Combating Domestic Violence in the Workplace

Written by Jan Jaben-Eilon Thursday, April 21 2011

Snapshot: Ludy Green
Ludy Green is president and CEO of Womanpower and has a career in organizational management and operations, serving in both public and private sectors domestically and internationally. She is a solutions-driven human resources consultant. She has resolved corporate financial hardships, protected firms from bankruptcy, designed policy guidelines saving companies millions by helping them avoid sexual harassment lawsuits.

She is also president and founder of Second Chance Employment Services, a nonprofit organization providing meaningful employment for battered and abused women. Born in South America, Green, who speaks five languages, is an international expert on the subject of financial independence for domestic violence victims, survivors, and their children. She currently serves as the U.S. delegate to Jordan and Syria on gender violence issues.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Women Who Mean Business Award from the Washington Business Journal; BRAVA! Women Business Achievement Award from SmartCEO magazine; and the Leadership Award from the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Green will be the keynote speaker in Atlanta on April 28 at the “When Domestic Violence Goes to Work,” program sponsored by PADV, the Partnership Against Domestic Violence.

She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and daughter.

Womenetics: “Workplace domestic violence” seems like a contradiction in terms: domestic vs. workplace. Why does domestic violence get transferred to the workplace environment?
Ludy Green: Domestic violence follows the victim to the workplace. It’s a means of controlling the victim, often after the victim has left the abuser. The abuser doesn’t always try to kill the victim, but sometimes just stalks her, which is stressful and can put the victim at risk for losing her job.

Womenetics: I understand that the cost of domestic violence to the U. S. economy is $8.3 billion annually. How can it be so much?
Green: These are your taxpayer dollars that pay for shelters for women to live in. We pay for the legal system: police, courts, and social workers. This amount covers the loss of productivity and leaves of absence by the victims. This is very critical, and people don’t understand that it’s taxpayer money paying for all this.

Womenetics: Why is it necessary for companies to have a workplace domestic violence policy?
Green: Employers need to be prepared for this type of crisis, just like any other crisis. You can’t wait for a fire to decide how to get people out of a building; you need a policy, a plan. Workers, employers, and security people all need to know their roles when there’s domestic violence at the workplace. They need to be prepared to protect one another and know what the next step is. Very few companies have these policies in place, and it should be done immediately.

Womenetics: Are an increasing number of companies actually seeing the need for such a policy?
Green: Yes, finally companies are looking into this. These policies not only protect employees and jobs, but they are socially responsible. Domestic violence usually happens to women with children. Also, domestic violence policies can save the company from legal entanglement, improve their public image, and create employee loyalty, which cuts down on turnover rates. There’s no exact data on the number of domestic violence situations in the workplace because employers don’t focus on this.

Womenetics: Is this area the next big focus of companies after sexual harassment policies?
Green: I hope so because it certainly needs to be. One in three women will be the victim of a domestic abuser in the United States. I’ve been an advocate for these women for 23 years, and I’ve seen it all.

Womenetics: Why did you found Second Chance Employment Services, the nonprofit employment agency for victims of domestic violence?
Green: Because over a decade ago, while I was trying to help these women, I saw that there were no organizations to help victims find long-term careers. There were no employment agencies for them. There were many other services, like shelters, but it’s hard for these women. You know how hard it is for other people to find jobs; just imagine how hard it is for these women who have been abused and have low self-esteem. Women are battered physically and emotionally, and it hurts their self-image. In one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., there are many wealthy battered women. One woman had been so diminished that she wanted to kill herself. She had no one to talk to because she was ashamed. And with the bad economy, we have lines of people coming in. These are mainstream people, not foreigners. And, yes, rich husbands not only emotionally and psychologically can abuse their wives, but also physically. Some of these husbands are developers and lawyers. Women need to feel they are not alone.

Womenetics: Why did you get involved with domestic violence? Did you know someone who had been a victim of domestic violence?
Green: Since I was a child, I witnessed domestic violence. My mother was trapped. She didn’t have an education and financial means to get away from my father, who abused her. She died very young. I wanted to help her, but I felt helpless as a little girl. She lived a horrible life. Although I was not directly abused, by seeing it, there was psychological abuse. As a young girl, I hid from people; I couldn’t talk about it, and as a teenager I was strange. If a woman is abused in front of her children, hearing their father tell their mother she is worthless, it impacts the children. I grew up knowing that women needed financial independence so I committed my life to this cause. I never talked about this until recently.

Womenetics: Why is financial independence for domestic violence victims so important?
Green: Unless a woman can support herself and her children, she will never leave an abuser. She’d rather stay than be homeless. It’s hard to walk away from abuse. Also financial independence empowers a woman.

Womenetics: Do you think it’s the responsibility of companies to find out which female employees might be victims of domestic violence? If not, who is?
Green: It’s not up to companies to find out about employees who might be victims of domestic violence; that would be an invasion of privacy. But the companies need to create a policy so that women feel they can come forward, they know who to talk to, and they know they’ll be treated with respect. Also, if one employee knows about another employee who is a victim of domestic abuse, they will know what to do.

Womenetics: You recently traveled to Jordan and Syria to focus on financial empowerment of women as a necessary solution to global economic inequality. What spurred you to start working on the international level?
Green: I was invited by the State Department to be a cultural ambassador. Domestic violence is a global issue, as is financial independence of women; they go hand in hand. Things are progressing, but we need more empowered and educated women. It helps a country’s economy get out of poverty if women are allowed to work. In some countries, they aren’t allowed to work. They have no choice but to stay home with their abusers. My approach is a family approach. I work with men, too, since they have mothers, daughters, and sisters who could be abused. We can alert women to look for the traits that may indicate  men may become abusers; for instance, if they treat their mother poorly, or if they go into a restaurant and not act correctly, or if they have short tempers and they explode. These are people who aren’t able to cope with life.

Womenetics: Who was the most influential person in your life?
Green: My aunt is in her late 90s. She was a very successful woman in South America. She started as a clerk in a bank and became the head of human resources. She is the only person who believed in me, even when I was strange as a teenager. She supported and encouraged me. Having one person in your life who believes in you, even if no one else thinks you are pretty or smart, is so important. I call her every day.

Womenetics: When you are not working, what do you do for fun?
Green: I dance: jazz and ballroom dancing. I play tennis with my 17-year-old daughter who is a U.S. Senate page this year. We also kayak and hike, along with my husband, who is an advocate for women and children and a philanthropist who has helped me with my business.

Jan Jaben-Eilon was a founding staff writer of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Since then, she has been the international editor of Advertising Age magazine and has written for such publications as The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Journalism Review, and Consumer Reports. She is the author of soon-to-be-published (There is) Life After Cancer. Jan and her husband have homes in Atlanta and Jerusalem.