sexual harassment ruled to be civic duty in Russia

True story. Ad agency in Russia. 22-year old exec is locked out of her office by her 47-year old boss because she refuses to have sex with him. She sues. Case is thrown out of court. Why? Judge rules that employers are obliged to make passes at female staff to ensure the continuation of the human race.

"If we had no sexual harassment, we would have no children," he said.

Since Soviet times, sexual harassment in Russia has become an accepted part of life in the office, work place and university lecture room. According to a recent survey, 100 per cent of female professionals said they had been subjected to sexual harassment by their bosses, 32 per cent said they had had intercourse with them at least once and another seven per cent claimed to have been raped.

Women also report that it is common to be browbeaten into sex during job interviews, while female students regularly complain that university professors trade high marks for sexual favours.

So, think twice about accepting that transfer to the office in Moscow. For Mad Men-wannabes, of course, it could be just the place.

via DKR via Huffington Post

advergirl, on breaking glass

Advergirl listened to Hillary's speech this weekend and, like me, took heart in her un-PC acknowledgement of sexist barriers that aren't supposed to exist anymore:

HRC: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.

Hillary's speech made me reach for a mollifying plate of wheatgrass, but happily it made Advergirl reach for her keyboard.

Here's a few excerpts from her clearheaded, without-rancor post which should be required reading for office dwellers of any gender persuasion. She diagnoses ways that men (most of whom don't mean any harm) create "boys clubs" which limit the daily success and career potential of their female peers--here's the short version:

Access: When everything from department structures to project plans are routinely being discussed in forums women don't have access to, it creates discrimination.

Stacking: It's common when talking about gender in an agency to mention what percentage of women work there - as in, women make up 45% of our staff. The trick is in asking - which 45%? Is the "About our leaders" section of an agency Web site populated with 15 guys all wearing the same suit? 



Communication: Men tend to put their hands up right away and shoot from the hip. Women tend to think about it for ~12 seconds. They think conceptually, consider lots of different angles, come to a conclusion. Cultures that communicate only by yelling, fighting and jocking for position ( a more masculine way of communicating) rewards one gender-specific style over another one.

 You miss out on a lot of great ideas and insights by steamrolling over your peers.

Entertainment. Apparently it still has to be said. Emailing pornography. Making lists of the hottest women in the office. Talking about your peer's breasts or ass or propensity for, well, you know. Yeah, that's all wrong. It creates attitudes of disrespect and otherness in cultures that by-and-large already have enough problems.

(Full diagnosis here, worth the click.)