Ms. Milligan said that when male executives tell her that they’re considering deliberately avoiding women, she tells them that would be illegal. “Just replace the word ‘woman’ with any minority,” she said. “Yes, you have to talk about the right kind of behavior, but you can’t stop interacting with women.”
So what’s a solution? She recommends that companies ditch employee surveys and use technological tools that allow for real-time and anonymous chats to identify men who, at the least, make women uncomfortable.
Then companies must assess if these men are “clueless, creepy or criminal,” Ms. Milligan said. “If you think they are clueless, you can coach them.”
“Clueless can become creepy very quickly if you don’t address it,” she said. “If they are creepy, you have to act.”