Revamping Sexual Harassment Policy (6)
TALK THE TALK
Satoshi Sugita: Our current vignette discusses sexual harassment in the work place and how it often goes unreported. I hope you've never experienced that, Heather.
Heather Howard: I never have. No. I've been extraordinary lucky in that regard. The "Me Too" movement has highlighted lately just how wide-spread this problem still is around the world, and it's deeply unsettling. What about you, Mr. Sugita? Have you come across this in your career?
Satoshi Sugita: Yes unfortunately. At one point, I worked in the Tokyo office of a multi-national company where there were frequent guests from abroad. Some western visitors regularly hugged or kissed the female Japanese staff, which by today's standards clearly constituted sexual harassment, and was often disdained by my female colleagues. They tended not to speak up, however, and rationalize such acts as "western custom".
Heather Howard: It is NOT!! Oh, I wish I've been there. I'd tell them it's not.
Satoshi Sugita: One such perpetrator tried the same approach with an American colleague while visiting our New York office, and immediately got his face slapped in plain view of the entire staff. News like that travels fast internally. And it was welcomed with silent applause in the Tokyo office. He lost a lot of face with that incident. I'm happy to say he behaved quite properly on his subsequent visits to Tokyo.
in plain view 丸見えで、目につく場所で - 英辞郎 on the WEB
lose a lot of face すっかり威信を失う［メンツを失う・顔をつぶされる］- 英辞郎 on the WEBより
Heather Howard: Well, I must say kudos to the woman who slapped him. The vignette says some women aren't sure who to report sexual harassment to, or they don't wanna ruin the man's career. Another big problem I think is the women around the world are brought up to be "nice". We have to be sweet, gentle, non-aggressive or we would risk getting labeled with the b-word. I think societies around the world have got to get over that, and make it acceptable for women to push back literally and metaphorically. I've read, for example, that we shouldn't force children, especially little girls, to accept unwanted hugs and other physical affection. If we make them kiss or hug someone they don't want to, we're telling the child, "You don't have control over your own body", which can be a very dangerous message.
Satoshi Sugita: The vignette also mentions stories of women being ignored or retaliated against in cases of sexual harassment.
Heather Howard: I can imagine how helpless and angry and frustrated that must a person feel. Not only are they subjected to the first horrible experience and often it's not an isolated incident. Often there're multiple incidents of abuse. They're made to feel like no one believes them, or will help them. I remember reading about a journalist who said she was forcibly kissed by a very prominent man she interviewed. She said she told a former professor of hers about the incident at the time, but decided after their conversation that it would be best not to say anything. The two of them felt it would be a he-said-she-said situation and the man would probably try to destroy her if she came forward. I've also heard of accuser's personal information like phone numbers and addresses being revealed online in elsewhere.
Satoshi Sugita: Ueda asks about the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Heather Howard: I'd say McMillan has the right approach. You can be complimentary but keep it short. There's nothing wrong with the occasional "That's a nice dress" or "Your hair looks nice" like that. But leave it there. There's no need for a monologue on the subject, and don't compliment a woman just on things like that. Pay attention to our work too. We always like to be complimented on our minds.
LISTENING CHALLENGE
CHALLENGE 1: Why is the woman running late?
A. She's caught in a heavy traffic.
B. Her flight was delayed.
C. She isn't familiar with the city.
Okay, let's listen.
Woman: Hi, Jim. I'm here in Memphis now. But I'll be a little late getting to the conference. I'm on my way from the airport in a taxi.
Man: Sheryl, glad to know you've made it safely. You know how to get to the venue, right?
Woman: Yes, I looked it up before I came. I'm heading north on I-37 at the moment.
Man: Is the traffic heavy?
Woman: It is on the other side. They're doing repairs and traffic is bottlenecked as far as the eye can see. Thankfully, this side is fine. I should be downtown in about half an hour.
Man: Great.
Woman: I'd have been here earlier. But my plane was a little late leaving Seattle.
bottleneck 〔～の進行を〕妨げる、邪魔する - 英辞郎 on the WEBより
The answer is B. Her flight was delayed.
CHALLENGE 2: What type of restaurant did they choose?
A. Italian.
B. Greek.
C. Japanese.
Okay? Here we go.
Man: I need to find a good place for the senior staff dinner next week. You wouldn't have any suggestions, would you? I wish we could do Greek, but I don't know of any place in this area.
Woman: The Greek is hard to come by around here. It's true. Italian is usually a good bet. There's a great place on 3rd street called "Cucina Siciliana". They have killer linguine.
