Jacksonville Shipyards

9 Pages 2199 Words

Jacksonville Shipyards

1. The behavior of Lois Robinson’s co-workers is not acceptable. The behavior is not acceptable because it is an act of discrimination and sexual harassment. The “sexually explicit pictures, the sexually suggestive and humiliating comments of her male co-workers, and the ‘Men Only’ sign in the ship fitters trailer” are wrongful acts that deprive Robinson from her right to be treated equally (Jacksonville Shipyards 1). As an individual she is entitled to be treated in the same manner as the men she works with. “Rights are powerful devices whose main purpose is to enable the individual to choose freely whether to pursue certain interests or activities and to protect those choices” (Velasquez 91). Unfortunately, Robinson was not given this opportunity, or choice, when others warned her “to ‘take cover’ or leave so that men could exchange jokes out of her hearing” (Jacksonville Shipyards 2). Additionally, according to the article a sign reading “Men Only” was posted outside the ship-fitters trailer where Robinson, along with other female co-workers, needed to report to receive instructions. Since the Jacksonville Shipyard was a business that operated with male and female workers, a sign such as that posted, expressed a prejudice towards women. As an individual she not only has a legal right to be treated fairly, but the moral right as well. “First, moral rights are tightly correlated with duties” (Velasquez 92). Robinson has the moral right to work in any field she desires, therefore the people whom she works with cannot interfere with her form of work, nor her fulfilling her duties. Secondly, “moral rights provide individuals with autonomy and equality in the free pursuit of their interests” (92). The men she worked with had no right to tell her where she was permitted, nor when to come and go from conversations. Robinson could not be forced to leave an area because m...