セクハラの正し方

東京都議会で、妊婦への公的支援拡充を訴えていた女性議員に対し、男性議員が性差別的発言のヤジを飛ばしたことで謝罪しました。

「早く結婚した方がいいんじゃないか」、「産めないのか」という発言は、日本よりも海外メディアの方が、ありえない発言だと、そうした発言について、衝撃的なものだったと批判を呼んでいます。

安倍首相が掲げる「ウーマノミクス」発表の際の統計によれば、女性の平均給与は男性に比べて三〇％低く、中央省庁の管理職に占める女性の割合はわずか三％です。二〇二〇年の東京五輪までに女性管理職の割合を三〇％に引き上げることを表明したばかりでしたから、尚更です。

この問題は、議会に限らず、日本の職場が抱える性差別問題が浮き彫りにしたように思います。

今年七月一日から施行される男女雇用機会均等法関連の法令には、折しも、「事業主が職場における性的な言動に起因する問題に関して雇用管理上講ずべき阻止についての指針」の改定が含まれています。

今回、セクハラは同性に対しても生じるものであることを明記したことのほか、性別役割分担意識に基づく言動をなくしていくことがセクハラの防止の効果を高める上で重要であると指摘しています。

これまで、女は家庭を守るものだ、とか、子育ての役割は女性の役割だ、などといった役割意識に関する発言は大目に見られてきたといえますが、今後は、性別役割分担意識に基づく原因や背景についてはセクハラを生じる恐れがあることを事業主は明確に意識して、相談に当たるように指示しています。

殆どの企業では、既にセクハラ、パワハラに関する研修を社員に義務付けています。

嫌がらせに当たるかどうかは、平均人を尺度にするのではなく、相手が嫌だと感じたら、それがまさしく、セクハラに該当します。

研修で、セクハラの定義について、ひと通りの講義を聞いても、人の嫌がることに思いを致すことは容易ではありません。研修以外にも、日頃の面談やアンケートの実施、チェックシートの配布などで職場の共通認識にすることです。ロールプレイ研修も有益です。

都議会では許されても、昨今の民間企業では、被害内容や企業への風評によって、即、懲戒解雇とする例も多いです。世界的にみても、性差別的な言動に対しては、予想以上に厳しいのが最近の状況と言えます。

〈中部経済新聞　「中経論壇」平成26年７月１日掲載　池田桂子　〉

 

How to correct Sexual Harassment

The other day, one of the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly openly apologized to his colleagues, with respect to a very verbal attack on a female member of the assembly. The male legislator, who has claimed the support of public expansion to help pregnant women, displayed a very open jeering session as he shouted jeers and sexist remarks during her speech in a recent session of parliament.

 

Some of the remarks heard was he saying, “You had better get married early, you have no time to make a speech!” and “You are infertile”, were an open discriminatory attack on gender and clearly discriminatory. That event was shocking not only to the assembly but also to the Japanese society as a whole. Overseas media said those remarks are unthinkable anywhere other than in Japan.

 

According to statistics, at a time when Prime Minister Abe has listed in the newly coined phrase “Womanomics” announcement, that the average salary of women is lower by thirty percent as compared to men, and the percentage of women in management positions in the central government is at this point only three percent. Mr. Abe had just announced that a very direct concerted effort would be put forth to raise that percentage to a thirty percent proportion of women in management positions by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

 

I think that the problem which occurred in the Tokyo Congress this time was an open feeling of the thinking of a narrow sector of people in Japan, who is ignorant to the effects of gender discrimination, and the issues in Japanese society which is also demonstrated in the workplace of many Japanese companies that Japanese women are regrettably facing even today.

 

As it so happens, the laws and regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, as it relates to sexual harassment in the workplace has been revised and put into effect as of July 1, 2014. As well as the “Guidelines for prevention to be taken by management on employment issues for employers caused by Sexual Harassment in the Workplace” and were also revised and were included.

 

In addition to that, the regulations were also stated that the cause of sexual harassment may even be a part of sexual discrimination, and it has been pointed out that it is important in that it will now have the power to eliminate such behavior based on gender roles and open consciousness to increase the effectiveness of prevention of sexual harassment. Now, employers should be conscious and aware of gender and sexual discrimination, and harassment.

 

In the past, and even now the role of many Japanese women used to be, and is now, that of protecting the home and the care and raising of children, as such a woman can remark on her role consciously and proactively that as such, the role of women who remain at home has been overlooked as well as their role in parenting, it caused some negativity on the basis of gender roles and a lack of consciousness in their role causing an adverse effect in the end.

 

We are instructed not to be so clear and openly conscious of the employer who is open to consultation, and to be open that there is or may be the possibility or perhaps a climate that might be causing sexual harassment. In most companies, they have addressed this and have arranged to have employees, and management enter into training of what is sexual harassment, and to empower employees and employers to recognize a climate of harassment and to eliminate it is in effect already.

 

As we view harassment, we should think about the victim’s feeling, and to not measure those feelings as the same as that of an average person who has not been exposed to sexual harassment. What the other party feels is a real thing as it applies to sexual harassment.

 

Training, in the definition of sexual harassment, even listening to a lecture of a short account gives more than just a passing thought, however it is not easy to understand the victims feelings. There are other issues as to the importance to share a common understanding and awareness of the implementation of workplace surveys and daily interviews, or in a distribution of a check list sheet. Role-play training is also very beneficial.

 

Even if it is allowed in the Tokyo assembly; in the case of the private sector in recent years if such an incident occurs, there would significant demerits as well as damages imposed for an example, as well as the reputation of the company would be a seen negatively. It may be said that recently the situation surrounding sexist words and other actions of harassment is so severe in the rest of the world which is and should be expected.

<Keiko Ikeda published July 15, 2014 Chubu Keizai newspaper “medium through Tribune” Heisei