International Women’s Day 2026: making workplaces safe and fair for women

Sexual harassment is rife in Australian workplaces 

Every woman has a right to a safe workplace free from sexual harassment. Yet sexual harassment remains disturbingly common across Australian workplaces.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, one in three people has experienced sexual harassment at work in the past five years, and the majority are women. These are not isolated incidents or historical wrongs – they are current, systemic failures that continue to undermine women’s safety, dignity and equality at work.

The impacts are profound. Sexual harassment doesn’t just affect an individual’s well-being. It disrupts careers, forces women out of industries, and entrenches gender inequality across the workforce. When harassment is tolerated or ignored, the scales are tipped firmly against women.

One such case, is that of Tracey, who went from a union delegate fighting for workers' rights to a woman too afraid to leave her house. Her journey shows the devastating psychological impact of workplace bullying, including sexual harassment, and underscores the importance of having trauma-informed, expert legal support when seeking compensation. Read Tracey’s story.

Why so many women never report

Despite the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment, most women never report what they experience or take legal action.

In its 2025 report, Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) found that under‑reporting is the single most significant challenge in responding to sexual violence. 

Many women fear they won’t be believed, particularly when the perpetrator holds seniority or influence. Others don’t understand the complex legal system or the support available to them. For some, the risk feels too great – they worry about losing their job, damaging their reputation or jeopardising their financial security. 

For women already experiencing trauma, discrimination or disadvantage, such as migrant women, women with disabilities, First Nations women, and women in insecure work, engaging with legal or complaints systems can feel impossible.

Every day, we assist brave women in navigating these complex processes so they can hold truth to power and seek redress for the harm done to them. The reality is that our legal and workplace systems have too often been stacked against women experiencing sexual harassment at work. That imbalance helps explain why harmful behaviour persists.

These barriers are built and they can be dismantled

These barriers are not inevitable: they are the result of decisions, systems and cultures that have been built and reinforced over time. And what has been built can be dismantled.

The ALRC emphasised that these outcomes are the product of systems designed without victim‑survivors at their centre. They recommended wide‑ranging reforms, including trauma‑informed legal processes, independent legal assistance for victim‑survivors, limits on direct cross‑examination by alleged perpetrators, clearer consent laws, and the expansion of specialist and culturally safe support services, particularly for First Nations women, women with disabilities, and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Recent legal reforms, including a stronger focus on employers’ positive duty to prevent sexual harassment, and costs protections for claimants, represent important steps forward. But laws alone are not enough. Real change requires workplaces to move beyond reactive responses and commit to prevention, accountability and cultural change.

That means clear policies that are enforced, as well as safe and confidential reporting pathways, independent investigations, and consequences for inappropriate behaviour. Critically, leadership that treats sexual harassment as a serious harm that demands action, not as a reputational risk to be managed, is vital to positive change.

Equality benefits everyone

Balancing the scales isn’t about advantage for some. It’s about dignity, safety and fairness for all. When women are safe at work, everyone benefits. Workplaces become fairer, more productive and more inclusive, staff turnover drops, trust grows, and innovation improves. Families are stronger when women are supported to participate in the workplace without fear, and communities thrive when equality is real, not just promised.

Conversely, when sexual harassment is ignored or minimised, the costs are borne by all of us – through lost talent, poorer mental health outcomes, and diminished faith in workplace justice.

What needs to change

As a country, we need to do better for women in our workplaces. That means continuing to strengthen and enforce laws that protect workers from sexual harassment. It means properly resourcing regulators and support services. And it means listening to women’s lived experiences and removing the obstacles that stop them from accessing justice.

Employers must take their responsibilities seriously, not just to comply with the law, but to create workplaces where safety and respect are non-negotiable. Governments must ensure that reforms translate into real-world protections. And it isn’t just the people in charge that need to make changes – all of us have a role to play in calling out harmful behaviour and supporting those who experience it.

Balancing the scales starts at work

International Women’s Day is a reminder that equality isn’t inevitable – it’s built. So too is inequality.

In 2026, "Balance the Scales" challenges us to ask whether our workplaces truly reflect the values we claim to hold - like safety and equality - and whether our systems are working to protect women or to protect power.

This International Women’s Day, we all must commit to dismantling the barriers that allow sexual harassment to persist – and to building workplaces that are genuinely safe and fair for women.

We’re here to help

If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, you don’t have to deal with it alone.

Our expert sexual harassment lawyers can offer trauma-informed legal support, every step of the way.

Contact our team today to see how we can support you.