Developing a professionalism and harassment policy for organized neurosurgery

Annual conferences, educational courses, and other meetings draw a diverse community of individuals, yet also create a unique environment without the traditional guard rails. Unlike events held at one's home institution, clear rules and jurisdiction have not been universally established. To promote the open exchange of ideas, as well as an environment conducive to professional growth of all participants, the leading neurosurgical professional organizations joined to delineate the expectations for anyone who participates in sponsored events. The One Neurosurgery Summit Taskforce on Professionalism and Harassment developed a foundational policy that establishes common expectations for behavior and a unified roadmap for the prompt response to untoward events. We hope that publishing this policy will inspire other medical organizations to establish their own meeting and conference policies. More importantly, we wish to bring greater attention to everyone's responsibility for ensuring a safe and respectful space for education, scientific debate, and networking during organized events.

Beyond the Rhetoric of Sexual Harassment Policy to Good Leadership in Higher Education Institutions: Case Study, University for Development Studies

Purpose: Sexual harassment has been working itself up as a social canker where women are widely abused. Regrettably, this menace has been systematically ignored by the relevant authorities. Sexual harassment has gained currency in institutions of higher learning for several reasons. The study is limited to sexual harassment of females since this is pervasive and systematic. The paper investigates the extent of sexual harassment in contemporary times, its impact on the learning environment of higher education institutions. The paper also attempts to identify perpetrators of this heinous act. The study uses the University for Development Studies as case study. The writer closely examines the Sexual Harassment Policy of the University which only became operational in 2018.Methodology: A qualitative research design was employed. The population was the student leadership (Student Representative Council- SRC) of the multi-campus structure of the University for Development Studies (40), Simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 8 from which qualitative data was obtained using interview schedules for the four (4) Campuses of the University. Direct-observations and interviews of some key persons in the University was also employed.Results: The study revealed some weaknesses of the policy and concludes that the policy per se does not guarantee a complete protection for victims of sexual abuses. This therefore leaves much to be desired. Unique Contribution to theory, practice and policy: The paper therefore draws attention to this handicap that indeed, the policy may be in the right direction, but in itself not a sufficient bulwark against sexual harassment on campus. The writer therefore advocates extra guarantees or interventions for the University for Development Studies, whose policy on sexual harassment only recently became operational. Additional safeguards are recommended and above all a committed leadership to make the sexual harassment policy work

#METOO

The #MeToo hashtag is a welcome contemporary addition to the long struggle to end sexual harassment against women. An American Academy of Religion (AAR) iteration of this struggle began at the first meeting of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession (SWP) in 1990. One of the issues the members considered was to create a sexual harassment policy for the AAR; it was the discussion of the sexual harassment policy at that first meeting that first unfolded the deep layers of harm that women of the academy had endured over the years.

Workplace Harassment of Working Women: A Case Study Of District Dera Ghazi Khan (DG-Kan)

This study is an attempt to assess the implementation of women’s rights in Pakistan and challenges confronted by women. It also evaluated the contribution of working women’s voice against workplace harassment. The population consisted of all the public/private institutions in DG Khan, where women are employed. Total number of 180 respondents was selected as a sample size through purposive sampling method.The results reveal that harassment is routinely practiced at workplace in Pakistan and has genuinely impacted the working women to carryout work effectively. Most of the respondents were aware of women rights but were unaware about protection against harassment of women at the workplace Act, 2010.The research suggests strong interventions to provide training to women and to scrutinize disturbing factors at workplace for women. In the light of the findings it is recommended that the females may know about their rights and employers may adopt the protective measures and anti- harassment policy needs to be organized with the help of employers, managers and legislative bodies.

Women-friendly policies disclosure by companies in India

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the significance that companies give to women-friendly policies and practices. Thus, the disclosures on women-friendly policies made in annual reports by top listed companies in India have been examined. This paper also attempts to investigate the disclosure-level changes over a three-year period: 2014–2016. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the extent of women-friendly policies disclosure made by top 83 Bombay Stock Exchange listed companies in India in their annual report. The content analysis method is used to examine the annual reports of each organisation over a period of three years to determine the extent of disclosure. Findings The result points out that the sexual harassment policy is the most disclosed item, followed by a special committee for handling sexual harassment and maternity leave. Most of the companies have ignored policies such as job sharing, cafeteria benefit plan and differential referral payment programme. It was also found that over a period of three years the women-friendly policies disclosure by companies has increased. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on the annual reports published by the companies. A broader study can be done by using other reports issued by companies. Originality/value In terms of the knowledge of the researchers, this is the first-ever study in the area of women-friendly policies disclosure in the annual report by listed companies in India. Thus, it also adds to the scarce research on women-friendly policies by companies.