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

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