Man: Hmm. That might be an option
Woman: Or if any of them are into sushi, there is a fantastic Japanese place near there. All the staff are Japanese, so it's very authentic. By the way how many people are going?
Man: About eighteen.
Woman: Okay. Then maybe that wouldn't work. It's pretty small.
Man: Let's go to the place on 3rd street. I'll call and make reservations.
come by 立ち寄る - 英辞郎 on the WEBより
good bet 《a ～》有望な人［物・策］、かなり確かなこと、ほぼ間違いないこと- 英辞郎 on the WEB
authentic 信頼のおける
cucina(イタリア語で「料理」: 英語というかフランス語でいうならおそらくcuisine)
The answer is A. Italian.
AS THEY SAY
蓼食う虫も好き好き/からい蓼を食う虫もいるように、人の好き嫌いは様々であるということ。
英語のことわざEvery man to his taste. 人それぞれに好みあり
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
美は見る人の目の中にある
美とは客観的なものではなく、見る人の意識の中にのみ存在するもの。つまり、見る人次第だ、ということ。
この言葉をもじってBeauty is in the eyes of the beer holder.
Revamping Sexual Harassment Policy (4)
SUMMARY
The A&A staff talk about why women often don't come forward after they've been sexually harassed. And Nissen describes how a manager at his former company unfairly fired a subordinate when she decided to end their romantic relationship. Grace says A&A is expanding its employee training on sexual harassment and is also starting an online training program.
VIGNETTE
Steve Lyons: Or they don't expect anything to be done if they do report it.
Lidia Grace: That's often still the case, unfortunately. And women may be worried about the possibility of destroying someone's career when all they really want to do is to stop the inappropriate behavior.
Bill Nissen: At the company where I used to work, a senior manager was accused of showing favoritism toward a subordinate he was dating. To make matters worse, when she decided to end their relationship, he got back at her by finding flimsy excuse to fire her.
Pat McMillan: Wow! What a first-class heel!
Bill Nissen: Yes. Everyone knew how badly he had treated her. But no one spoke up for fear of losing their jobs. Sexual misconduct was an open secret among their coworkers for years. But if you know that a coworker is guilty of sexual harassment, you need to speak up no matter how powerful the perp.
Lidia Grace: Agreed. We're telling all employees to come forward if they witness bad behavior. And A&A is extending new mandatory training for employees at all levels and increasing its frequency. We're also launching an online anti-harassment training program developed by a leading education technology company.
Nissen: he got back at her by ―
get back at ～に復讐する、～に恨みを晴らす - 英辞郎 on the WEB
WORDS AND PHRASES
destroy someone's career 人のキャリアを台無しにする
Up at the top, Grace says, "women may be worried about the possibility of destroying someone's career", or "ruining someone's career". "Ruin" would also be appropriate here. Now I've seen statements like "partly destroy". But that's actually a contradiction. "Destroy" means completely ruin, you know so (means) that it doesn't exist or can't function like it did before. So we should say "damage" when the harm is not complete.
partly destroyedとは言わない。destroyは全部だめにする、ということ。例えば「火事で家が全焼した」という場合には副詞は不必要でdestroyという。
Better expressions would be "severely damaged" or "almost destroyed".
be accused of ～として訴えられる/～で告訴される
show favoritism toward …をえこひいきする
Unfairly give someone help or advantages that we don't give to others. The implication is that they have earned that help or those advantages they don't deserved to be so favored. And when favoritism like that is shown to a relative, that's nepotism. For example, "This company doesn't allow relatives to work for other relatives to avoid nepotism".
favoritism えこひいき
nepotism 身内びいき/親戚を引き立てること
subordinate 部下
to make matters worse さらに悪いことに
Something makes an already bad situation even worse. Imagine I'm late for an appointment. And then to make matters worse, I don't have any business cards. So I look even more unprofessional.
find a flimsy excuse 見え透いた口実を見つける
When we're talking about tangible things, "flimsy" means weak, thin, insubstantial. Like, "It's so cold and she only has a flimsy jacket on". Or "The flimsy table collapsed when I put my bag on it". Like Nissen, we also say reasons and arguments are flimsy; they are weak, they don't stand up to examination. You could say, "His justification for spending so much was very flimsy".
first-class heel 第一級の悪者
In the middle, McMillan says, "Wow! What a first-class heel!" "First class" means one of the best. We use it, like McMillan does, to mean a really bad thing or about actually good things. "Jane is a first-class writer". "Carl is a first-class jerk". And heel is a jerk; a dishonorable person; someone who does contemptible things. If a coworker stole someone else's idea, you say "Yeah, what a heel!"
heelはjerkと同じような意味(jerkは｢嫌な奴｣という意味)
fourth-class male
He is a fourth-class male. あれは悪いやつだ (参考) fourth-class mail 〈米〉第4種郵便物、小包郵便
speak up 声を上げる
Express your opinion or position; make it heard. There is a nuance that this may be hard, you know, there are risks involved, or you need courage to stand out for a group. Things like "If you wanna raise, you've gotta speak up! You've gotta tell the boss". Or "Is everyone okay with our marketing strategy? If you have concerns, now is the time to speak up".
speak up for a friend 友人の肩をもつ/友人を擁護する/弁護する
for fear of ～を恐れて
Because we're afraid something might happen; because we want to prevent it from happening. I always leave 30 minutes early for fear of being late, for example. Or "In winter, she avoids large crowds for fear of catching the flu".
misconduct 不正行為/職権の乱用
This is a good all-purpose term for a lot of unacceptable behavior. It's often paired with various professions to indicate bad actions in those areas: judicial misconduct; police misconduct; academic misconduct; and all of our overall professional misconduct.
all-purpose 汎用の、多目的の - 英辞郎 on the WEB
be guilty of ～の罪を犯している
no matter how どんなに～であろうと
perp (perpetrator) 加害者/犯人
This is someone who's done a bad thing. It can be actually criminal or just bad. Like "Oh, somebody ate my sandwich that was in the fridge! I'm gonna find the perp".
come forward 届け出る/進んで申し出る
mandatory 必須の/強制的な/義務的な
frequency 頻度/回数
launch 立ち上げる/始める
WORD WATCH /open secret 公然の秘密
:「open と secret は正反対の意味をもっているが、このような語句は oxymoron(矛盾語法､撞着語法)と呼ばれる。oxymoron の例としてはほかに、bittersweet(ほろ苦い）、make haste slowly(急がば回れ）、living death(生き地獄）、jumbo shrimp(ジャンボサイズノの小エビ)などがある。」
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
subordinate
Someone who works below another person and is subject to their authority is a subordinate. Things like "He treats all his subordinates with courtesy".
with courtesy 丁重に
guilty
When a person has committed a crime or some bad behavior, they are guilty of that act. For example, "Helen is guilty of jumping to conclusions sometimes".
人が犯罪を犯したり、何か悪い行いをしたときは、その人はその行いについてguilty ofであるという
guilty of
この例文の場合は「～の罪がある」というより恐らく「～してしまうのがいけない」という意味
mandatory
Another way to say obligatory, compulsively is mandatory. Such as "There is a mandatory health check for employees every year".
QUOTE UNQUOTE
Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. - Josh Billings (U.S. writer)
Revamping Sexual Harassment Policy (5)
SUMMARY
Grace says harassment can be perpetrated by a wide range of people. And Ueda asks for clarification on a point he's unsure of. McMillan gives an example of appropriate versus inappropriate behavior at work. And Grace assures the staff that women who report harassment won't be ignored or punished at A&A.
VIGNETTE
Bill Nissen: I'm glad to know that we're broadening the focus of our training programs, beyond following the letter of the law, to promoting more respectful behavior in general.
Lidia Grace: By the way, since I'm talking to an all-male group here, I should point out that sexual harassment doesn't automatically mean the perpetrator is of the opposite sex. Likewise, the harasser can be the employee's supervisor, customer, coworker or supplier. Any individual who is connected to the employee's work environment can be accused of sexual harassment.
Ueda Shota: True. One thing I'm a little unclear on is where to draw the line between acceptable and problematic behavior. It seems it can be rather subjective, depending on the situation and the individuals involved.
Pat McMillan: Well, it may be okay to tell a coworker that her hairdo looks nice, or that her dress is pretty. But if you keep on saying that, and look at her in a way that makes her uncomfortable, it's harassment.
Lidia Grace: The recent outpouring of complaints from women who've been harassed in the workplace has included many horror stories of being ignored or retaliated against. But let me assure you, that won't happen at A&A.
