What They’re Saying on Harassment Issue...

KATHRYN G. THOMPSON, Chief executive of Kathryn G. Thompson Development in Irvine.

I’m a female and have headed a company for 25 years, and I haven’t personally experienced it.

Whether male or female, it’s wrong. We have in our company manual some explicit policies that deal with the subject. I would hope that they work, since we’ve never had an incident reported at our company.

I’m a female in a man’s business. I’ve never experienced direct sexual harassment, but I’m sure I’ve been discriminated against for some reason or other.

I think the country needs to address the issue. It can happen with men also. It should be discussed and not protected by an old-boys network. I’m not saying that Clarence Thomas did or didn’t do anything. I’m saying sexual harassment in the workplace shouldn’t be tolerated.

FRAN WILLIAMS, Human resource adviser for the Rancho Santiago College District, chairwoman of affirmative action committee at Rancho Santiago College and vice chairwoman of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. She lives in Santa Ana.

I find the whole thing very regrettable. I kind of hold the whole thing suspect, based on the timing. Sexual harassment is something we need to take very seriously and not use as a kind of political strategy.

Because the issue is so important and because women historically have had to go through all kinds of unnecessary pain, I would wish that we could reach a point where a victim would feel free to speak up.

By the same token, because of the way this has been presented, I’m not completely convinced that it is anything more than an effort to discredit (Thomas). I would certainly hope that innuendo not be made a basis for making as important a decision as selecting a Supreme Court justice.

MARTIN BENSON, Founding artistic director of South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. He lives in Huntington Beach.

I can’t make a judgment on the specifics of Clarence Thomas’ guilt or innocence, but I was shocked that the allegations would be made and a vote taken without delving into these matters, that they would be swept under the rug.

So I’m delighted to see the vote put on hold. The subject of sexual harassment is very important and requires a great deal of scrutiny, not only to prove but to define. When does an innocent flirtation cross the line and become harassment?

It is an incredibly tricky issue, and it also seems very difficult to defend oneself against. Does a boss saying to his secretary ‘Gee, you look good today’ cross the line? But I think the very notion that (Anita Hill’s allegation) was available for well over a month and shunted aside as being irrelevant bespeaks a real myopia among the male establishment.

NINA HULL, Former chairwoman of the Commission on the Status of Women, a county agency that was recently disbanded because of budget cuts. She lives in Huntington Beach.

I think sexual harassment is something so broad in definition that a lot of people have different interpretations of what it is. This incident more than anything, whether the allegations are true or not, will bring to light definitions and guidelines.

It’s like the issue of domestic violence. For so long it was a hidden crime, you didn’t hear about it and it wasn’t reported. This is a defining moment for the issue of sexual harassment. It’s just unfortunate it comes to light in this context.

I would have felt a lot better if Anita Hill had come forward during the confirmation hearing and made her charges rather than have them come out a day before the vote. The way this came about will dilute the importance of (her allegations).

FUJIMI FUJIMURA, President of Reynolds Tool Products Inc. in Brea, which sells U.S. aircraft components to foreign companies.

If I had the same experience this lady had, I would not have accused him in that way. I know how to handle somebody who is approaching me that way.

Sexual harassment is becoming a very public subject. Everyone is nit-picking on it, but it has been done throughout history. Women have done it when they see a young man, and they say, ‘Gee, I wish I were younger so I could ask you out.’ When a man says that to a woman, it’s sexual harassment.

We should give each other a little more room to be human.

I work in a highly male-dominated business world, and I have often encountered this. One man said, ‘Boy, you’re a good-looking woman, I’d like to take you to bed.’ Today, I could make him take me to court. I just laughed and thanked him for the compliment and let him stand there. A friend of his apologized to me later.

MAURICE MANDEL II, Newport Beach lawyer who specializes in workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.

There’s a lot of talk in the courts about what is offensive to the reasonable man. But that’s not the standard--it’s what is harassment to the reasonable woman. It’s difficult for a male to understand the impact of this on the female psyche. I’ve handled cases where the individual is subjected to hands-on harassment, made to perform sexual acts through coercion and intimidation. And I also have cases involving an atmosphere of sexual harassment in the workplace, where someone is trying to stimulate some prurient interests. I can tell you that for the individual, it’s devastating. They are almost always in tears. There are very few that can recount it without breaking down. It’s like a violation, perhaps not physical but a mental violation.

You wonder if a person has so little respect for another person, where do they draw the line? If a woman is just a sexual object to be used at the whim of a more powerful male, does it move on to the realm of their race and religious beliefs too? It’s dehumanization of someone.

I think this is a lot more prevalent in the workplace than people talk about. And I don’t mean innocent conversation; I mean conversation that is designed to intimidate the woman for the purpose of getting her acquiescence to some type of sexual act. One improvement has been the decisions of the court telling employers that they can’t just allow this to go on, that they have to exert more strict controls. But the main problem I see is that women don’t have anyone to go to, especially at major corporations. They need an ombudsman, or I should say ombudswoman--someone they can go to with their problems and not be subjected to retaliation.

