Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Construction Industry
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
Our society is experiencing a learning curve in awareness and understanding of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment, while an issue in all workplaces, continues to be a significant barrier to the successful integration of women into the construction industry – occurring on worksites, in apprenticeship training, and in union settings. Skilled tradeswomen working in a male-dominated workplace face a range of issues that are distinct from those that women face in occupations with either more gender balance, female dominance, or where the norms and culture of a white-collar workplace prevail, especially in regards to sexual harassment.
Even with greater attention to the issue of sexual harassment, there is still limited understanding about what it is, how to prevent it and what to do to address it. Maintaining workplaces, apprenticeship training, and union activities free from harassment, intimidation, and retaliation is critical to a safe and productive workforce. Industry stakeholders are seeking to ensure that they have strong policies, practices and training in place to prevent and address sexual harassment.
The National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment at Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) provides guidance and practical support for addressing sexual harassment including offering comprehensive anti-harassment training, assistance in establishing clear policy and complaint processes, and training for supervisory personnel on how to handle complaints. The trainings and guidance can be customized for workers, unions, apprenticeship programs, and contractors.
Overview of Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Agenda
The training is designed to be highly interactive and participant centered, and can be tailored to particular audiences, time constraints and program needs. This sample of a comprehensive training has three parts: Understanding Sexual Harassment; Addressing and Preventing Sexual Harassment; and Responding to Sexual Harassment. The learning objectives include:
Define the legal definition of sexual harassment and identify the evolution of laws pertaining to sexual harassment.
Recognize and define different forms of sexual harassment.
Explain why sexual harassment is a problem in the construction workplace.
Identify who is harmed by sexual harassment.
Describe the role of employers, unions, and workers in preventing and addressing sexual harassment.
Demonstrate action steps to take in response to witnessing or experiencing sexual harassment.
Adapted from Chicago Women in the Trades https://cwit.org/
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