By Paula Brantner
Has this ever happened to you?
You attend a professional conference, and at one of the networking events you strike up a conversation with another conference attendee. Not long after you begin talking, the conversation shifts from sharing your professional work experience to more personal matters. The person you’re speaking with makes inappropriate comments about your personal appearance and asks whether you want to have dinner later, just the two of you. When you politely decline, your fellow attendee doesn’t take it well. For the rest of the conference they glares angrily at you when you encounter one another in the conference hallways.
You meet one of your idols famous in the industry, and after they show interest in your work you hope they will mentor you. Although you live in different cities, you stay in touch regularly via email and have some helpful exchanges over the next few months. You tell some mutual friends how much you value your mentor’s help. When your mentor plans to come to town, they ask if you want to meet in person. When you meet for lunch, it quickly becomes clear they hope to spend the weekend with you, in their hotel. Although you feel shocked by the invitation, you know saying no comes with consequences, because this person is well-known and influential, and probably vindictive.
You receive an invitation to speak on a high-profile panel at an upcoming conference. When you meet on Zoom to go over the logistics with the other panelists, the moderator, who was very friendly when you talked on the phone, suddenly seems very uncomfortable speaking with you. On the day of the presentation, even though you’ve discussed your pronouns, you’re misgendered by the moderator several times, and unless someone in the audience specifically directs questions to you, the moderator directs the questions—even those you covered in your talk—to other panelists.
Even if these situations never happened to you, they are typical of what happens at professional conferences within virtually every industry, especially to those new to the profession and trying to break in, and more especially to those who are underrepresented, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ authors.
For a long time, we accepted this as the norm; part of the price of admission to an exclusive club. While Oscar Wilde was famously quoted as saying “I won’t belong to a club that accepts me as a member,” many who want and need to belong to membership associations and to attend industry conferences find they’re not accepted in these circles due to sexual harassment, racism, and anti-LGBTQ bias that is rife within their industry. The gatekeepers were, and in many cases still are, primarily white males, some of whom used the power within their industries to engage in harassment and toxic behavior, knowing they won’t face consequences.
The rise of the #MeToo movement, the fight for racial justice and inclusion following George Floyd’s death and protests, and the Supreme Court’s recent Bostock decision affirming that discrimination against LGBTQ people is not permitted in the workplace all contributed to the unique moment in history in which we currently find ourselves. Those who engage in harassment, discrimination, and other forms of toxic behavior once commonplace and tolerated are now held accountable for their actions. Conduct most turned a blind eye to in the past is now subjected to much greater scrutiny. The so-called “whisper network” is amplified exponentially as social media, journalist interest, and good governance practices mean more interest in sharing information, supporting those who experienced harassment, and separating toxic individuals from spaces where they had access to cause the most harm.
While this problem may seem intractable, with the news constantly filled with new examples of egregious misconduct and individuals whose predatory conduct is finally revealed, there are ways that both professional organizations and individuals can make a real difference. Changing the industry’s culture starts with a process for uncovering and addressing past misconduct, coupled with an effective system of accountability with true disincentives to engage in misconduct, guided by those who have been harmed and ensuring that those who cannot comply with expected behavior standards are removed from the spaces where they have caused harm.
An effective prevention system requires six integrated components proven ineffective in isolation:
Policies:
Industry groups and conference organizers should adopt a clear and robust anti-harassment policy and code of conduct that goes beyond the bare minimum prohibited by law. This policy should contain a confidential reporting mechanism, an unbiased investigation by a trained individual, a commitment to taking immediate and proportionate corrective action when a violation has occurred, and protections against retaliation and violations of confidentiality.
Training:
Key individuals, such as the organization’s board of directors or other elected leadership, and organization/conference staff need customized training that equips them to understand the policy and what to do when misconduct is reported and/or occurs onsite in a conference setting. Those staff and board members who haven’t taken the training should be minimally prepared to identify which staff and board members have been trained to assist reporting parties or respond to complaints.