GEORGE WILLIAMS, Executive director of the Urban League of Orange County. He lives in Mission Viejo.

It has definitely been a topic of discussion, and I’ve heard numerous and varied comments on all sides. But there are several confusing points about how this came about. I understand that an affidavit had been provided to the committee, and I’m wondering what were the determining factors that this issue would not be addressed during the hearings?

It raises the question of whether in fact this has been politicized already. A rehearing is certainly appropriate, and all the facts need to be shared with the committee and the public. Sexual harassment has gone on for a long time, but I think this incident brings it to the forefront of debate.

ERNIE SCHNEIDER, Administrative officer for Orange County.

If it’s true, it’s totally inappropriate behavior. I certainly wouldn’t condone it, and I wouldn’t tolerate it in my organization. If I received a report like that, my initial reaction would be to talk to the person, and if it was true, I’d probably submit a letter to their personnel file. The second time it occurred, I would recommend that they be suspended or terminated. Once it’s pointed out to you, you can’t let it continue or you become a partner in it.

Usually if somebody does it, they don’t do it just once, and you know who those folks are. I wouldn’t be very sympathetic to people harassing employees male or female, either way. It’s tough enough to do your job without sexual harassment.

There are a lot of things people say that maybe they don’t mean, and they just need to be warned. But obviously if you are describing in detail a pornographic movie you’ve seen, that doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination.

PEG MAYNARD, Lawyer in Anaheim.

It’s been on my mind since it happened. Sexual harassment from most men’s perspective is one dimensional. They think it’s overt sexual advances. But all women realize it’s multidimensional. It can take various forms, from overt sexual advances to innuendoes. It can also be sexual denigration.

I’ve heard men say, “The old broad is a disgruntled employee.” People are saying, “Ah, you know how they try to get ahead.”

One time there was a judge who was the emcee at a meeting of the Orange County Bar Assn. A female attorney asked, “Why is it when male attorneys appear before you, you call them ‘counsel,’ and when female attorneys appear before you, you call them ‘dear’? He got a large guffaw (from the mostly male audience) when he replied, “What should I say, ‘What do you want, you damn bitch?’ ” Later, when some women went to his chambers and confronted him, he was mortally embarrassed. He said, “I went for a cheap laugh. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”

SWAN NGIN, Lecturer in department of Asian and Asian American studies at Cal State Long Beach. She lives in Fullerton.

I wonder why it took so long for the Senate hearing committee to come up with something. I think they were sitting on it. They didn’t act on it until it leaked to the press.

I’m not shocked (at the allegations). It happens a lot in our society. Of course I feel angry. But mostly I feel like, there it goes again. . . . It’s almost comical. And it’s a perfect occasion for such a thing to be revealed. Women, nobody pays attention to us. We have to speak louder, be more angry, to be heard. Then when we press our points, we are told, “Why are you angry?”

RUSTY KENNEDY, Executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. He lives in Fullerton.

Sexual harassment is a very serious employment issue that we deal with on a regular basis. We refer people to the (state) Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and we also counsel people regarding it. Here at the county, there is mandatory training for all managers.

I think everyone is thinking about the issue more. It may have been relatively commonplace 20 or 30 years ago, but the norms have changed, and it is expressly illegal and unacceptable behavior to use the power you have to exploit someone under you.

As for the Thomas nomination, I don’t think it is proper to reject his nomination based on innuendo. There should be a full hearing to explore the charges.

STANLEE PHELPS, Vice president of outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison in Irvine and author of a book for women on assertiveness.

I’m glad it’s all come out in the wide open. Women are very concerned about being taken seriously, and this is a good example of a woman doing what she can to be heard and acknowledged.

It happens a lot, and it’s one of those things we don’t talk about, like incest. It’s a taboo subject. I really do feel that women have tried to handle things quietly, we’ve kept so many secrets. It’s risky to talk about it. Part of the price (Hill) is paying is a lot of publicity and embarrassment. I say if it’s worth it to you, go for it. Because you’re not just helping yourself, you’re helping every other woman too.

BARBARA PROUTY, President of the county networking group Women in Management. She lives in Laguna Niguel.

My 21-year-old daughter recently quit her job because her supervisor was making overtures. He was talking about going out. She is so young, she didn’t know what to do, so she just quit.

I know a woman who was transferred to another division by her boss, who held a vice president-level position, after they broke up.

I don’t say it goes on all the time, but I think guys in upper management see a young, pretty thing, and they have to make a comment. They think it’s cute or it’s a compliment, but if it makes her uncomfortable, it’s not his place to be saying that.

When the news gets hold of an issue like this, and it’s a man in (Thomas’) position, there’s going to be a lot of discussion. Maybe it will be another baby step forward for women; maybe he will have to be an example.