It’s 2016, so why can’t women do their jobs without fear of sexual harassment or abuse

IT’S 2016, so can women in the workplace — like Mel McLaughlin, Sam Maiden and junior staffers in Hong Kong — can about their business without fear of sexual harassment or abuse.

Big Bash League : Chris Gayle and Mel Mclaughlin Interview.

• ‘It was a simple joke’ pleads Chris Gayle
• Chris Gayle isn’t the first cricketer to try it on Mel McLoughlin
• ‘Not a one-off, Gayle’s a creep’
• Disgraced MP Jamie Briggs confirms he sent photo
• Peter Dutton apologises after sending offensive text

ACCORDING to the Chinese zodiac 2016 is the year of the monkey. It may as well be the year of the goose.

So far this year, we have had a federal minister acting inappropriately towards a junior staffer at a bar, another minister accidentally text a journalist refering to her as a “mad f***ing witch” and an international cricketer hit on a female commentator on live TV while she is doing her job.

And to think it’s only January 5.

Mel McLaughlin shouldn’t have had to deal with Chris Gayle’s comments.

I’m not a member of the bra-burning brigade (gravity dictates I keep mine firmly on) but I can’t help but get angry at all the glib remarks following these incidents.

When a photo of the staffer who complained about the inappropriate behaviour of Minister Jamie Briggs surfaced showing her smiling and standing next to his chief of staff in a Hong Kong bar — the keyboard warriors were quick to victim blame.

“Seems she doesn’t want men standing too close, unless of course she wants to lean in ...” one tweeted — a reference to the book Lean In by Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

The book serves as somewhat of a survival guide for women to not only survive in the male-dominated workplace but to succeed.

It teaches you how to overcome the idea that if a man speaks his mind in the workplace he is seen as assertive and showing leadership skills, but if a woman does it she is labelled bossy — or worse still asked if it’s that time of the month.

“Just another bra burner,” another wrote. And so on.

Chris Gayle managed to avoid commenting on the looks of female journalists waiting for him at Melbourne Airport this morning. Picture: AAP

To be fair, many others applauded the woman’s courage in coming forward, while lambasting Briggs for his appalling behaviour — not only on the night but also in confirming it was he who forwarded the said photograph to mates before and after she had complained about his behaviour.

For those who missed it, West Indian cricketer and Melbourne Renegades recruit Chris Gayle hit on Channel 10 commentator Mel McLaughlin on live television as she was interviewing him during a Big Bash match.

“I just wanted to have an interview with you as well, that’s why I batted so well,” the smooth-talking Gayle said.

”Your eyes are beautiful, hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well”.

He then finished it with this: “Don’t blush, baby.”

“So what?!? Get got shot down in public ... Get a grip. The easily offended brigade need to CHILL,” Peter Bakiera posted on the Daily Telegraph’s facebook page.

“Nothing wrong with it,” Lee Pearce said.

“Oh please, why does everyone have to take offence at anything that’s said that they don’t like or can’t seem to cope with. Surely she could have come back with something like ‘in your dreams sunshine’. Time to stop this constant perceived inappropriateness and get over it,” Meg Edwards added.

“No more pull-in birds in public CG ... Back to Tinder it is.....,” Troy Allard joked.

Chris Gayle stopped for photographs with PNG Womens Cricket Team at the Airport. Picture: AAP

Stacey Newton wrote: “How dare he finds someone attractive! Lol probably coulda done it after the interview but hey, there’s no time like the present. Big deal.”

The big deal is McLaughlin was at her work — doing her job. It wasn’t a nightclub where you could almost forgive someone’s cheesy line of “don’t blush baby”.

Channel 10s head of sport David Barham said McLaughlin was a “bit angry and upset” after the incident.

“She was asking him legitimate questions about cricket and he turned it into talking about her eyes. She was a bit taken aback ... embarrassed,” Barham said.

Former minister Jamie Briggs was forced to resign over the Hong Kong incident. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“I thought it was a bit demeaning. She was pretty composed, really, and agreed that we’ve just got to get on with the game and that’s just what she did. I thought she handled it brilliantly.

“She was angry and she was upset. She was doing her best to get an insightful interview about the cricket. That’s what her job is and she works really hard at it. She’s really well prepared. I think she was very surprised.”

For his own part, Gayle said the whole thing was “a simple joke”.

“Things get out of proportion but these things happen,” he said.

But his own boss at Cricket Australia James Sutherland didn’t see the funny side.

Minister for Immigration Peter Dutton was forgiven by the ‘mad witch’. Picture: AAP

“Anyone that sees the humour in that is misunderstanding and somewhat delusional about the situation,” Sutherland said.

“It is a workplace situation. It is inappropriate and it is very public. That just goes to the point about how inappropriate and just not cool that is.”

According to a recent survey by Cosmopolitan magazine of fulltime working women aged between 18 and 34 — one in three reported having been sexually harassed at work. More than 40 per cent said they’ve encountered “unwanted touching and sexual advances”. The alleged perpetrators? More than 75 per cent of them male colleagues.

She may have been standing on a cricket pitch, but McLaughlin was at work.

Who’s the joke on now?