The Oklahoma Bar Journal September 2023

in the first place. 14 Most impor tantly, employers must take swift and meaningful action when they become aware of sexual harassment. Another general solution could be the creation of a more diverse group of partners, government officials and other leaders in the legal industry. Representation in leadership positions does not follow gender distribution in the legal workforce. Though the cut of women entering law has been above 45% for the last 20 years, they cur rently make up a mere 20% of equity partners at law firms. 15 Filling lead ership positions with more women not only creates leadership that is more likely to support women, but it also increases female representation, which helps new female lawyers feel like they belong in the industry. Beyond sex, workplace culture is shaped by its leaders – how they act and, more importantly, what they tolerate. The legal profession needs leaders who recognize what gender bias looks like so that they can spot it within themselves and show no tolerance for it in any capacity. While various potential solutions exist for addressing this problem, it is crucial to be aware of the appro priate actions to take if you or a colleague encounters sexual harass ment in your workplace. Here is some information to keep in mind: Workplace Sexual Harassment and Discrimination are Illegal Sexual harassment and discrimi nation in the workplace can give rise to liability under Oklahoma and fed eral law. An employer may be liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it has at least 15 employees and the discriminatory behavior is “sufficiently patterned or perva sive.” 16 Sexual harassment is similarly actionable under the Oklahoma

notice them, and the effect can be like a slow death from a thousand papercuts. Though any are unpleas ant, tolerance of repeated micro aggressions can create a hostile work environment. Although less common, men can also experience sexual harassment in the workplace just as easily through these uncom fortable and unwelcome acts. Legal workplaces that tolerate sexual harassment are unsustain able. Repeated workplace sexual harassment has a proven correla tion with employee disengagement, productivity loss, low morale and increased turnover. 11 This kind of environment reveals a lack of integrity in the attorneys perpet uating it, damaging not only the firm’s reputation but also creating a rift in our workplace culture, stig matizing those in inferior positions by not affording them the respect they deserve as professionals. One potential solution lies in strengthening our responses to sexual harassment. As little as 14% of sexual harassment incidents are officially reported. 12 Victims don’t report incidents for a recognizable pattern of reasons: fear of retalia tion, concerns for safety, concerns for whether the claim would be taken seriously and concerns that the person to report to is the perpetrator. 13 Suppression of sexual harassment is caused by unsuccess ful mechanisms for victims to seek help. To fix it, legal workplaces could enlist employees in a multifaceted response team for reporting inci dents. Additionally, bystander-fo cused sexual harassment training should be utilized, as it has been proven to be effective in preventing sexual harassment from occurring GENERAL SOLUTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS

replaced by a paradigm shift championing an equitable and diverse society where women should have equal opportunities and leadership roles. Despite the ongoing paradigm shift, less obvious forms of sexual discrimination can still go unno ticed. In the words of Jane Ellis of the International Bar Association Legal Policy & Research Unit, legal workplaces remain a “boys’ club ... which tends to reflect the fact that they were established by men during more ‘traditional times.’” 6 Among legal professionals, offensive jokes, rating someone’s attractive ness and the use of pet names have become more common. 7 Moreover, within the courthouse, judges mistake female attorneys for parale gals or secretaries more often than male attorneys. 8 Similarly, implicit sexual bias is even present in the U.S. Supreme Court, where male justices interrupt female justices about three times more often than they interrupt fellow male justices. 9 It is important to acknowledge these covert or nuanced manifestations of sexual harassment called microag gressions. Microaggressions, like the examples above, are everyday verbal or nonverbal behaviors that commu nicate derogatory, biased or negative messages to or about individuals based on their marginalized or underrepresented identities. 10 They may be unintentionally offensive but are, nonetheless, objectionable. Unwelcome romantic advances, repeated requests for dates, dis missive behavior, interruptions, pet names, staring and an infinite number of inappropriate com ments, jokes, texts, emails or even memes could all be further exam ples of sex-based microaggres sions. Microaggressions can take place because people just don’t

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

30 | SEPTEMBER 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL