By Namrata Singh ET Sep 7 2017
Mumbai: There has been an increase of around 12% in the number of sexual harassment complaints reported by the BSE's top 100 listed companies in 2016-17.
While some companies reported fewer cases, others like Wipro, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services reported more than 50 cases during the year.
Experts believe there is no reason to be alarmed by higher numbers as this only indicates better transparency and and robustness of a company's internal mechanism to handle such cases. Earlier, such cases were either swept under the carpet or dealt with in an opaque manner. They were never reported publicly. More companies reporting such numbers indicates growing awareness and compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Wipro reported 116 cases during the year (111 in the previous year), of which, 102 were disposed of with appropriate actions taken within the statutory timelines. At ICICI Bank, all the 95 cases that were reported in 2016-17 were disposed of during the year. Similarly, at Infosys, out of 88 cases, 72 cases were disposed of by disciplinary action, while five by conciliation.
Vishal Kedia, founder & director, Complykaro Services, which collated the numbers for TOI, said, "It is difficult to judge a company's value by such statistics in isolation. Companies that have a larger number of complaints should not be viewed negatively as they have created a robust system for redressal."
At the same time, Kedia said not having any complaint necessarily does not mean that everything is in order. It could mean employees are hesitant to complain or there is no adequate awareness about the internal redressal mechanism or employees are not sensitised about what constitutes sexual harassment.
T K Srirang, HR head, ICICI Bank, said, "Today, greater awareness is encouraging corporations to report all such cases. Sometimes the numbers may appear to be relatively high compared to industry peers, but that only means that the corporation has instituted a strong culture where people are free to report all cases, no matter how minor they may appear to be."
Srirang said although the bank would like the numbers to come down, this should not be at the cost of colleagues under-reporting such incidences. "When new hires walk into ICICI Bank, we train them on what is acceptable and what is not. Our employees have the confidence that any issue that they bring to our attention will be dealt with utmost diligence and confidentiality. We constantly emphasise zero tolerance towards unacceptable behaviour, including inappropriate language, and the overall enabling work environment that we have encourages every employee to discuss their discomfort fearlessly," said Srirang.
Richard Lobo, executive VP and HR head, Infosys, said an increase in the number of reported cases on sexual harassment is an indication that its employees trust the company's process to do the right thing and address their concerns. "At Infosys, we have always had a strong anti-sexual harassment policy and a governance model to report and curb sexual harassment of any form. The company communicates its 'Zero Tolerance' philosophy on sexual harassment through various programmes such as classroom sessions, e-learning modules that are available to employees for reference and poster campaigns and mailers stressing the importance of professional behaviour at the workplace," said Lobo.
Wipro too has a policy and framework for employees to report sexual harassment cases at the workplace and the process ensures complete anonymity and confidentiality of information. Out of a total 116 complaints of sexual harassment that were raised in the calendar year 2016, 102 cases were disposed of and appropriate actions were taken in all within the statutory timelines. In its annual report, Wipro has mentioned that this includes all cases reported to the system, even if unsubstantiated. In some cases, clear action has been taken (warning or separation) and the rest have either not progressed due to lack of information or resolved through counselling.
According to the guideline issued by the Supreme Court in 1999, Infosys was one of the front runners to institutionalise the internal committee to look into matters of sexual harassment at the workplace. Similarly, to protect women employees against discrimination or any form of harassment, ICICI Bank had put in a policy on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace much before the Act was brought into force. "ICICI Bank, as an organisation committed to workplace and personal safety, has over the years provided an enabling and safe working environment to its employees, especially women employees who make up for a significant percentage of its workforce," said Srirang.
However, pendency in unresolved cases has doubled to 62 in fiscal year 2016-17. Kedia said the increase in pendency of complaints at the time of reporting could be due to unskilled ICC (internal complaints committee) members. Pendency could also be due to increase in complexity of complaints, or that the complaints were received nearer to the reporting date in annual report, leaving little time to resolve them.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)
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