Gender-based harassment does not always look the way we expect. Investigators may readily consider gender when a woman is targeted, but when the conduct is male on male, the analysis often defaults to bullying, performance management, personality conflict, or a demanding workplace. This presentation asks investigators to consider whether conduct that appears gender-neutral may actually be enforcing expectations about how men are supposed to behave, including expectations around toughness, emotional control, self-reliance, vulnerability and help-seeking.

Using a fictional workplace investigation as a case study, Robert Richler examines the concept of hegemonic masculinity and how it can help investigators identify the unwritten rules governing credibility, toughness, authority and belonging in a workplace. Robert considers male-on-male gender-based harassment, coded performance language, informal exclusion, and the importance of examining what changed after an employee failed to conform to an expected gender script.

Robert provides investigators with a practical, evidence-based framework focused on words, triggers, patterns and consequence. The goal is not to assume that every harsh interaction is gendered, but to make investigators consider whether they may be through asking better questions, testing competing explanations and distinguishing legitimate workplace expectations from conduct that punishes gender non-conformity.