiscriminate hunting of animals is wrong. This is even though hunting of animals may be in some ways beneficial to the environment. According to this theory, an action should be undertaken as long as it conforms to moral expectations. This is despite the consideration of whether the act is good or bad.

An example is a choice between telling the truth and to lie. The deontological theory emphasized that the fact should be said in all situations, despite the possibility of resultant harmful consequences. This theory is best understood through comparison with the consequentialist understanding. Consequentialists assess and act on a job solely on the possible outcomes of an action. This is a complete opposite of the deontological theory. The consequentialist theory has however been widely criticized for over permissiveness. An example is its justification for inhuman acts such as killings as long as it benefits another group of people. The deontological theory is, therefore, more accepted than the consequentialism theory (Baron, 2017).

This theory can be well applied to determine whether sexual harassment in the workplace should be leniently dealt with. In the general setting, this theory can be used to elicit that workplace sexual harassment is wrong, and harsh punishment should be given to individuals who practice it.

Objection and Response

Sometimes, sexual harassment in places like work can be due to the actions and behaviour of the person being harassed. It is important to note that workplace sexual harassment can arise due to careless actions of the person due to things like the kind of dressing that may be provocative as well as the behaviour, carelessness and ignorance of an individual to know their rights and freedoms. This argument can be supported by the virtue-based (teleological) theory.

Virtue-Based (Teleological) Theory

The principles of the virtue-based (teleological) theory can be used to object the argument provided above. This is a theory of morality that stems duty as well as the moral obligation from what is right and also desirable as an end to be achieved (Pops, 2019). Through the virtue-based (teleological) theory, the person being harassed can be blamed due to the actions and behavior stated earlier since every person has the duty and moral obligation to do what is right and desirable such as decent dressing and acceptable behaviour which will ensure that people are not tempted to harass him sexually or her hence avoiding workplace sexual harassment. However, this objection is not strong enough to undermine the main argument since each individual has rights and freedoms of expression and can behave or act the way they want as long as they do not harm others. Therefore, people should not be sexually harassed at the workplace due to their dressing codes or any other reason.

Conclusion

Workplace sexual harassment is said to be unlawful sex discrimination in the form of verbal, physical, or visual conduct that is based on an individual's sex that creates an unfavourable working environment. This act reduces the productivity of workers, cause suffering and even loss of employment. Therefore, sexual harassment in the workplace should not be leniently dealt with, but the culprits should be given harsh punishments such as jail terms and termination of employment or contracts as supported by the deontological theory of ethics. The virtue-based (teleological) approach can be used to object this argument as it can be interpreted to mean that individuals who are harassed are the source of their misery through inappropriate behaviour such as provocative dressing. However, this objection does not hold water since each individual has rights and freedoms of expression and can behave or act the way they want as long as they do not harm others.

References

Baron, J. (2017). Utilitarian vs. Deontological Reasoning: Method, Results, and Theory. In Moral Inferences (Pp. 145-160). Psychology Press.

Howald, N., Walker, J., Melick, S., Albert, M., & Huang, S. (2018). Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.infocoponline.es/pdf/ACOSOSEXUALLABORAL.pdf

Pops, G. M. (2019). A Teleological Approach to Administrative Ethics. In Handbook of Administrative Ethics (pp. 221-232). Routledge. Retrieved from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429272738/chapters/10.4324/9781482290042-12