One of these days I found myself looking back at the road I have travelled as a female journalist. It has not been easy. From being looked down upon to being overwhelmed with work which sometimes denies one the opportunity to handle other responsibilities outside of the office, it has been hectic.
I also have had to continuously deal with men trying to stump upon me, scandalise my name and speak about my work, some who have never even worked with me a day in their lives.
But these are things I walked past with a smile on my face. I have been blessed with the fact that I have never faced sexual harassment in the workplace. Many women I know are not so lucky.
I have heard horrifying stories of female professionals living in hell when some male bossses made passes at them. The moment they rejected the advances, life became difficult at the office. All of a sudden, their mistakes and shortcomings are exaggerated. Opportunities to travel outside dry up, work environment and life becomes unbearable.
This is one subject we rarely talk about. Sexual harassment in the workplace is real. It has forced people to leave jobs they otherwise loved. Sexual harassment has forced women to compromise their standards and principles. And sadly, it has also taken some into deep depression.
I am aware that many workplaces have sexual harassment policies, but many cases happen in such a systematic way that even when one reports, the process is long, complicated and victims are never believed.
It is a tough world.
Then of course we have a few women who have studied the system to shamelessly exploit it. They avail themselves for sexual relationships with superiors all in the hopes of getting special treatments. I have witnessed this and it makes me sad that while women continue to lobby for respect and fair treatment in the workplace, we have some that are lazy to offer their bodies to male superiors as a means of getting ahead.
It makes it tough for those fighting for women to do a good job as it may seem some are consenting to sexual relationships.
At the end, we have women who once enjoyed life in the work place, but are systematically being ill-treated and their professional life almost in ruins.
We cannot, as a community, continue living this way. Sex should not be anywhere near a workplace. A workplace should simply be a place of work where professionals use their skills to help their company to make money and progress. Matters of sex and relationships should be handled outside of work between consenting adults without one dangling an incentive called work privileges. It should never be that way. Let us all be professionals and fair to one another
