Sexual harassment

The number of female workers counseling sexual harassment to the government office has been increasing recently. This phenomenon is not that more male workers have started harassing women, but that more female workers have obtained opportunities to say loudly about what's happening at work. Until recently, there had been a tendency to make light of women in offices. Sexual harassment results from this way of treating women in many cases. Even today, ladies dressed up company's uniform serve men especially bosses. They usually do less important jobs such as serving tea in the morning or wiping off all of the desks in offices in addition to their regular work. Of course it's no problem when they consent to do that. In reality, since such insignificant jobs are handed down from senior female workers, some of them even don't know why they are doing.

This service sometimes escalates male behaviors in offices. Some bosses misunderstand this female job only for them. Like being served at drinking bars by hostesses, such men mistakenly feel that they are treated as special, which leads to sexual harassment. Not intentionally, some male workers get casual touches to women just for the purpose of encouraging them although workers aren’t conscious of their behavior themselves. On the side of women, the behavior is something like sexual harassment.

In the revision of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in 1997, it’s become obligatory for companies to take necessary preventive measures to stop sexual harassment at work. Since then, many companies have set up counseling corners in offices for sexual harassment especially to female workers. This company’s effort has made it easier for women to appeal sexual harassment cases directly to the personnel departments or special counseling sections. If sexual harassment is confirmed, wrongdoers will be punished by the company’s or criminal code.

Moreover, not only bodily harassment but also language sexual harassment have been often seen recently. Nowadays almost all companies have personal computers. Using in-house computer network, it’s becoming common to report to bosses or make business negotiations by e-mail. In those office environments making it easy for any employees to send massages even to company’s CEOs, harassers also can send e-mails to favorite female employees with indecent words. However, it’s easily discovered in this case because the evidence of who writes the harassment letter is apparent left. The excuse for the wrongdoing may be that the e-mail letter is just a joke or his own communication style. This kind of e-mails is only trifling to the senders, but on the side of the receiver, it’s a big trouble.

Sexual harassment in offices doesn’t seem to decrease as long as the way of looking at female workers doesn’t change. Even though there are strict acts to impose companies on the control of office harassers, sexual harassment won’t cease. What’s important is that companies have to regard female workers as no less excellent that men. Indeed it's no doubt. Women are influential opinion leaders in the today’s markets. Especially in Japan, the individual consumption accounts for 60% of the whole economy. Women as buyers are tremendously important. On the side of companies, conversely, the role of female workers will become significant to meet the needs of the Japanese consumers. Most of the top positions in the Japanese established firms are male. Compared with other industrial nations, the ratio of women in positioning important jobs is much lower. If companies want to catch the heart of consumers(female buyers), they have to change the way of looking at women. There is no time to talk about sexual harassment.

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