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How to support witnesses of harassment and build healthier workplaces | Julia Shaw

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. What makes you speak up — or not — when you see something you know is wrong? Memory scientist Julia Shaw explains the psychology of those who witness workplace discrimination and harassment — and shares actionable steps companies can…

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Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

What makes you speak up — or not — when you see something you know is wrong? Memory scientist Julia Shaw explains the psychology of those who witness workplace discrimination and harassment — and shares actionable steps companies can take to support and amplify their voices.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:

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57 Comments

57 Comments

  1. Errant Cognition

    June 30, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    Her steps are either vapid or antipragmatic

    1) “Showcase commitment” – Okay, how? “Lead by example” – How would you even… that makes no sense!

    2) “Train managers” – Ah yes, this will go well. “Hi, Bob, now just in case you’re a sexual harasser we need you to do this minimally budgeted training as a technicality” Bob didn’t learn anything. She’s also basically saying that being promoted and not having people skills leads to harassment, like… what?

    3) “Anonymous reporting” – … which will devolve into being so diluted with petty complaints it gets tossed out. It’s literally a trope (and for a reason)

    3 again) “Encourage witness reporting” – aka, be snitches. Aint gonna happen. People would be too worried about social repercussion

    4) “Conduct Surveys” – Everyone is going to groan and complain about having to do the surveys except the Karen that no one wants to hear from and everyone already knows her opinion.

    5) “Build a social identity” – This isn’t some after school club, it’s work. People aren’t going to want to do that and it’s not something you can force

    • Katie F

      June 30, 2020 at 3:41 pm

      Not trying to start any argument I’m just curious, if you don’t think people should report things anonymously OR as a witness, how do you expect things to be reported? I’m just really confused by this logic lol

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      June 30, 2020 at 4:31 pm

      Katie F oh Katie, you clearly didn’t read any of his points and created a strawman argument that he didn’t put forth, accused him of it, and is now expecting him to defend a position he doesn’t have? What a completely transparent way of the railing an argument that is either too complicated for you to understand or challenges your understanding of what makes you a “good person”

    • Anindita R.

      June 30, 2020 at 4:33 pm

      ?????????????

  2. WATCH ME

    June 30, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    Don’t stop trying because you’ve hit a wall. Progress is progress, no matter how small.

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      June 30, 2020 at 4:27 pm

      WATCH ME It’s wild how you think any destruction of society is progress

  3. Thế Anh Nguyễn

    June 30, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    Shut up, live straight and stop playing the blame game. Period.

  4. Princess

    June 30, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Women need to leave the work place,this ridiculous notion that they are equal men is absurd,of course? women are going to feel harassed when they work with men who are not so likely to be sensitive and over dramatic,from the time women have joined the work force it almost feels we now live in a victim society,I grew at a time when I went to school girls stuck to what girls do best and boys stuck to what boys do and they rarely ever joined in the same areas,even? If they did it was just not done,I personally liked this idea,women were women and men were men,very little conflict because everyone knew there place and they know there role, I can agree on some diversity but if the ending result is going to be Drama,overly emotional,and always the victim then I prefer for this to go back to the way it was.

  5. Mac Ton

    June 30, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    So if someone says they support the president, or if they dare say “all lives matter”, you guys disavow them being harassed, right?

  6. DrJackJeckyl

    June 30, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    yeah nah

  7. Suraj Hembram

    June 30, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    She is obliged to you for your kindness

  8. Telmo prl

    June 30, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    Jesus Christ saves

  9. eastendthug

    June 30, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    Men talking about the weekends sport at the water cooler is classed as workplace harrasment in 2020.

    • NPC501

      June 30, 2020 at 4:14 pm

      Careful they’re deleting comments.
      Anything against the agenda destroying the west, deleted.

    • Dodger the Crocodile

      June 30, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      @NPC501 Yeah right, it’s been an hour and it hasn’t been deleted

    • Matt Greek 1066

      June 30, 2020 at 5:55 pm

      Dodger the Crocodile ‘agenda destroying the west’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  10. X X

    June 30, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    Boring work uniforms would be an easy a solution. Hair in ponytail and no makeup. You can dress seductively on your free time! That would put the emphasis on where it belongs – the actual work, skills and knowledge.

    • Burdflu C-William

      June 30, 2020 at 5:41 pm

      Jordan Peterson called that out a while back. Specifically, the bit about no make-up in the workplace. People in disagreement quickly pivoted and accused that line of thinking as misogynist.

    • mascara1888

      July 1, 2020 at 1:05 am

      Most women do not try to dress seductively at all at work! Men stare at our body parts even if we are wearing the plainest outfit and layers.

    • Monika Ramel

      July 1, 2020 at 5:52 am

      People that perform sexual assaults or rape tend to choose vulnerable victims. Provocative outfits show confidence, hence women in those are assaulted less, but it also happens. I hope that yt allows to post links, but there’s an exhibition that is focused on how people were dressed on the day they got raped. I think it will be helpful to add additional perspective to your comment.

    • X X

      July 1, 2020 at 7:54 am

      @Monika Ramel Victims of actual rape are a whole different story than what is going on 2020 with the whole #metoo movement.

  11. Lisa Love Ministries

    June 30, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    Overcome sin strongholds in a personal relationship with Christ.🛡
    John 14:6

  12. The Mean Arena

    June 30, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    10/10

  13. Frédérique Bordeleau

    June 30, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    This comment section is horrifying

    • NPC501

      June 30, 2020 at 4:28 pm

      They’re deleting anti-agenda comments.

