Slow progress to creating a safe workplace for women

Source– The post is based on the article “Slow progress to creating a safe workplace for women” published in The Hindu on 18th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS1- Social empowerment. GS2- Vulnerable sections of the population

Relevance: Issues related to women safety

News- Recently, there were allegations of sexual harassment against higher authorities by some women sportpersons.

What are the reasons behind sexual harassment of women at workplace?

Sexual harassment at the workplace, is both direct and structural. The enabling environment for reporting direct violence has shown a gradual improvement.

But, indirect violence remains poorly addressed. It is embedded deep in our social and economic structures. It is more visible in the employment imbalance prevalent between men and women.

More men at the workplace feel entitled to take undue advantage of the historical fact that the society is still patriarchal and women occupy a few of the higher positions.

The number of women in leadership positions is not enough to generate confidence in the female subordinates. Women in lower positions feel reluctant to air their grievances.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2020-21 shows that the participation of women in the total labour force was 25.1% in 2020-21. It is still much less when compared to men.

There is  absence of an enabling and safe working environment. Most women do not complain of sexual harassment. The current redress mechanism is either non-existent or ineffective.

Women are more vulnerable to exploitation by their employer due to the fear of job insecurity. Which makes them vulnerable to sexual favour by employers.

Whenever allegations of sexual harassment are levelled against superior authorities, the enquiry is not done properly. Instead, an accused either resorts to multiple litigation to stall the due process or attempts to bring disrepute to the victim.

What is the way forward to address the issues of sexual harassment of women at workplace?

It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe work environment.

The short-term goals may include providing the requisite women-friendly infrastructure, the

constitution of internal complaint committees, and the spreading of awareness about the law and procedure of grievance redress.

Medium-term goals may include the increase of female participation in the labour force,

improvement of tooth-to-tail ratio, and providing incentives to prevent drop-outs such as paid maternity leave.

In the long-run, it is essential to address the deep-rooted structural and cultural violence against women.

There is a need to develop the mindset of treating men and women as equals at an early stage of character formation during childhood. Parents should respect each other and treat their girl and boy child on a par in all respects.