WORDS AND PHRASES
broaden the focus 焦点を広げる
Nissen means they're expanding what they cover in their training programs; what they concentrate on. Likewise you could say, "I'm broadening the focus of the report to include Europe as well as America". Or on the opposite side, you can say "We should narrow the focus of the report and just deal with America".
follow the letter of the law 法律の文言に従う
This expression is contrast with the spirit of the law. The letter of the law is the literal interpretation of the law, of the words; specific words in the law. The spirit of the law is the fundamental principles and goals on which the law is based. When doing my taxes, for example, I follow the letter of the law. the spirit of the law 法の精神
automatically 必然的に/自動的に
Grace says, "sexual harassment doesn't automatically mean the perpetrator is of the opposite sex". In this case "automatically" means always: as the result of specific conditions, rules or laws. The condition, the situation here is sexual harassment. But that situation doesn't always mean that the perpetrator is a man against a woman or a woman against a man. Likewise, you could say, "If you were born in the United States, you are automatically a U.S. citizen". Or "Being a woman doesn't automatically mean you want children".
automaticallyは「当然のこととして」、as a matter of course というフレーズも使える
work environment 職場環境/労働環境
unclear on ～についてわからない/～についてあいまいな
I'm not sure about this: I don't fully understand. Such as "I'm unclear on what documents I need to get a visa. I'd better call the embassy". And it can also mean "doesn't clearly state". Like "Ah, this contract is unclear on paid leave. It doesn't clearly state how much paid leave you get".
draw the line between ～の間に線を引く
Differentiate between things, not confuse them. Such as "Where do we draw the line between exaggerating and lying? Or is exaggerating, is that inherently lying?" Or "Where do we draw the line between taking breaks and slacking off?"
inherently 本質的に、もともと（は） slack off ダラダラする、だらける、怠ける、義務を怠る、サボる
draw the line between exaggerating and lying 誇張とウソの間に線を引く
embellishment 装飾［潤色］すること- →履歴書などに「優秀な成績で」卒業した(と書く）。
problematic 問題のある/疑わしい
Behavior that leads to problems; that is questionable. "The media asked problematic questions about her personal life". Or "His repeated mistakes are problematic".
subjective 主観的な ・・・反対はobjective 客観的な
depending on ～によって/～次第で
hairdo ヘアースタイル/髪型
McMillan says, "it may be okay to tell a coworker that her hairdo looks nice". The way her hair is arranged or styled. A hairstyle would also work here. I prefer a short hairdo in summer, for example. hairstyle / hairdoは主に女性の髪形に関していう言葉
outpouring 噴出/ほとばしり
ignore 無視する
retaliate 報復する/仕返しする
This is to hurt someone to do some kind of damage in response to damage we feel they've done to us. It's often considered a bad thing, at the very least it indicates acrimonious situation. Like "The company retaliated by firing the whistle-blower". Or "Country A imposed tariffs on Country B. So Country B retaliated by also imposing tariffs". Other similar expressions are get back at, take revenge on. /acrimonious 〔言葉・批評などが〕とげとげしい、辛辣な、痛烈な、手厳しい
whistle-blower 〈米話〉内部告発［通報］者、密告者、公益通報者
impose tariff 関税を課す take revenge on someone for ～に対して(人）に復讐する、(人）に～の恨みを晴らす retaliateの名詞はretaliation「報復/仕返し」
口語ではtit for tat 仕返し、報復、しっぺ返し、腹いせ
And we also have the phrasal verb "pay back". I paid him back. 〈比喩〉〔人に〕仕返しする、報復する
likewise 同様に
Grace says, "Likewise, the harasser can be the employee's supervisor, customer, coworker or supplier". Similarly, in a similar way. "Do likewise" means do something similar. "Company X has released a new model and company Y is expected to do likewise".
I'm glad to see you. - Likewise. 私も同様です (= I'm glad to see you too.)
WORD WATCH horror story恐ろしい話/惨劇
、口語では「(実際の）恐ろしい［ひどい］話」「悲惨な体験談」を意味する。travel horror story といえば、「旅行中の九死に一生を得た体験［穴があれば入りたくなるような失敗談］」などのこと。」
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
supervisor 上司
The person in charge of a certain department or a group of staff is the supervisor. Things like "My supervisor has to approve all business travel in advance".
subjective
The adjective subjective means based on one's personal feeling or experience. As in "That's just my subjective opinion of the book. Others may disagree".
outpouring 殺到/押し寄せ
A torrent of something, a flood is an outpouring. For example, "There was an outpouring of public support for the wrongly accused men".
torrent of 《a ～》～のほとばしり、～の連発 - 英辞郎 on the WEB
(torrent 激発、連発、ほとばしり- 英辞郎 on the WEBより)
QUOTE UNQUOTE
What is now proved was once imagined - William Blake (English poet and artist)