Reporting process:
Industry organizations should provide, on behalf of the industry, a multifaceted reporting process that includes multiple points of contact: board/leadership, senior staff, and third-party/external reporting. This process should have a range of reporting methods, not limited to “official complaints” submitted in writing. While having “mandatory reporters” can limit reporting, those to whom misconduct is reported should understand how to guide the reporting party to take further action.
Investigation process:
When harassment or other misconduct is reported, industry organizations should have transparent investigation protocols so reporting parties know what happens next. Investigators should be well-trained and neutral, with little or no connection to the accused party that compromises their objectivity. Ideally, investigations should be conducted by a third-party/external investigator with prior training in investigation techniques. Investigations should be conducted in a timely and expedited fashion, protecting the privacy and confidentiality of parties to the greatest extent possible.
Resolution of complaints:
Organizations should resolve verified complaints by taking immediate and proportionate corrective action that does not place a burden on the person harmed by the harassment or misconduct. The outcome should be communicated to all parties, including whether the complaint was found credible and whether corrective action was taken. All reporting channels and investigations should be tracked internally to ensure that corrective action is consistent and proportionate to the severity of the harm, without creating the appearance of undue favor.
Funding:
Industry organizations and conference organizers must support a comprehensive harassment and misconduct-prevention strategy with money and time as an essential, non-negotiable part of the organization’s allocation of resources. Members must believe their industry’s leadership and staff are authentic in demanding their professional spaces be free of harassment. Sufficient resources must be allotted to training, reporting, and investigation processes at a frequency that ensures the industry continues to follow best practices and that the process is subject to continued scrutiny and improvements.
If your organization does not yet have a prevention system in place, and/or you’re not a member of leadership or staff, you can still personally make efforts that support prevention strategies and become part of changing the organization’s culture.
Bystander intervention:
Be on the lookout for formal bystander intervention trainings (typically offered by activist groups and community organizers). Here are some quick and easy ways anyone can intervene to interrupt harassment in progress:
In advance of harm, make clear to your peers and colleagues, especially those who are women, people of color and/or LGBTQ, that you will believe, support and assist them if and when they encounter harassment or other toxic behavior.
When attending professional events, especially those with alcohol and/or formal networking events, be on the lookout for unwelcome, uncomfortable interactions.
In situations where individuals look uncomfortable or one party appears intoxicated, making inappropriate remarks, or otherwise holding the other party captive in conversation, resolve to intervene for the purpose of determining whether the interaction is welcome, which will permit someone to exit the conversation safely and interrupt coercive conduct.
Have a stock phrase ready in advance so that whenever someone says something inappropriate, you can demonstrate that you’re aware of what they said and don’t appreciate it. “Wow, how inappropriate. Can you repeat that? That sounded like harassment.”
If you’re involved in an incident that requires further action, make sure to document what you witnessed: make notes or do a voice memo on your phone, or tell someone else what you witnessed, if appropriate.
Intervening does not mean that you have to play the “white knight.” Take your cues from the person who experienced harmful conduct, and do not report without their consent.
Allies Group:
Some individuals with a commitment to prevent harassment and support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have formed volunteer allies groups. Those willing to support marginalized groups and intervene in uncomfortable situations wear buttons or badges that identify them as an ally. Members of the allies group are often trained in the organization’s policies and reporting system, or have other relevant professional experience to support formal or informal organizational efforts to prevent misconduct. They speak to traumatized individuals with compassion and understanding while in the middle of an uncomfortable and stressful situation and help them with next steps once they’re ready to move forward with reporting harm.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic now limits a significant amount of in-person interaction in 2020, with most conferences, meetings, and networking events becoming virtual, now is a perfect time for organizations and individuals to prepare themselves for the resumption of face-to-face interaction at their professional events. Virtually all industries have past instances of misconduct that have addressed and remedied, and some harassment has moved from in-person to online.
Having systems in place once interaction resumes is the best way to communicate to your industry that the post-COVID “new normal” includes a commitment to prevent harassment, support DEI efforts, and hold those who engage in misconduct accountable among their peers and in their professional circles.
Paula Brantner of PB Work Solutions builds workplace reporting and investigation systems which prevent sexual harassment and toxic workplaces from harming your people and sidelining your mission.
