Sexual Harassment Dispute Essay (Article)

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Updated: Mar 27th, 2024

The sexual harassment dispute between the company David Jones and its employee Kristy Fraser-Kirk shows that the rights of women are not always protected by modern organizations. When it is not done, such companies can face lawsuits and negative publicity. This paper will analyze the main facts of this case and the goals of the parties that were involved in it. In particular, one can speak about Kristy Fraser-Kirk who was harassed by Mark McInnes, the Chief Executive of Officer of David Jones. Secondly, it is important to mention the interests of the company that wanted to defend its reputation. This case demonstrates that Australian companies should introduce safeguards against discrimination if they want to avoid many problems.

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First, it should be noted that Kristy Fraser-Kirk was sexually harassed several times by her male co-worker and boss, Mark McInnes. Fraser-Kirk made complaints about McInnes’ behavior, but she did not achieve any results. David Jones board of directors did not take action against its Chief Executive Officer, even though these people were responsible for promoting equality in the workplace (Thompson 2010, unpaged).

This is why the company also had to face the lawsuit. This organization was accused of breaking the Sex Discrimination Act (Broderick 2012, unpaged). This law prohibits every form of gender discrimination, including sexual harassment. So, Kristy Fraser-Kirk sued Mark McInnes and David Jones for violating her rights in the workplace. She asked the company to pay her $ 37 million as compensation for her losses. This is the largest amount of compensation that was ever asked by female employees (Lahey 2010, unpaged). This case led to several important consequences. First of all, Mark McInnes had to resign from his office, while Fraser-Kirk was given $850,000 settlement (Thomson 2010, unpaged; Olsen 2010, unpaged). More importantly, this legal dispute demonstrates that modern corporations have to pay more attention to the rights of women in the workplace.

The parties involved in this case had different interests. First, one should speak about Kristy Fraser-Kirk who wanted to protect their right not to be discriminated in the workplace. As a victim, she was entitled to receive some compensation from the employer and the person who harassed her. Secondly, one should note that women, who file a lawsuit against their employers, may not be able to find another job very quickly, because they may be blacklisted by other companies.

This is why Fraser-Kirk wanted to receive a sufficient settlement. These are the main goals that Kristy Fraser-Kirk tried to achieve. In turn, David Jones wanted to avoid the potential dangers of this lawsuit. For instance, they did not want to receive negative publicity from journalists. Secondly, this organization did not want to lose the loyalty of their female customers and workers. Moreover, they did not want to lose $ 37 million which was a substantial amount of money even for them. In other words, this company just wanted to avoid potential risks.

This case shows that discrimination against women is still a major problem for many companies. Kristy Fraser-Kirk, who was harassed by her boss, did receive some compensation from David Jones and Mark McInnes, and this case can produce several effects. First, the relative success of Kristy Fraser-Kirk may prompt other women to speak about the violation of their rights in the workplace. Secondly, other companies will have to develop better policies for protecting women’s rights.

References

Broderick, E 2012, Let’s all take a stand against sexual harassment. Web.

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Lahey, K 2010, ‘Web.

Olsen, D 2010, . Web.

Thompson, J 2010, Five lessons from the David Jones sexual harassment case. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'Sexual Harassment Dispute'. 27 March.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Sexual Harassment Dispute." March 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sexual-harassment-dispute/.

1. IvyPanda. "Sexual Harassment Dispute." March 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sexual-harassment-dispute/.


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IvyPanda. "Sexual Harassment Dispute." March 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sexual-harassment-dispute/.

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