A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that 20 to 50 percent of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experience sexual harassment. This sexual harassment often has long-lasting effects on the STEM workforce, including driving women away from careers in science. Sexual harassment also has long-term negative effects on both an individual and their workplace, including creating a hostile work environment. Victims of sexual harassment are encouraged to contact an experienced employment lawyer for help gaining their entitled compensation.
What is Considered Sexual Harassment?
In New Jersey, employees are protected from sexual harassment by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is defined as making unwanted sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, or having any verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is harmful to a workplace because it creates a hostile work environment. This type of environment in a workplace can affect an employee’s work performance and burden them both mentally and emotionally.
Examples of sexual harassment include the following:
- Making offensive remarks regarding one’s sex
- Making unwanted sexual advances on a person
- Pressuring someone for sexual favors
- Unwanted communication of a sexual nature, including phone calls, letters, text messages, and emails
- Unwanted sexual looks
- Unwanted and deliberate touching of a sexual nature
Sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal. Victims suffering from the harmful effects of sexual harassment should contact a lawyer immediately.
How Does Sexual Harassment Impact Women in STEM?
The director of the National Institutes of Health states that the retention rate of women in STEM may suffer because of sexual harassment in the workplace. The director claims that this is likely because of the number of men in science fields. Many victims face retaliation for speaking out about their sexual harassment cases. Other victims find that their employer is not doing enough to ensure that their safety and emotional well-being is prioritized.
To help remedy this, the NIH is encouraging different institutions to speak out about how they are handling sexual harassment cases. Many institutions are now aggressively investigating these crimes and are ensuring that harassers are being fired, getting their peer-review privileges taken away, or being banned from the institution. Although this is a great step in the right direction, many employers fail to take responsibility for the sexual harassment cases that occur under their watch. Victims may suffer from long-term effects because of this harassment; therefore, they should contact an employment lawyer. Employment lawyers can help victims get fairly compensated for their losses related to sexual harassment.
South Jersey Employment Lawyers at The Law Offices of Leo B. Dubler, III, LLC Advocate for Victims of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
If you or a loved one are the victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, you need to contact the South Jersey employment lawyers at The Law Offices of Leo B. Dubler, III, LLC. Sexual harassment in the workplace creates a hostile work environment that can ultimately affect one’s employment and overall well-being. Our lawyers work tirelessly to ensure that victims are fairly compensated. If you are interested in consulting one of our lawyers, contact us online or call us at 856-235-7075 for a free consultation. With office locations in Mount Laurel and Atlantic City, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients from Cherry Hill, Burlington County, Camden County, and throughout South Jersey.