Expert Helena Trachsel classifies the scandal at the Schützengarten brewery
“You should have suspended the boss”
Equality expert Helena Trachsel explains how Schützengarten should have proceeded in the case of the boss and his secretary. And she says that even today, sexual harassment in the workplace is often downplayed.
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Equality expert Helena Trachsel classifies the case of Gisela F.
The situation is “outrageous,” says Helena Trachsel (64), head of the Canton of Zurich’s Equal Opportunities Office. Secretary Gisela F.* (59) was exposed to a boss in a Schützengarten operation who masturbated in front of her. She denounced the grievances surrounding sexual harassment in her company.
F. was dismissed, brought back and demoted. But the boss was allowed to stay. Secretary F. is now completely gone. These experiences should be taken seriously, says equality expert Trachsel. “However, the company did not do this.”
Trachsel explains that there is a statutory duty of care in Switzerland. “Employees must be able to work in a non-discriminatory working environment. Apparently this requirement was violated here. It is therefore even harder for me to understand why the superiors did not intervene long ago.”
Trachsel clearly shows how the company should have acted correctly: «On the one hand, the employee’s statements should have been taken seriously and checked. The superior should then have been confronted with this. During this time, the protection of the secretary must be ensured. »
“Offer of therapy” for the boss
If the allegations were credible, measures should have been taken by the boss. The expert lists: “No more managerial responsibility, transfer, offer of therapy – and as a last resort, dismissal.” And: “The boss should have been suspended immediately until the situation was clarified.”
However, the equality expert emphasizes that F. can still sue her ex-boss and the company. “So that the boss concerned and the company take responsibility for this case.”
In addition, Trachsel recommends that the woman go to a counseling center that can take action against sexual harassment at work. And: “I think it’s very courageous that she spoke up when she looked. I give her credit for defending herself against the abuses.”
The specialist department hears about similar cases every seven weeks
Trachsel’s professional experience shows that Gisela F.’s experience is not an isolated example. “Every seven weeks in our department, we hear about an incident in a company where a woman who is or has been sexually harassed is advised to leave the company.” Women would still leave the company more often – “and remain the perpetrators of sexual harassment”.
Trachsel’s depressing conclusion: “When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace, this is still too often seen as gentlemanly behavior in Switzerland.” In consultations, the equality expert repeatedly hears that those affected are confronted with relativization: “‘Don’t be so sensitive, he doesn’t mean it that way, it was just fun.” She makes it clear: “Such an attitude is unacceptable.”
* Name changed