How Much is Too Much?

Ritu Singh was a 22-year old, confident graduate from Delhi when she started
working. Earning to do her little weekend shopping was something she had wanted
to do for long. And what would have been more easy and convenient than working
in a call center which most of her other batch-mates were doing? Finally, she
landed herself a job in one of the leading call centers in Gurgoan, Haryana.

Little did she know what was in store. She would often stay back late for
night shifts. Her pretty face called for a lot of unwanted attention from her
male colleagues which made her uncomfortable, especially during night shifts.
Her outgoing, friendly nature was often misconstrued. But what brought things to
a head was the behavior of her immediate senior, who happened to be her team
leader as well. He would always make lewd comments on whatever she wore.

He would read out loud what was written on my t-shirt and give me lecherous
looks. When I did a good job, he would call me into his cubicle and pat me in
ways which repulsed me, says Ritu. She ignored it for a while, after having
discussed with another female colleague who happened to be a close friend. But
the audacity with which he did all this was frustrating to say the least, she
says. Even though there was little room for action against him, as he happened
to be good friends with the head of HR, Ritu decided not to take this lying
down. She went ahead and filed a written complaint. She wasnt surprised when in
a months time her performance was appraised. Or wonder, when she got a rating
beyond company standards. Ritu, who is now pursuing further studies from the
University of Delhi, says such instances are very common. I wouldnt say there
is a problem with the whole BPO industry, but definitely the issue is much more
serious than we actually make it out to be. The complaint redressal system or
committee has to become much more proactive, if at all it exists, she adds. I
would also say that its a pity that women hardly know what all sexual
harassment constitutes.

This might be one of the very few cases which actually got reported; most
dont. The recent case where a woman employee from HCL Comnet charged three
senior executives for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation is another
reported case, even though the three men have been given a clean chit.

Its not a very happy situation to see the casualness with which sexual
harassment has been treated in the IT industry. The Phaneesh Murthy case would
still be fresh in the minds of many. A former top executive of Infosys, he was
charged by his secretary in a sexual harassment complaint. Expelled from Infosys,
he was later appointed as CEO of iGATE.

Another recent case where a former KPMG employee filed a police complaint
against her senior executives, highlights the larger issue of having a sexual
harassment redressal process within a company. In a detailed complaint, the
KPMG director had alleged Vikram Uttamsingh, head of financial advisory services
and senior partner of KPMG India, for outraging her modesty. Among other
things, she had also filed a case against the firm for not having a sexual
harassment committee, as mandated by the Supreme Court in the 1997 Vishakha case
judgment. The problem could well be lack of awareness among female employees
about the need for a redressal process in sexual harassment cases or the
complete lack of knowledge about what all it constitutes or the social stigma
attached to it. Whatever be the reason, it is time IT companies took stock of
the safety of their women employees and put a sexual harassment policy and
redressal system in place.

What They Say

Abhilasha, working in ST Microelectronics, says, Though, generally, the work
environment of the company is employee-friendly, we do not have the concept of
such a board. Such a committee would definitely help if a problem does arise.
At present, most such cases are left to be handled by the administration
department, which anyway is an HR issue. Meeta, working for another call center
in Pune, says, We have about 125 employees in the company, and so far such
issues have not come up. If there is one, we would first report it to the
administration.

Charu Mehtas casea girl working in a call center in Gurgoanagain reflects
the need to have a committee to address cases where there is even slight
overtones of sexual misbehavior. Charu feels uncomfortable traveling alone
after her late shifts, and she is confused as to how she should handle the
situation. I often feel unsafe traveling alone in a cab, my stop being the
last. There are a couple of cab drivers who stare at me constantly through the
rear-view mirror after everybody is dropped off. It makes me very uncomfortable.
He would suddenly start driving painfully slow. It gets very harassing at 2 am.

In the more serious cases of molestation by cab drivers so far, committees
have been made only after complaints were lodged. However, with the women
employed in the industry expected to rise to a huge 45% in 2010 from the current
30%, the IT industry now seems to be waking up to the need of having a policy
and committee in place. Like a Firstsource spokesperson says, We try hard to
ensure a safe, secure, and congenial work environment where employees deliver
their best without any inhibition, threat, or fear. We have recently launched a
sexual harassment policy with the aim of achieving that.

Firstsources sexual harassment policy was reviewed in March this year. The
policy attempts to clearly define What sexual harassment is and How the
company will help in the event of such incidents. It also explains the complaint
mechanism that an employee can use when faced with harassment.

Deependra Chumble, chief people officer at Hexaware Technologies, says his
company will be launching an exhaustive policy in a weeks time or so. The
policy also mentions details of the five-member committee which is expected to
start functioning as soon as the policy is introduced. The policy will be an
extensive one, covering issues including what all constitutes sexual harassment,
and also the entire redressal process, adds Chumble.

The ICICI spokesperson says a problem they face is that most complains dont
even qualify under sexual harassment. So, clearly, there is this issue of lack
of awareness, she says.

Chumble points out that the company also conducted some awareness programs
even before they started working on the policy. That is one crucial area we
have looked into very carefully, says Chumble. He understands that the
awareness programs are crucial because even though the policy is there,
employees would not even be knowing about it.

The same is reflected in what Anwesha (name changed), an employee of HCL
Technologies, had to say when asked whether any sexual harassment policy exists
in the company: Even if there is one, we dont know about it.

Incidentally, HCL Technologies, too, has recently introduced a revised
Policy for Redressal of Sexual Harassment at Work, which came into effect
since April 2008. The policy has been launched with an objective of
establishing a complaint resolution policy and procedure to effectively combat
sexual harassment at work, and toward identifying and preventing sexual
harassment at work, and to resolving complaints against such conduct in a fair
and timely manner.

(Names of women employees have been changed)

Urvashi Kaul

urvashik@cybermedia.co.in