A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa

Sexual harassment is an ongoing baseness that should be non-existent at work. Such immoral behaviours have psychological, physical, and behavioural impacts on victims, with no organisational benefit. Hence, it is imperative that positive actions against sexual harassment are needed, and leaders have...

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Main Author: Ijeoma Gloria Ukeni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/12/332
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author Ijeoma Gloria Ukeni
author_facet Ijeoma Gloria Ukeni
author_sort Ijeoma Gloria Ukeni
collection DOAJ
description Sexual harassment is an ongoing baseness that should be non-existent at work. Such immoral behaviours have psychological, physical, and behavioural impacts on victims, with no organisational benefit. Hence, it is imperative that positive actions against sexual harassment are needed, and leaders have a role to play. However, there are limited studies on how ethical leaders can contribute to the eradication process. This report, therefore, makes a compelling case for developing ethical leaders as champions against sexual harassment. It accentuates the positive effect of role-modelling ethical behaviours. Based on secondary data, traditional and systematic literature reviews were conducted on sexual harassment and ethical leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. The results of the thematic analysis showed that women are mostly the victims of sexual harassment due to the abuse of power and poor execution of harassment policies. The study offers laudable mechanisms such as the creation of an inclusive environment with zero tolerance for sexual harassment, the moral development of organisational members and the reorientation and support for victims. Given the ‘power distance’ culture of most African nations, the fight will be tough, but the benefits and prospects far outweigh the cost. Hence, recommendations and practical approaches to potential challenges are discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-dae720e04c4d4e8fa4dd84596993c7ac2024-12-27T14:02:16ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872024-12-01141233210.3390/admsci14120332A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in AfricaIjeoma Gloria Ukeni0School of Business, Education and Law, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UKSexual harassment is an ongoing baseness that should be non-existent at work. Such immoral behaviours have psychological, physical, and behavioural impacts on victims, with no organisational benefit. Hence, it is imperative that positive actions against sexual harassment are needed, and leaders have a role to play. However, there are limited studies on how ethical leaders can contribute to the eradication process. This report, therefore, makes a compelling case for developing ethical leaders as champions against sexual harassment. It accentuates the positive effect of role-modelling ethical behaviours. Based on secondary data, traditional and systematic literature reviews were conducted on sexual harassment and ethical leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. The results of the thematic analysis showed that women are mostly the victims of sexual harassment due to the abuse of power and poor execution of harassment policies. The study offers laudable mechanisms such as the creation of an inclusive environment with zero tolerance for sexual harassment, the moral development of organisational members and the reorientation and support for victims. Given the ‘power distance’ culture of most African nations, the fight will be tough, but the benefits and prospects far outweigh the cost. Hence, recommendations and practical approaches to potential challenges are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/12/332ethical leadershipsocial learning theoryworkplace sexual harassmentmoral developmentAfrica
spellingShingle Ijeoma Gloria Ukeni
A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
Administrative Sciences
ethical leadership
social learning theory
workplace sexual harassment
moral development
Africa
title A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
title_full A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
title_fullStr A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
title_full_unstemmed A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
title_short A Systematic Review of Ethical Leadership as a Panacea for Combating Sexual Harassment in Africa
title_sort systematic review of ethical leadership as a panacea for combating sexual harassment in africa
topic ethical leadership
social learning theory
workplace sexual harassment
moral development
Africa
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/12/332
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