    • Zanetta Rose Jones

      June 30, 2020 at 6:42 pm

      As a woman, it’s especially horrifying.

    • Errant Cognition

      July 1, 2020 at 4:22 am

      @NPC501 Always good to have a second account to verify your posts aren’t shadow banned. You’d be surprised how innocent something can be and still not show up for anyone else.

  14. bravojr

    June 30, 2020 at 4:30 pm

    How to get over it and become a better person overall?
    How to embrace neunce and know thyself?
    How to be true to yourself and true to others?
    How to insult with heart?

  15. tastemysaucer

    June 30, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    DANG GIRL

  16. Ilya Shell

    June 30, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    Before you speak about the harassment, you need to specify it
    Otherwise it’s a witchhunt

  17. OCASM

    June 30, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    Maybe the “witnesses” accurately recognized that no harassment took place and that the accuser is just being hysterical or outright lying.

    This woman would be a great fit for the gestapo.

    • loreelai

      June 30, 2020 at 9:57 pm

      in that case they wouldn’t have been participated in the survey??? like, how are you gonna sign up for a “how did you react to sexual harassment” survey if you didn’t witness it? I swear sometimes people will look for any opportunity to discredit ppl who are victims of harassment, sexual or otherwise 😪

    • Errant Cognition

      July 1, 2020 at 4:28 am

      Women tend to team up. Even if nothing happened they are more likely to report in congruence with the alleged victim

  18. 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

    June 30, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    She got all put together but still wore pants with holes in them, because she is hip, and super unique.

  19. FishizzleBoy

    June 30, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    First they police the speech, then they police the thoughts.

  20. Scribbli Chheery

    June 30, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    “This is an equal opportunity workplace”

    Employers: Except if you support Trump, don’t support LGBTQ or BLM, support All Lives Matter, don’t support the widespread looting and vandalism, or have any opinion whatsoever that doesn’t align with our company’s values.

    • loreelai

      June 30, 2020 at 9:54 pm

      They legally can’t ask you that. So as long as you aren’t going around the workplace saying “man i hate f***otts”, or “Man i’m so happy we’re putting these immigrant children in cages”, you’re fine.

      Stop playing the victim every chance you get. Maybe THAT will help you get hired somewhere, moreso than your dogshit political views.

    • Errant Cognition

      July 1, 2020 at 4:31 am

      “ooooo, sorry this is an equal opportunity work place and we already have our quota of white men. We have to deny this opportunity and go with the top qualified non-white non-male.”

  21. Bob Frog

    June 30, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    Grow a pair and stop WHINING!

  22. acajudi100

    June 30, 2020 at 7:03 pm

  23. كل العرب كل العرب

    June 30, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    ولا واحد عربي هنا غيري الحمد لله سبقت العرب كلهم

    • احمد عابدين

      June 30, 2020 at 10:44 pm

      هيو وصل وصل العربي التاني 😂

  24. Stenio.

    June 30, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    Human rights, life insurance, security, call police

  25. funny Animation

    July 1, 2020 at 12:16 am

    I love your outfit, which makes you look pretty.
    compliment or harassment?

    • JewTube

      July 1, 2020 at 5:21 am

      depends on who it’s coming from.

    • Elie Trudeau

      July 1, 2020 at 3:41 pm

      It depends on how you say it. If you’re being respectful it’s okay. If you’re flirting or being innapropriate, it’s not.

  26. Pretzel Stick

    July 1, 2020 at 3:21 am

    Moment of silence for all the deleted comments….

    Thank you.

  27. Michael Block

    July 1, 2020 at 4:02 am

    I don’t trust this centralised approach. Just equip the person who reports harassment a stun gun and trust they’ll use their own good judgement. I like democracy right where it’s at.

    • Errant Cognition

      July 1, 2020 at 4:26 am

      Yeah, and give everyone who has been assaulted or mugged a 9mm and trust they’re use their own good judgement.

  28. ぴろすけ

    July 1, 2020 at 10:31 am

    What is HR?from Japan

    • Zist Land

      July 1, 2020 at 4:27 pm

      humen risorse

  29. ITouchTheSky 8GladysWorld8

    July 1, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    Thank you so much for talking about workplace discrimination, harassment and how to support and protect the victims and witnesses. Lovely watching and listening to you here on the top of the mountain of Italy.

  30. dang bui

    July 1, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    Balance and Healthy 🙂

  31. willl0014

    July 1, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    Speak up if you are being harrassed. Don’t spect others to solve your problems.

  32. Paweł Zieliński

    July 1, 2020 at 4:45 pm

    This amazing guy should have his own TED speech. You will be in shock after watching this;

  33. دلال عبدالعزيز

    July 1, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    هل يوجد عرب هنا؟ 🌚

  34. Ashraf Kuzbari

    July 1, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    Ted Talk
    July 1, 2020
    How we can build healthier workplaces

    – Harassment is real and it is sad.
    – Sometimes harassed victims don’t speak up because they are afraid of consequences of reporting it.
    – Active bystanding is very good and is very useful to help our world to become better.
    – Even though almost all people would say that they would do something in a situation where there is harassment, almost all of them don’t because they fell victim to the bystander effect.
    – Sometimes there isn’t a way for people to even report a situation which needs to be fixed by having more reliable ways for them to actually report it.
    – The top 5 reasons that witnesses didn’t report the problem are the following:
    1. Fear of consequences
    2. Didn’t want to interfere
    3. Didn’t that they could report it
    4. Didn’t want to be a “snitch”
    5. Didn’t know how to report.

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