The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has partnered with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to launch a course for retail and hospitality managers to combat workplace sexual harassment.
The Understanding and Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment for Retail and Hospitality Managers course is designed to educate retailers on the impact and drivers of workplace sexual harassment and aid them in addressing it when it occurs.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra says addressing the issue of sexual harassment is a top priority for retailers.
“With women making up two-thirds of the retail workforce, this is an incredibly important issue for our sector,” he says.
“Everyone deserves the right to feel safe and protected within their professional environment.
“As the largest private sector employer in the country, retail has a vital role to play in setting an example and leading the agenda on action against sexual harassment – and this course, in collaboration with the AHRC – will help retailers do just that.
“Our experience with retailers so far has been that they have a very strong appetite to further develop safe and respectful workplaces – but they simply need the resources to make it happen.
“We’re also mindful that sexual harassment can come from customers, and all genders can be susceptible to sexual harassment at work.”
Mr Zahra says the purpose of the course is to change the approach to sexual harassment from reactive to proactive.
“Rather than taking action when sexual harassment happens, we want retailers to act before it happens,” he says.
The course is self-paced, allowing individuals to undertake it at a time that suits them.
