Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA is addressing the recent news of a female employee being raped by a manager with the creation of a special hotline and human resources team focused on investigating sexual harassment complaints.
What Happened: According to a Bloomberg report, these new developments following the resonating backlash from the news that an Alibaba employee accused her manager of raping her in July after an evening of heavy drinking while they were on a business trip. The accused executive, Li Yonghe, has resigned from the company.
The company also stated it would update its code of conduct and redefine guidelines for employee engagement that will clear demarcate borders between professional and social interaction.
The Jack Ma-led company is working with a police probe on the assault. CEO Daniel Zhang has issued a public apology, calling the incident an “embarrassment.”
See Also: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Resigns In Wake Of Sexual Harassment Scandal
Why It Happened: Unlike Western countries, China has been lethargic in acknowledging issues of gender inequality and sexual harassment in the workplace. The news of the assault managed to break through China’s tightly controlled Internet last week and created a major scandal in a country where news of this nature is almost never highlighted.
“The best reflection is action,” said Alibaba on its corporate blog. “It is our shared responsibility to create a mutually respectful workplace environment.”
Photo: N509FZ / Wikimedia Commons.
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