Sexual Harassment: Have we evolved from the 80's?

In “Tales from the Boom-Boom Room: Women vs. Wall Street”, Susan Antilla explores the outbreak of sexual harassment lawsuits in the financial industry in the 1980s. Female employees from respected companies such as Salomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch brought the sexual hazing to light. They described both quid pro quo and abusive working environment sexual harassment, as well as the glass ceiling and retaliatory effects experienced nationwide. Perhaps the reason the harassment reached the level it did is because of the Form U-4 Uniform Application for the Securities Industry Registration or Transfer. This form from the SEC required employees industry-wide to submit to arbitration for any claims, disputes or controversies arising between the employee and firm. Since men made up a substantial percentage of the arbitrators, few women succeeded when filing complaints. Ironically, for a period of time, the financial industry was actually admired for its lack of employment related complaints in comparison to other industries in which employees had access to a jury trial. In 1998, the SEC discontinued its policy of mandating arbitration for the financial industry. However, several firms still write this into their contract and will not hire employees unwilling to agree to it. Merrill Lynch is one of the few financial firms that guarantees employees access to a jury trial.

I read “Tales from the Boom-Boom Room” for my book review and found it not only extremely relevant to the career path many of us are about to embark upon, but also closely related to our current class discussion. I am curious how many people who have already accepted positions with financial companies have inspected their contract closely. Have you checked to see if you are required to use arbitration if a dispute should arise? Would you feel comfortable approaching your HR manager to ask such a question if it was not indicated on your contract? It is also important to research the history the firm in question has with sexual harassment lawsuits. Many of these suits were only settled in the 90s, which is not that long ago. Finally, one other area of concern should also be work/life balance. It is important to consider whether or not employers are receptive to this concept, or if they have a history of retaliatory actions when employees take maternity/paternity leaves. How do you feel about the companies that are on campus at IU? For the students who will be attending law school, what do you expect of the firms you will apply to? Is this as much of an issue?

Antilla, Susan. Tales from the Boom-Boom Room: Women vs. Wall Street. Princeton, NJ: 2002.