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Every woman has a story about ‘that guy’ at work, the who says inappropriate things – or worse. And many women, myself included, have a story about making a complaint and then their contract suddenly comes to an end.
In December 2022, Australia’s Respect @ Work legislation came into effect, introducing a new positive duty for companies to proactively prevent sexual harassment, not just respond after the fact, and definitely not by firing the woman who made the complaint.
Dr Anna Cody is Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner with the Australian Human Rights Commission, working at the frontline of how these laws work, where there are gaps, and what we can do about it. She has just released a new report titled Speaking from Experience – The HRC listened to women who have experienced sexual harassment or sex based discrimination, and created 11 recommendations.
In the words of one of the woman interviewed, “talking is lovely, but action is what gets it done”
So if you want to know what action your organisation can and should be taking, and you want to know what you as an individual can do if you come across ‘that guy’, alongside lessons in leadership from Dr Cody, this episode’s for you!
Before becoming the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Cody had a distinguished career as an academic, as a lawyer specialising in discrimination and as a passionate advocate for human rights. She was previously Dean of the School of Law at Western Sydney University, has worked in human rights in Mexico, international development in East Timor and Indonesia, at the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York, in community legal education in El Salvador, and worked with Indigenous women in Alice Springs establishing a domestic violence service.
In this episode we discuss:
- The Respect @ Work recommendations and why it’s important
- Only 18% of people report sexual harassment they experience in the workplace
- Employers now see the connection between diversity in leadership and teams, and reduced sexual harassment
- The new Speaking from Experience report, stories and experiences women have had, and the recommendations that came from it
- The three underlying questions of what’s helpful, what’s unhelpful and what needs to change
- Clear education around what workplace sexual harassment is, and education is schools both need to improve
- How racism, sexuality, ability and more intersect with sexism
- Organisational accountability, and their requirement to have clear, accessible policies
- 1/3 of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years, and shame needs to shift from the women to the perpetrator
- It can’t be the responsibly of the victim to come forward, there need to be mechanisms for leaders and organisations to identify and stop it
- One issue is the shape of our organisations – white, male, able bodied etc – and we need to shift to be more agile
- The benefit of re-shaping your organisation is that everyone can participate
- Adjustments that are made to include one group benefit everyone
- Anna’s travels, adventures and experiences working around the world
- The importance of plat and connection
- Leadership is about listening, empowering others and drawing on everyone’s skills
About Dr Anna Cody
Dr Anna Cody started as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner in September 2023.
Before this, Dr Cody had a distinguished career as an academic, as a lawyer specialising in discrimination and as a passionate advocate for human rights.
Dr Cody was previously the Dean of the School of Law and Professor at Western Sydney University for 4.5 years, leading education and research impact within the School to better reflect the diversity of the community and the intersection of law and justice.
She was the Director of the Kingsford Legal Centre at the University of New South Wales, where she worked for over 20 years, providing leadership in clinical legal education, discrimination law and human rights.
Before her appointment as Commissioner, Dr Cody was the Chair of Community Legal Centres Australia and a Director of the NSW Legal Aid Commission Board and Advisory committee of Law Access. Her work over the years has included substantial advocacy to various United Nations human rights committees when they have reviewed Australia’s fulfilment of its human rights obligations and other nations.
Anna Cody has worked in human rights in Mexico, specialising in disability and migrant rights, in international development work in East Timor and Indonesia, and for 2 years was with the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York developing their program on the right to health, focussing on mining and human rights issues. Dr Cody previously worked with Indigenous women in Alice Springs establishing a domestic violence service, and in community legal education in El Salvador.
Dr Cody has a PhD in Law from UNSW, awarded with ‘excellence’ and a Masters in Law from Harvard University and Bachelor of Arts and Law from University of New South Wales.