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There’s another reason why women don’t “Lean In” at work.
The culprit this time isn’t lack of ambition on the part of women or any lingering unconscious bias that permeates the corporate world. Instead, it’s violence against women, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives, and it not only prevents women from being more pro-active with their careers, it costs the Canadian economy $1.9 billion dollars a year. Add to that the cost of intimate partner violence and that number skyrockets to $9 billion, or $334 per person annually.
As corporations increasingly embrace CSR approaches, this lack of interest in violence continues to puzzle me, particularly since it directly impacts employees, productivity and the bottom line. According to the survey, 70 percent of Canadian women who report experiencing spousal violence and 57 percent of Canadians who report experiencing sexual assault participate in the workforce.
Unfortunately, the misconceptions about sexual violence may encourage businesses to keep their distance, compared to other hot CSR initiatives. Many may feel it’s a social-economic issue that plagues ‘other people’ or that women bring it on themselves. For example, 1 in 5 Canadians believe that women encourage sexual assault by being drunk, according to recent survey by the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Flirting and wearing a short skirt were also listed as reasons why women get sexually assaulted.
We need to change the dialogue from one that focuses on blaming the victim and redirect it to the economic impact. Protecting women from violence remains not only an ethical issue, but also a financial one, which includes a loss of wages. Those wages aren’t measly ones: one-third of all Canadians who report experiencing sexual assault had household incomes of over $100,000.
The reality is, in a country where 51 percent of women will experience an act of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, it is likely happening to employees your company. It’s not only wrong but hurts productivity, said Todd Minerson, executive director of the White Ribbon Campaign, a global movement of men working to end violence against women and girls.
Traditionally, companies, like Ontario Power Generation, supported the cause with their checkbooks, funding women’s shelters and services in the communities where they operate. But as the business case gets stronger, companies begin to examine their internal approach to combat violence amongst their employees and the greater community.
To that end, White Ribbon began working with companies like Barrick Gold Corporation, where they are designing a series of unique violence prevention programs for their mine sites around the world.
“To us this shows tremendous leadership and vision (at Barrick Gold), to know they are operating in these communities for decades, and to invest in meaningful, collaborative, community driven and relevant prevention projects is a real commitment to ending gender based violence,” said Mr. Minerson of the new initiative.
To illustrate how violence against women impacts productivity, Mr. Minerson related a story told by a supervisor working in a mine in Zambia. One employee received a call that his sister’s husband was attacking her and he needed to leave to ensure her safety. The only way back to town, about an hour’s drive away, was in the supervisor’s truck. The supervisor felt compelled to send two other miners along to ensure that additional violence didn’t ensue.
This one incident caused the supervisor to lose half his team for one shift and their slow down had productivity implications right down the production chain that day at the mine.
“We need to make that case that preventing violence against women is not only the right thing to do, but it is good business as well,” asserted Mr. Minerson, who adds that men are on board with this message. White Ribbon’s research shows that 94 percent of Ontario men consider violence against women an important issue to them and 87 percent think it impacts all women, including those in their own lives.
Adding the prevention of violence against women to a company’s social responsibility strategy raises the bar for everyone, and generates support from surprising places.
Adnauer Amorim, president of Avon Canada, said his company works hard to “bring this issue out of the shadows” through the Avon Foundation for Women, which funds initiatives that build awareness and improves prevention and their “empowerment products,” which supports charitable partners. He believes businesses can have a “trickle down effect” in preventing violence against women since they are in the position to communicate more directly with the wider community.
“So many victims of domestic violence live in silence, it’s critical that we work together to break that silence, remove the fear and stigma often associated it,” said Mr. Amorim, adding “the more people talk about, the more we can bring about change.”