The Missing Piece in Sexual Harassment Prevention? Inclusion

For years, organisations have invested heavily in policies, training programs and complaint mechanisms to prevent workplace sexual harassment. Yet despite these efforts, sexual harassment remains a persistent workplace risk.

A new report from Diversity Council Australia (The Power of Inclusion: Preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment) suggests employers may be overlooking a critical piece of the prevention puzzle: workplace inclusion.

The research draws on responses from 3,000 Australian workers and found a strong connection between inclusive workplace cultures and lower rates of sexual harassment. Importantly, the findings reinforce a growing understanding that sexual harassment is not simply a behavioural issue. It is also a psychosocial safety issue.

Inclusion as a Protective Factor

One of the report's most significant findings is that employees working in inclusive teams were three times less likely to experience workplace sexual harassment than those working in non-inclusive teams. Employees with inclusive managers were around 2.5 times less likely to experience harassment, while workers in organisations with inclusive cultures were approximately twice as likely to avoid harassment.

The message for employers is clear: inclusion is not merely a diversity initiative or employee engagement strategy. It can be a powerful safeguard against harmful workplace behaviours.

When Exclusion Creates Risk

The report identified a strong relationship between experiences of exclusion and the likelihood of sexual harassment.

Workers who had experienced discrimination were six times more likely to report experiencing sexual harassment than those who had not. Everyday exclusionary behaviours, such as being ignored, left out of workplace conversations or social activities, and feeling undervalued, were all associated with increased risk.

These findings are particularly important for leaders managing psychosocial risks. Often, organisations focus on responding to serious incidents while overlooking the everyday workplace behaviours that create the conditions in which inappropriate conduct can occur.

In many cases, sexual harassment does not emerge in isolation. It develops in environments where disrespect, power imbalances, exclusion and poor workplace culture have already taken root.

High-Risk Workplaces Are Not Powerless

The report also examined workplaces with recognised risk factors for sexual harassment, including male-dominated environments, customer-facing roles, contracted workforces, and workforces with low diversity. Encouragingly, inclusion continued to make a measurable difference even in these higher-risk settings.

Among workers in high-risk workplaces, 45% of employees in non-inclusive teams reported experiencing sexual harassment compared with 25% of those working in inclusive teams. Similar reductions were observed where managers demonstrated inclusive leadership behaviours. 

This finding aligns with what many workplace investigators and psychosocial risk practitioners observe in practice: while certain workplace characteristics may elevate risk, organisational culture and leadership significantly influence whether that risk materialises into actual harm.

What This Means for Employers

The report arrives at a significant time for Australian employers.

With the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act requiring organisations to take proactive and reasonable measures to eliminate sexual harassment, employers are increasingly expected to focus on prevention rather than simply responding once complaints arise. Inclusion provides another practical lens through which organisations can meet those obligations.

For HR leaders and executives, this means looking beyond policies and training alone. Key questions include:

• Do employees feel respected, valued and included?

• Are leaders demonstrating inclusive behaviours in everyday interactions?

• Are teams psychologically safe enough for concerns to be raised early?

• Are exclusionary behaviours being identified and addressed before they escalate?

• Is inclusion being measured and treated as part of the organisation's psychosocial risk management framework?

The Elevate Perspective

At Elevate Consulting Partners, we are still seeing organisations who turn their attention to workplace culture only after a complaint, investigation or psychosocial incident has occurred.

The findings from The Power of Inclusion Report provide a timely reminder that prevention starts much earlier.

Building respectful and inclusive workplaces is not simply about improving engagement or meeting diversity objectives. It is about creating environments where psychosocial risks are reduced, inappropriate behaviour is less likely to occur, and workers feel safe to speak up when concerns arise.

As the regulatory focus on psychosocial hazards and sexual harassment continues to grow, organisations that invest in inclusive leadership, respectful workplace behaviours and proactive risk management will be better placed to prevent harm before it occurs.

After all, inclusion is more than a cultural aspiration. According to the latest evidence, it may be one of the most effective tools employers have for preventing workplace sexual harassment.