On the question of sexual harassment, IBA again noted Australia’s figures as “higher”, with 47 per cent of Australian female lawyers and 13 per cent of our male lawyers reporting such misconduct, compared to 37 per cent of women and 7 per cent of men globally.

It also found that while Australian legal workplaces “are ahead of the international average” when it comes to hosting anti-bullying and sexual harassment training, with 37 per cent of Australian respondents saying their workplace hosts such sessions, compared to 22 per cent globally, respondents at workplaces with training in place are more likely to have reported incidents of bullying and are more likely to have used internal workplace channels to do so, creating a “perception paradox”.

At the time of the report’s release, law societies and advocacy groups around Australia described the prevalence of bullying and sexual harassment in the Australian legal profession as “appalling”, with all noting that more must be done to combat and prevent such misconduct.

Reporting issues

According to a new discussion paper released by IBA – Innovation-led cultural change: Can technology effectively address workplace harassment?, authored by Emma Franklin and Kieran Pender in the Association’s Legal Policy & Research Unit – research bears out that there is a “considerable” lack of trust in traditional reporting mechanisms, such as written or verbal complaints.

“They make anonymous reporting hard, if not impossible. In many instances, employees are simply not aware of the designated reporting channel. In some workplaces, these traditional approaches were supplemented more recently by reporting hotlines, operated either externally, internally or via automation,” the pair wrote.

“While this method is relatively straightforward and easily accessible; not least because of the more general shift to online operations, it has been beset by similar shortcomings.”

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Such lack of reporting has flow-on consequences, Ms Franklin and Mr Pender continued, as low reporting makes it difficult for regulators to effectively address inappropriate workplace behaviour.

Too much lip-service, they mused, gets paid to such misconduct, and organisations tend to fall into the trap of utilising “outdated” methods as a tick-box approach rather than investing in substantive change.

“Organisations are able to point to their hotline or a reporting process, if ever they have to explain how they are confronting sexual harassment and workplace bullying, when, in reality, these methods may never be used by employees, nor are they particularly effective in any event,” the pair wrote.

Is tech the answer?

Tech, Ms Franklin and Ms Pender posited, could play a “promising” role in combatting such issues, nothing there are already products emerging in the marketplace that can enable employees to report misconduct without having to speak directly to anyone in the organisation that go beyond solutions such as hotlines, such as mobile apps to submit reports with other affected colleagues without having access to identities or data reported, or fully encrypted reporting services that connect a business’ support team and allow for confidential advice seeking or complaint raising.

Advances like these, they wrote, “could help to overcome the limitations of the older reporting methods by giving employees alternative means of reporting misconduct and, consequently, allow employers and regulators to engage with and follow up on these grievances meaningfully”. 

“Having an anonymous process for contacting upper management could empower employees by providing a safe method to voice their grievances. Furthermore, these solutions can ensure complaints are tracked and followed up, which can go some way to addressing the concerns identified – that employees do not feel that their complaints are heard, let alone acted upon,” they wrote.

“People have to be able to see that in reporting, they get important messages through to leaders and that their report results in observable change.”

Such innovations can potentially also streamline how human resources teams deal with complaints, the pair continued, making the redress procedure more efficient and ensuring grievances are more likely to be dealt with in a timely fashion.

Moreover, they pointed out, tech can improve efficiency by way of the use of automation and streamlining of administrative and operational procedures, “meaning that compliance with regulations can be made simple, and if incorporated into the day-to-day running of the organisation and its systems, may require minimal extra work.”

“A reduced burden on workplaces might result in more proactive monitoring and overall better compliance,” they hypothesised.

Trust, Ms Franklin and Mr Pender added, will be essential to the success of any such innovations within a legal workplace, noting that technology implemented “needs to be familiar to everyone”. Solutions should, they said, “embed themselves into the existing structures of the company, making it easier to use, which in turn helps to normalise reporting”.

Looking ahead

It should not be forgotten, however, that technology is not a magic solution to such issues. It must, the authors submitted, “be accompanied by strong leadership which is genuinely devoted to developing [a strong workplace] culture”.

“When employees are able to see that those in charge are serious about eradicating inappropriate behaviour from the workplace, it can empower them to speak up,” they reflected.

“There are limits to what technology on its own can achieve, and it remains to be seen whether it will have a role in driving cultural change.”

This said, tech can be a useful tool in this fight, the authors concluded, in better facilitating willingness to report and allowing employers to get a better understanding of what is happening.

“It is open to question whether such technology can, in fact, change workplace culture, which is no doubt an important aspect of tackling this issue. With a bright light being shone on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, it is an issue that employers can no longer ignore, and employees will no longer tolerate,” they surmised.

“Effective solutions to this pressing and pervasive problem need to be sought, and because of this, there is room for innovation and technological developments. While technology has its limits, and without more will not be a cure-all, it can be an important aspect of the wider project of bringing about genuine positive change in workplaces.”