ANROWS’ report on sexual harassment in retail reveals the cost of overlooking casualised and client-facing industries
Earlier this month, ANROWS, Australia’s leading institution researching violence against women, released a landmark report on sexual harassment in Australia’s retail industry. Its findings, while harrowing, are unfortunately hardly surprising, particularly for those who have worked in the industry, which has long been understood as particularly unsafe and especially prone to sexual harassment and related behaviours.
The report draws on thorough primary research conducted by ANROWS through interviews, surveys and focus groups with retail workers across the country. 48% of women and 25% of men consulted in the research process reported experiences of sexual harassment, of which 86% of perpetrators were men. These findings are backed up by related research. The Australian Human Rights Commission identified retail as having a higher than average incidence rate of sexual harassment in 2022 (40%, while the national average is 33%), and highlights that the industry comprises 13% of reports of sexual harassment nationally while making up only 10% of Australia’s workforce. A 2022 report by the University of Sydney and the Australian National University reveals an underlying culture of gender inequality in Australian retail, manifesting in widespread everyday sexism and systemic under-representation of women in leadership positions.
Why retail in particular?
Particular characteristics of the retail industry heighten how prone it is to sexual harassment and related misconduct. One of the most significant factors is the highly gendered nature of the industry and its workforce. ANROWS reports that retail is the ‘second largest employer of Australian women’ and the ‘third most feminised industry in the country’ (approximately 57% of retail workers are women). Sexual harassment is a form of gendered violence and so, as demonstrated by Our Watch, is fundamentally based on gender inequality. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s surveys on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces consistently reveal that women experience sexual harassment at significantly higher rates than men. The University of Sydney and Australian National University’s report revealing the disproportionate absence of women in leadership in retail suggests an industry in which gender inequality is entrenched in various forms. In such a context, increased rates of sexual harassment are common.
Also relevant to the discussion is the average age of workers in the industry. ANROWS notes that retail is the ‘second largest employer of young people’ in Australia. Young people are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment in the workplace and in retail are furthermore more likely to be lower-paid and in casual or insecure employment, creating barriers to reporting misconduct.
Further, retail is by nature client-facing, meaning that a major part of many jobs in the retail industry involves interacting with third parties (usually the general public). Multiple studies have investigated the prominence of sexual harassment in work involving interactions with third parties, revealing the presence of third parties to be a significant risk factor for sexual harassment. In keeping with this research, ANROWS’ report finds that 36% of incidents of sexual harassment in retail are perpetrated by customers or clients.
Related to this is how the nature and expectations of retail work drive risk of sexual harassment. Workers in client-facing roles are expected to be pleasant and friendly, and this expectation, bound to a person’s ongoing employment, can be taken advantage of in sexual harassment incidents. This touches on a larger problem in the industry, identified by ANROWS: very few retail workers are trained in workplace misconduct, and what to do if a customer or coworker engages in prohibited behaviours. In the absence of workplaces that make a cohesive effort to communicate to their workers that they do not have to put up to this behaviour, that they are entitled to feel safe and that their safety is a priority, many retail workers may simply do not know what to do when they are sexually harassed, and may feel that putting up with it is just part of the job. This is hinted at in the very title of ANROWS report: “just another day in retail”.
There are furthermore very few channels through which retail workers can communicate with their leaders on the nature, frequency and extent of workplace misconduct. This may be easier for workers in small businesses, who often, although not always, have close everyday contact with owners. However, these workers face their own challenges: small businesses are less likely to have the resources and support of larger retail organisations to put together policy, training and protocols regarding sexual harassment.
Finally, ANROWS’ report also emphasises the importance of intersectional analyses to understand sexual harassment and workplace harm. As well as young women, ANROWS identifies people with disability and gay men working in retail as particularly likely to experience sexual harassment. ANROWS further calls for more research ‘to understand the interaction between worker characteristics, job types and industry contexts’; such research, particularly in diverse and highly casualised industries such retail and hospitality, could contribute invaluably to our understandings of sexual harassment.
Organisational and industrial responses
As it stands, retail employers, organisations and associations are under-prepared to respond to endemic sexual harassment in the industry. The SDA and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, both prominent unions representing workers in retail, have developed resources and run campaigns demanding action on sexual harassment, however, as the ANROWS report points out, the critical lack of industry-wide cooperation on the matter stymies progress considerably. Collaboration between employers, unions and associations on ‘strategic responses to sexual harassment’ across the industry is crucial, and should involve, for example, the formulation of policies and standards and broad-reaching monitoring and data collection.
These actions should foster an industry that takes sexual harassment seriously, should provide individual workplaces with the resources necessary to effectively prevent and respond to sexual harassment regardless of their size, and should develop channels through which workers can report and seek support for experiences of misconduct. ANROWS’ research found that most retail workers ‘lacked a detailed understanding’ of how to report sexual harassment in their workplace. Those who did report often noted that their workplaces did not take swift action, did not inform them of any outcomes, or simply minimised the behaviour reported. In order to rebuild trust with workers, the retail industry will need to make a genuine effort to engage workers and prove their commitments.
Efforts across the industry and within individual workplaces will need to be informed, guided and co-designed by workers. As in any industry, it is crucial that retail employers consult regularly with their workers and give them the power to instigate changes that will meaningfully impact their experiences at work.
Training and education
ANROWS’ report reveals the dire implications insufficient training has on workplace culture and worker safety. The report notes that there is no industry standard for training, with ‘significant variations and shortcomings in the frequency, content and types of training provided’ across workplaces. At present, training rarely meets best practice recommendations of regular, face-to-face sessions that address sexual harassment directly and in-depth, and are tailored to the audience’s particular industry and working conditions. Further, ANROWS notes a need for retail managers to receive sexual harassment training relevant to their responsibilities as leaders. Such training should be provided to all people in leadership positions across the industry, noting that both leadership commitment and knowledge and education are key standards in addressing sexual harassment and other unlawful conduct identified by the Australian Human Rights Commission.