Women In Corporate India

“An educated woman is an educated family” is a principle that Jotirao Phule, a pioneer of women’s education in India strongly believed in. While the importance of educating women in India has been there since long, there has still been less acceptance of them in the board rooms of corporates. As a country, we are now moving towards a society that encourages equal opportunities at the workplace. But even as more women enter the workplace, it is equally important that we protect and take care of them to ensure that their tribe grows.

Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Indira Nooyi, Kumud Srinivasan, Neelam Dhawan are a few woman who have reached the pinnacle of corporate success. All of them have had their own share of struggles on their way to reaching the peak. We must learn from their stories and motivate our woman workforce to come forward and help others as well.  But despite their successes, I would like to bring to light one of the factors that hampers women from pursuing their corporate career in India to their full potential. And that is harassment, which can be  sexual, verbal , physical or non verbal.

Most times we are not aware of it or we tend to ignore it. Harassment may not only happen to a lady but also to a man. It may happen during official work at a client site. It may be while working overtime at your workplace to complete a deliverable. It may be from your own team member, your subordinate, your supervisor or even some prospective client in a meeting room. It has taken India many cases to pave the way for the eventual establishment of  The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”).  

The Act not only protects but also prevents and redresses cases of sexual harassment faced by the woman workforce of India. It clearly states the need to provide a safe, secure and enabling work environment free from sexual harassment to every woman. It has been made as a statutory norm to be followed by all companies in India. The government has constituted Inter Ministerial Committee to help draft and develop a training module for the training of Internal Committee members. She box is another way to file a complaint online. 

Many state governments are also setting up Bharosa units across the state. This is an integrated  one-stop support center to provide police, medical, counselling, legal and prosecution services for women and children who are victims of violence and sexual abuse. The  government has indeed taken measures to protect us. It is now our responsibility to be aware and act as responsible citizens of India. We must remember that reaching the stars should not be only a dream but a reality for all.