Tag: workplace

Posted on

Time to say ‘enough’ to sexual harassment

Men say they are scared by this new environment. Far too many women have lived in fear of the old environment. It’s time to pack the dinosaurs off to the museum.

I hear a great lament these days.

Aggressive women are killing romance in the workplace with their flurry of complaints (young corporate executive)

Come on. He put his hand on her back. And that’s sexual harassment? (older lawyer)

Really? You can just name and shame a senior judge and damn his reputation forever? (even older lawyer)

Farooq Abdullah’s fatuous comment — “I’m scared to talk to women these days,” – caused such an uproar that he was forced to apologise. Yet, his comments are finding resonance amongst a growing group of entitled men: Women are going too far. Continue reading “Time to say ‘enough’ to sexual harassment”

Posted on

An inconvenient truth

In India we are leap years away from giving women a just work environment.

The unlamentable fall of Phaneesh Murthy should have been a clear signal of zero tolerance by managements towards sexual harassment. The collective tut-tutting by the IT industry — ‘message to all leaders in business’, ‘right decision’ etc — should have come with the acknowledgement that sexual harassment in the workplace does exist. In fact, neither has happened.

Murthy hasn’t been sacked for sexual harassment, as some headlines seem to suggest. He’s been shown the door for failing to report a relationship with a subordinate, a decision taken after she threatened legal action against the company (iGate) and Murthy. A potential multi-million lawsuit can be a rather powerful motivation to act.

Continue reading “An inconvenient truth”