Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Sexism in Indian workplaces is serious and can drive away valuable employees. Take action proactively and ensure true inclusiveness.
By Debjani Talapatra
Shalini Singh*, 31, was working with a reputed IT firm in Bangalore when she had firsthand experience with not only a MCP boss but an entire team of MCPs. “Several male colleagues passed sexist remarks and off-colour jokes that made me uncomfortable. At first, I ignored it. But after a point when I couldn’t take it anymore I set up a meeting with HR. But the way things were handled left a lot to be desired”, reminisces Shalini, four years after events that eventually led to her resignation. After a few one-on-one meetings with both parties involved, Shalini was asked not to take things too seriously and told that the comments were only jokes. Disheartened and hurt, Shalini first switched teams and within the year quit her job. “I just couldn’t get past how my humiliation was taken so lightly,” she says.
What Shalini endured was not an isolated incident, but an example of a common enough phenomenon – sexual harassment – and contrary to what some may think, it is alive, at white collar workplaces too, despite most employees being highly educated. There are two principal forms of sexual harassment; one is the Quid Pro Quo, wherein sexual favours are demanded in exchange for a promotion or a job benefit, and the other kind, where sexist behaviour creates a hostile work environment. At heart lie deep-rooted beliefs that view women as primarily sexual objects.
Besides harassment, sexism can also manifest itself in other ways. Tina Makhija*, 27, a consultant, learnt that certain “prestigious” projects only went to her male colleagues. When she brought it up with her manager, she was told, very casually, that on certain sectors, such as high-tech manufacturing, men had a better grasp.
For Veera Patel*, a copy writer in a Delhi ad agency, it started innocuously with the ritual of going drinking after work every Friday night. Her boss explicitly invited the men and left out the women in the team. Over time, it was these men who got international placements, better accounts and quicker promotions. “It was such a sordid cliche!” Veera fumes, “such presumption and paternalistic condescension was very off-putting!”
Naina K*, a senior HR manager with an advertising agency in Mumbai, shares some best practices on dealing with sexist behaviour, for employees as well as employers.
•The first step is to talk to the responsible parties to let them know that their behaviour is unacceptable. If they pay no heed to your concern, it’s time to take action.
•Put in a formal written complaint or set up a meeting with HR to discuss the matter and share your opinions openly.
•HR will then conduct investigations and talk to all involved parties, both separately and, if need be, together.
•If the matter at hand isn’t particularly severe, the perpetrator is asked to apologise in writing to the injured party and in some cases the apology might be sent out to the entire organisation or immediate team.
•In serious cases disciplinary action is taken against the responsible person.
•In more severe cases the perpetrator may get fired.
While HR personnel need to handle instances of sexual harassment with sensitivity and compassion, the truth is that company policy varies from one organisation to another, with many organisations in India not even having much of a policy. Indian laws on sexual harassment in the workplace are very nascent. The Vishakha Judgement, passed in 1998, was a tentative first step. This judgement declared that sexual harassment is a violation of the fundamental right to work and the right to live with dignity. Though ground-breaking, its implementation leaves a lot to be desired.
Handling sexism requires not just delicacy from HR managers and a lot of soft-skills training but a commitment from senior management to evolve a truly inclusive work culture. A few organizations have begun including this agenda in their leadership development programs where managers are sensitized to various forms of sexism and encouraged to practice inclusion during and after work.
Handling sexism requires not just delicacy from HR managers and a lot of soft-skills training but a commitment from senior management
While the law needs to become more sensitive towards this pervasive problem, we, as a society, also need to be more compassionate towards women who are at the receiving end of sexism. “It’s worse for women dealing with sexist co-workers; the problem doesn’t register as a great offence for some. As though one needs to be touched inappropriately to be harassed,” says Sakshi T*, HR manager for a large consulting and accounting firm in Mumbai. When it comes to the aftermath of sexist comments, nothing rings truer than these wise words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
* Names changed to protect identities.
Women's Web is a vibrant community for Indian women, an authentic space for us to be ourselves and talk about all things that matter to us. Follow us via the read more...
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
Please enter your email address