Challenges ahead for India Inc

Culture clash is inevitable as multinational companies increasingly look to grow in India — often by acquiring or buying stakes in local companies. But they put additional pressure on corporate India to strengthen its policies with respect to sexual harassment.

Kannan Ramaswamy, professor at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, who specialises in management strategy in India, said: “We don’t have the mechanisms in place to drive this problem out with haste,” he said. “The awareness is not there, the legal infrastructure is not supported and you’re fighting against the weight of tradition and culture.”