The research seems to indicate that sanctions are effective for multiple reasons. If someone is sanctioned for their misconduct, it communicates, first, to people who are potential offenders that this will not be tolerated in the workplace. If they do it, they're going to have sanctions or consequences.
It also communicates to the potential targets, or to the women in this case, that we, the organization, take this seriously, and if they come forward, they're not risking anything. They're not risking being demoted. They're not risking losing your job. They're not risking being retaliated against by the organization, that it will take their complaints seriously.
Those things are what climate is all about. It communicates to both men and women in the workplace that the organization takes it seriously, and that there will be consequences if they choose to behave in this way. It is just an extremely important message to send to employees.
Our experience is that in organizations, such as in corporations, at the corporate level they seem to get it. It's getting it down into the plants and to the local organizations that there seems to be this disconnect.
If you as an organization tell your employees that you take this seriously, then you have to back it up. You can't just say that you have zero tolerance in the workplace. You have to follow it up with these kinds of concrete actions if someone steps over the line.
The problem, of course—