As more employees in Mediacorp speak up against sexism in their workplace, two freelancers are currently under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct towards staff at the company, according to a TNP report.
This comes after Juwon Park, a producer for the company, posted screenshots of a conversation that detailed inappropriate comments. In our previous article, Juwon spoke to an unnamed colleague after they referred to her body parts and physical appearance as a reason why should could not become a TV presenter.
In Juwon’s account, she mentioned that her colleague told her that she needed a certain body type and attitude to become a TV presenter.
The colleague, who was since identified as male in the interview with TNP, said that Juwon would never become a a presenter because she did not have breasts and did not act dumb. He said that she only arrived at this point in her career because she was Korean and good-looking.
The post was taken down a few hours after it was published last week.
See screenshots of the previously-public post in our last post.
What happened to the sexist colleague from Juwon’s post?
According to a report from TNP, Juwon’s colleague has received disciplinary action from the company.
Mediacorp reveals that since Juwon’s Facebook post, more employees have come forward with allegations against the same man. Furthermore, two freelancers from the same unit as the original culprit have been tagged in similar complaints.
The large media company continues to investigate these claims thoroughly and ensured swift action.
In an interview, the company said, “Further to Juwon’s complaints, other colleagues have since brought forth allegations of inappropriate conduct by the staff (member) in question and by two freelancers who work in the same unit as him,” said the company representative. We are investigating the allegations against the freelancers and will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
What about Juwon?
Understandably, the TV producer has been getting unwanted attention and pressure this past week. According to the same report, Juwon has tendered her resignation and returned her work and media passes. She says that the past week has been the most difficult in her entire life and she is looking forward to leaving Singapore soon.
A trend of speaking up
Recently, more and more women have been speaking out against sexism in the workplace, especially in tech companies. In our previous article, we wrote how Silicon Valley and the IT industry in the United States has been inundated with cases against investors after they take advantage of women.
Read about women speaking up against sexism in tech.
In even fresher news, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment. According to The New York Times, actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, and even Angelina Jolie had to endure unwanted sexual advances during their younger years.
Thanks to the report, Harvey Weinstein has been fired from the company.
The trend of speaking up started with a lengthy blog post detailing Uber’s sexist culture. From this, many other women have started to speak up, and companies are swift to take action.
Have you experienced anything in your workplace similar to Juwon’s experience? What happened? Let us know in the comments!
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