The executive director of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor says that women are the minority when it comes to working on the docks in New Jersey. Approximately 10 percent of deep sea longshoremen in New Jersey and New York are women and the inequalities that stem from this are apparent. According to some, women make 35 percent less on average than men in the industry. This is allegedly because of the types of equipment that men and women operate as well as the number of hours they can work.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that advancement for women in this industry may depend on how receptive they are to unwelcome sexual advances by their superiors. This statement came after a woman from Newark, New Jersey reported being touched by a foreman with Ports America. Her hours were cut soon after she reported the incident.

In June 2008, the woman’s foreman allegedly touched her buttocks and though he had a history of doing this to female employees, Ports America did nothing about it.

The 35-year-old woman said that she was not the only one that had experienced sexual harassment while on the job. According to her attorney, several other women have been harassed as well but had not filed a lawsuit against their employer. According to the outspoken victim, she also contacted her union which her alleged harasser is also a member of.

A ruling by the EEOC in June 2010 on the woman’s complaint said that the company was liable in the matter and unlawfully retaliated against her when she reported the harassment. Two months after this ruling, a lawsuit was filed by the 35-year-old. A settlement conferenced has been scheduled for this month.

Source: The Star-Ledger, “On Jersey’s waterfront: N.J. female dockworkers find less work, encounter harassment on the job, report finds,” Steve Strunsky, Dec. 2, 2011