Gender Disparities in the Workplace and Abuse of Power

Gender disparities in the workplace are linked to the abuse of power. For lawyers working on discrimination or sexual harassment cases, this course will teach how to frame cases to underscore these connections. Attendees will learn how and why to recognize abusive workplaces and how competitive pay structures those workplaces and encourages sexual harassment and illegal and unethical conduct. Further, this course will discuss the role publicity plays in the success of these workplaces and how nondisclosure agreements relate, especially given recent legislative changes. Finally, the course will address the specific relevance of a recent Delaware decision addressing officer and director fiduciary obligations concerning sexual harassment complaints.

This program is perfect for a diverse range of lawyers, from employment lawyers who handle litigation involving discrimination, sexual harassment, or whistle-blower claims to corporate lawyers who handle officer and director liability claims in the context of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct claims. Lawyers interested in strategies and tactics designed to address abuse of power in workplaces are also welcome.

*Note from the Lecturer: This program will build on my earlier work with Naomi Cahn and Nancy Levit to use the fate of women in individual companies to shine new light on the temporal orientations underlying corporate and labor and employment law, and provide a basis for a new foundation for a combined approach. This article will first explain why the shift to shareholder primacy and the accompanying emphasis on short-term results tied to high-stakes bonus pay disproportionately short-changes female employees, whether in management or in-line positions. The article will maintain that it is not the shift to shareholder primacy in isolation but rather the combination of competitive pay and the availability of greater rewards for manipulating metrics that produce disadvantages for women. Second, the article will review the changes since 2016, showing that, in contrast to the period from the early nineties through the Great Financial Crisis in which shareholder primacy took hold, women’s fortunes in upper management have improved. The article will then consider why women’s fortunes may correlate with greater skepticism toward shareholder primacy. Finally, the article will conclude with an argument for aligning women’s interests with corporate interests in reinstating the rule of law and longer-term perspectives in business decision-making.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the dynamics of abusive workplaces
• Link abusive work dynamics with gender and racial disparities and sexual harassment
• Address abusive workplace practices through legal strategies
• Assess the importance of sexual harassment and whistle-blower claims in increasing the chances of success in discrimination cases
• Explore new developments in the validity of nondisclosure agreements
• Analyze new developments in Delaware law increasing officer and director liability for failure to investigate sexual harassment claims

Production Date: 6/10/2024