Women Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Essay Sample

The social problem that I am going to discuss in this paper is women sexual harassment in the workplace. I draw my articles from CBS.com, The Independent, and The Telegraph. I selected these articles because they focus on the same topic, women sexual harassment in the workplace and the fact that they are credible and dependable news sources. They are also articles published in two different countries that are the United States and the United Kingdom, and therefore it gives a wider perspective of the social issue from different points of view.

The coverage from the Independent covers the concern that sexual harassment is highly underreported citing that one in every five women is sexually harassed in the workplace. CBS46.com covers the fact that women often struggle to speak about workplace sexual harassment and that their cases are often dismissed by judges(Thompson, 2017). Telegraph covers the issue that women in the workplace face sexual harassment based on the fact that two in every five women have faced a form of sexual harassment. Women sexual harassment across the three articles utilizes statistics that are collected among adult workers across a range of workplaces. The main point is that the issue is highly under-reported and that those women who face harassment do not report for fear of getting fired from work. The articles also indicate that people think that this issue is not very frequent among women in the workplace.

The three articles point a workplace nightmare that is faced by women, its frequency and the approximate number of those involved. I am drawn in by the fact that these cases are highly unreported, and that cases of women that present the issue to the courts are being thrown out (Thompson, 2017). I am skeptical of the fact that people think that sexual harassment is less frequent (Kirk, 2017). There are a lot of media that support the fact that the problem exists including social media and films. I am moved by the fact that the issue is now being addressed as in the case Hollywood where Harvey Weinstein was exposed. A lot of female actresses came out in large numbers and expressed the concerns that women in the film industry face sexual harassment too (Kirk, 2017). It is interesting to note that despite the fact that women in the society being empowered, they are still victimized in the workplace. I have to point out that, male dominance in the workplace remains constant and that sex has been used as a weapon of power to silence women in the workplace (Thompson, 2017). I am not surprised by the fact that judges throw away cases of workplace sexual harassment when they are presented to them by women (Thompson, 2017). The fact that these cases remain unreported could be because the society through its systems such as judiciary still sees it as a minor issue.

Berger and Luckmann influenced the Social Constructionist Framework development in 1991, and it views knowledge as being constructed as opposed to being created and the view that being a realist is not inconsistent with being a constructionist(Andrews, 2012). The articles point out that sexual harassment has nothing to do sex, but rather it is about power, and that is why a majority of women that are sexually harassed stay silent in the workplace. According to the framework, knowledge is created by interactions among people in the society, and division of labor, the emergence of a complex form of knowledge and economic surplus promotes the rise of expert knowledge (Andrews, 2012). We can comfortably establish that women sexual harassment in the workplace has been a silent topic in the recent past. The articles point out that sexual harassment is still widely unreported. Borrowing from constructionist theory, we can conclude that very few people have devoted themselves to gathering more expert knowledge into the issue(Andrews, 2012).

The articles widely utilize rhetorics such as speculation to bring out the issue, for instance, the use of statistical facts alone draws great attention to the reader. Typifying has been widely used to represent proportions, for instance, Bulman (2017), in her article in the Independent writes that one in five women have been sexually harassed. This particular fact draws the attention to the reader to study the issue more. Relating it to constructional theory, we realize that actions repeatedly eventually become a pattern(Andrews, 2012). Research from Kirk, (2017) point the same pattern. We can, therefore, conclude that the problem does not originate from the person but the social realm. The concept of naming is utilized by Kirk (2017) when she names Harvey Weinstein as a culprit of women sexual harassment in the workplace. This example alone attracts the interest of most readers to examine the issue further. According to the constructionist theory, the world can be known about the experiences people face, and not independently of those experiences (Andrews, 2012). Hollywood actresses experience with Harvey Weinstein points out that the issue is real and that it needs to be addressed.

With so much, publicity of the issue, it is on the verge of getting solved, and the authors of these articles are journalists and social affairs correspondents. Through research as they have set their arguments straight without guessing. The articles outline the fact that women sexual harassment in the workplace is a social problem that requires attention from everyone. The articles reach out to all types of audience from social and civil societies, organizations, women leaders, students among other people who are drawn to social issues. Its presence in the marketplace may pave the way for the development of strict work policies that protect women.

Cultural factors are considered in these articles especially in the use of language and image. Appropriate content has been displayed relevant to the target audience. The authors tap into cultural values such as respect for women rights. The concept of balanced journalism is outlined here through the use of neutral language that is appropriate, the inclusion of the male gender in the equation and the use real-time information and data. Statistics have been utilized to describe trends regarding the topic, and have been used as the basis of some arguments in the articles and the reality of the problem. Some of the public opinions sampled in the articles include the fact that the issue of women sexual harassment needs to be addressed adequately.

Reference

Andrews, T. (2012). What is Social Constructionism. Grounded Theory Review, 11(1), 39-46.

Bulman, M. (2017). A New Poll Just Showed One in Five Women Have Been Sexually Harassed in the Workplace. The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sexual-harassment-workplace-women-one-in-five-lack-reporting-police-research-opinium-a8017036.html

Kirk, A. (2017). One in Five Women Have Been Sexually Harassed in the Workplace, Poll Shows. The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/25/two-five-women-have-sexually-harassed-workplace-poll-shows/

Thompson, A. (2017). Women Struggle to Speak About Workplace Sexual Harassment, Cases Often Dismissed by Judges. Cbs46.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017, from http://www.cbs46.com/story/36672694/women-struggle-to-speak-about-workplace-sexual-harassment-cases-often-dismissed-by-judges