The Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo advocacy showed how non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) can serve to silence victims of sexual harassment. Prince Edward Island recently became the first province in Canada to pass legislation designed to limit the use of NDAs.

Today in The Conversation Canada, we’ve got two stories that examine the interplay between individual perpetrators of harassment, workplace networks, work cultures and leadership.

Peggy Cunningham of Dalhousie University and Minette Drumwright of the University of Texas at Austin examine how NDAs can be harmful to victims of misconduct. Their research has examined people’s experiences in organizations where persistent sexual harassment has occurred, including at nine universities. They find that removing perpetrators of harassment isn’t enough because a “network of complicity” typically remains intact. They write: “Importantly, the organizational culture must be transformed, which is typically a long-term endeavour, but it can be done.”

In the other article, Claudine Mangen of Concordia University writes about how the “tone at the top” of companies has far-reaching repercussions: What a company’s leadership talks about, how they talk, what they do and how they do it models what is permissible. She writes: “Ideally, leaders are attentive to their communities, behave responsibly and model good behaviour. They are aware of how their words and deeds carry particular moral weight.”

Also today:

• Omicron FAQ: How is it different from other variants? Is it a ‘super-variant?’ Can it evade vaccines? How transmissible is it?
• Sex, taxes & COVID-19: How sex workers navigated pandemic relief efforts
• After a big year for cryptocurrencies, what’s on the horizon in 2022?

Regards,