Breaking the silence on ‘harmless banter’ with a little help from new legislation
In the week that actor Saoirse Ronan went viral for pointing out the realities of women’s personal safety, legislation also came into effect enhancing protection against workplace harassment, prompting Kerning the Gap founder Nat Maher to ask if the creative industries should be doing more.
Most of you will have probably seen Saoirse Ronan going viral for calling out Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne on The Graham Norton Show last week. The men were making jokes about how to defend yourself in the face of an attacker and what a ridiculous notion it was to use your mobile phone as a weapon (top bantz!) when Saoirse brought the room to a standstill by reminding the otherwise all-male panel that this is the kind of thing women have to think about, all the time.
The silence was deafening. Until she invited the women in the audience to agree and silence was broken by cheers, spawning a gazillion follow-up articles echoing the same applause.
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Beyond the important message about the frightening experience of physical vulnerability experienced every day by over half of the population, there was something else going on in this clip that resonated with me. In the world of diversity and inclusion, we blithely encourage people to ‘call it out’ when they see or hear unacceptable things. This is so easy to prescribe, but the act of actually doing it, well that takes real nerves. Before delivering her power line, Saoirse attempts twice to speak up and be heard. I felt I could actually see her doing the inner monologue I’ve done a thousand times – ‘I’ve gotta say something about this…’ I think the outpouring from the women in the audience was as much for the courage she found to speak up as it was for the sentiment of her statement.
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Men and women experience the workplace differently
All of this is an important reminder of just how differently women and men experience the world. The same goes for our workplaces, a mini world in itself that shapes who feels comfortable, valued and understood in any given space.
In our beloved creative industries, where we pride ourselves on collaboration and innovation, these everyday gendered dynamics can feel like old news. But while, for many, the workplace is welcoming, straightforward and centered on the work itself, for some, subtle barriers such as ‘harmless banter’ can feel like a daily reminder that they’re moving through the same space but in entirely different shoes.
A study by the Institute of Leadership & Management showed that women were twice as likely as men to have been affected by workplace banter. And when it comes to calling it out, only 55% of women say they are likely to challenge inappropriate behavior. You might think that is a depressing reflection, but in my experience, that number is even higher than I thought it would be.
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New anti-harassment legislation
Last week, on October 26, the Worker Protection Act 2023 (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) came into law and strengthened measures against workplace harassment of all kinds, including verbal comments that would come under the guise of banter. This new legislation puts the onus on employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent any kind of harassment through internal policy reviews and having clear procedures for complaints in place. This also includes third parties, so you know what to do if inappropriate behavior comes from clients, too.
I’m here for these steps, as I passionately believe that it is not on the individual to solve institutional and cultural issues but on those of us with the power to set the agenda and be clear on what is and isn’t acceptable. Individuals should feel empowered to call it out to leaders that they trust and this trust needs to be built on visibly demonstrating that we will not tolerate behavior that excludes. In the culture we should be fostering, where safety and respect are at the top of the agenda, it’s us leaders who should be held to account.
So I would encourage all design leaders to just check in with whatever HR support they have in place to ensure they’re getting this stuff right. If you don’t have one, then I can highly recommend a brilliant HR company called Tell Jane (www.telljane.co.uk/) that covers all this stuff and Design Business Association member agencies can get free HR support from Croner HR as part of their membership.
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It’s not about sucking humor out of the studio
We also need to remember this isn’t about sucking the joy and humor out of the studio – humor is an absolutely vital part of bonding and team culture – it’s just about making sure that all the people in your agency world are feeling safe and seen. If it’s not funny for everyone, then it’s just not funny.
If we want more diversity in our leadership then we’re going to have to be demonstrative and show aspiring leaders that they’ve in the right place to grow those skills while having zero tolerance for anything that jeopardizes that. It’s these seemingly small moments that can have a big impact on who stays, who thrives and (sadly, in lots of cases) who decides they’ll just move on.
Amirite ladies?