BEST PRACTICES FOR COMPANIES
Sairee Chahal of SHEROES suggests what companies can do to ensure a supportive work environment
Sharanya G. Ranga, Partner, Advaya Legal. She explains that in her role as an external member in some of the internal complaints committees set up by companies, there have been cases where a woman employee has complained about some men colleagues using vulgar language or shouting swear words at each other in the workplace. Though not directed at her, the language made her uncomfortable and created a hostile work environment. She says the men colleagues were shocked by the complaint as they thought it was in jest.
Given the nature of sexual harassment complaints, says Ranga, concrete evidence may not be available in all instances as such acts mostly happen in private spaces – in a vehicle, conference room, etc. In such cases, the committee has to go by the principle of ‘ balance of probabilities’, i.e., decide in favour of the party whose version is more likely to be credible based on the facts of the case and available evidence. Companies should ideally not dismiss complaints for lack of evidence alone.
In Letter, Not Spirit
The PoSH law is five years old and still evolving. Multinational companies tend to be more compliant regarding the law while Indian companies usually implement the rules after an incident has occurred. Take the case of comedy group AIB, whose founder was aware of the sexual misconduct of their freelance writer Utsav Chakraborty for over a year, but chose to ignore it.
Companies may take the risk of finding a compromise solution that does not involve the star executive leaving because of the value the person may hold in the company. There may also be a concern that a one- off complaint may be a consensual affair gone wrong.
“It finally boils down to which person in the organisation is expendable and who isn’t,” says Payal Chawla, founder of law firm JusContractus. Rohini Prajapati, a former HR professional, shares an instance of when the internal complaints committee found a senior member guilty and asked him to leave, but the manager refused to let the person go because of the critical work he was handling. It was only after a week or so of top leaders putting pressure that he was terminated.
A leading lawyer explains that this happens due to the tendency to not distinguish between personal and professional. “Employers often have the attitude that they are concerned only about the value a person brings to the company, and that they should not meddle in his or her personal life. Companies forget that personal and professional are not exclusive to each other.” For example, Sarna’s performance in turning around the Taj Hotels within two years of taking charge meant he was a valued leader in the group. The company instead moved the woman employee to a role in Tata Sons, which was not acceptable to her as she thought it was a demotion.
There are also many instances of a perpetrator being shown the door by one company but getting hired by another. In fact, most companies give consideration to the future employment prospects of the person they have shown the door to by not mentioning the reason for exit from the organisation. “Professional organisations don’t ignore a sexual harassment episode if it comes up in reference check, and do not, as a
matter of policy, progress with candidates who have a known history. With the #MeToo movement having brought the spotlight back on the issue, matters won’t be brushed away and will be thoroughly investigated, and rightly so,” says Reet Bhambhani, Partner at executive search company, EMA-Partners.
Ajit Thakur, Head of Film Studios, Media and Entertainment Business of Reliance Industries, is reported to have resigned after a sexual harassment complaint was made against him by a screenwriter.
The revenue officer of a leading media company was asked to go when a junior woman colleague leveled complaints of sexual harassment against him. The man was hired by a rival company, while the complainant continued to face the brunt. “Since she was a sales person and had to meet the same set of clients, she began to be looked upon as a trouble-maker, as the one who had maligned her senior colleague. It became so difficult for her that she finally gave up her job,” recollects a senior media industry professional.
Impact on Hiring
With the #MeToo campaign picking up steam, companies have realised that they could be defamed and would need to take an urgent look at their biases. “There will not be just reputational damage, it will also be difficult for these companies to hire and retain talent as employees look at a company’s culture and want a safe and secure working environment,” says Sairee Chahal, Founder of Sheroes, a woman-oriented community platform. She says that now companies will have to invest in not just ensuring that they are employee friendly but also set up an emotionally secure workplace where there is empathy and support, and the freedom to speak up.
The #MeToo movement, according to Meenakshi Menon, Chairman of media audit company Spatial Access, is an ideal platform for those companies that have invested in anti-sexual harassment best practices to attract the best of women talent and take their diversity agenda forward. “However, I do expect some patriarchal family-run companies to not want to hire women, at least in the short term, just to avoid trouble,” she says. Rajesh of Avtar agrees that there may be an adverse effect. “There will be a fallout, especially for women employees in many small and medium-sized companies. It will be a knee-jerk reaction as companies may think that hiring women is an unnecessary headache. One needs to sensitize these companies about the importance of diversity.”
At a broader level, however, Bhambhani of EMA-Partners, doesn’t expect any impact on hiring of women. “It is preposterous to ignore 50 per cent of the population because of a fictional future event.”
The scope of the PoSH Act needs to be widened, especially in an era when companies are talking about not just women in their workforce but also representation from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community.
“With decriminalisation of homosexuality, it is no longer an issue about women but includes people with all kinds of sexual orientation,” says Menon. Tech Mahindra recently sacked its Chief Diversity Officer, Richa Gautam, after she was found guilty of discriminating against people from minority sexual groups.
As of now, corporate India has a lot on its plate if it wants to ensure a secure and fair work environment for all its employees.
“ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS BEHIND WOMEN NOT SPEAKING UP IN CORPORATE CIRCLES IS THE FEAR OF RETALIATION” Nirmala Menon Founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting