The Ugly Issue That Won’t Go Away

The anger and pain that Anita Hill’s account of alleged sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas touched off among millions of American women may only be starting to gather steam.

Barely a month after Hill mesmerized the nation with her compelling testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, other women are coming forward with anguished testimony about their own experiences.

-- Earlier this month, for example, the Legislature’s bipartisan women’s caucus held hearings in Coronado to draw support for new legislation that would close gaps in state law to protect women. Two police officers, a brain surgeon, a hair stylist, a waitress, a lawyer, a pipe-fitter and an electrician were among those who spoke--some haltingly, others with tears in their eyes or rage in their voices--about their own harassment by bosses or co-workers.

The hearings highlighted the fact that many women who are harassed on the job cannot afford to press their case in court. The alternative, the state Fair Employment and Housing Commission, only has power to demand reinstatement and back wages for women who have been fired. Last month Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed a bill that would have enabled victims to collect cash damages from their employers.

-- Also in recent weeks, a former secretary for Geffen Records filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit claiming that the record company tolerated “outrageous sexually deviant behavior” by a top executive for years. Her suit comes only months after major plaintiff verdicts in two local harassment suits.

What does all this mean? Harassment in the workplace is hardly new, but Anita Hill’s testimony instantly gave the issue a larger, more sympathetic audience--and thereby perhaps renewed power and momentum.

It could also mean that with sexual harassment, as with discrimination against gays or racial minorities in the workplace, that labor unions, particularly in traditionally male occupations, have not always been successful in enforcing appropriate behavior among co-workers or between supervisors and their employees. Legislation or litigation is often the only recourse.

And what of Anita Hill? The tumultuous ovation that greeted her appearance at a conference held in conjunction with the hearings confirms her status as a symbol for many women. It also indicates that since her poised testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans concerning the truth of her story--and for the stories of too many other women--continues.