Leadership and Harassment: Time to Act
What real leadership looks like when tackling workplace harassment
Facing Hard Truths
International Women’s Day often gets tagged as a chance to talk up how far we have come. But I find myself coming back, time and again, to the stubborn realities that still need tackling. If we want to run organisations where people genuinely thrive, we must be willing to look closely at what’s not working – and one issue that simply can’t be ‘celebrated away’ is workplace harassment.
Harassment isn’t just a legal headache. It’s a daily, lived experience for far too many women. This is not only a “compliance” problem – it runs right to the heart of leadership, culture, and the sort of environment senior people allow to develop under their watch.
Why Are We Still Here?
Recent figures are impossible to brush aside. In one major survey, a quarter of women reported sexual assault at work, with staggering numbers admitting to offensive jokes, unwanted advances, and, shockingly, a fifth sharing they’d been shown pornographic images by someone at work. And before you assume this is ‘other’ organisations, those stats are not global or abstract: when applied to your own team, you quickly see how wide the impact is. This is not rare or exceptional – it’s woven into daily life for many colleagues.
What’s less spoken about is why these numbers might be going up. Awareness plays its part, including the aftershock of events like the Sarah Everard case or high-profile misconduct inquiries. More people coming forward is a step in the right direction – but it’s not nearly enough if reporting remains the exception, not the norm.
Why Don’t People Report?
One of the most sobering aspects of these conversations is recognising just how few people feel able to speak up. Again and again, women question themselves before they question the behaviour that crosses the line. Many don’t recognise harassment straight away, especially if they’ve grown up or worked in environments where ‘brushing things off’ was the price of belonging. For some, the old stories of “just laugh it off” or “don’t make a fuss” still hold power.
Others worry about the impact on their reputation or fear they won’t be believed. I’ve seen the damage that slow-burn erosion of confidence can cause – people doubting themselves, asking if perhaps they misunderstood, or just carrying on and absorbing the discomfort because it feels easier than making it ‘a thing’.
This Is About Leadership – Not Legislation
It’s not enough to point to a policy document or run a one-off “lunch and learn”. Leadership means responsibility for culture: both what is talked about, and what is tacitly accepted. Managers and leaders can no longer say, “Well, that’s just the way society is – what can we do?” If we do, we signal complicity.
Real responsibility means taking preventative steps. It’s investing time in annual risk assessments, reviewing third-party contracts, offering real, practical support – not just words. It means training every manager not just in the rules, but in how to spot the subtle signs, support their teams in conversation, and actually ask, “How are things for you here? Is there anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe?”
Changing the Culture Means Getting Specific
Policies don’t drive culture; how you respond in moments of uncertainty, speak up when something is off, and create space for honest discussion is what really makes the difference. If you’re in a management or leadership role, ask yourself how often you invite – and genuinely listen to – these conversations. Are you normalising silence, or normalising shared responsibility?
When people know their experience will be taken seriously, and when boundaries and behaviour are openly discussed – not brushed aside – you set the tone for a healthier, higher performing team.
Curious about how to make your leadership team part of the solution? Get in touch to start the conversation. Lets’ talk about creating workplaces where everyone feels safe speaking up.
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