Sexual Harassment Affecting Organizational Behavior

Binu Joseph (06)

Divya Boddu (07)

Aikta Dube (08)

Meghraj Gawande (09)

Saurabh Goswami (10)

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LEGAL DEFINITION As defined in the Supreme Court

guidelines, sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behavior as:

• Physical contact• A demand or request for sexual favors• Sexually colored remarks• Showing pornography• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or

non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature, for example, leering, telling dirty jokes, making sexual remarks about a person’s body, etc

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HISTORY• Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (SHW) has remained one of

the central concerns of the women’s movement in India since the early-’80s

• Lukewarm response for women activist by public and media Some noteworthy complaints of SHW that came into the national

limelight were filed by:

Rupan Deo Bajaj, an IAS officer in Chandigarh, against ‘super cop’ K P S Gill.

An activist from the All India Democratic Women’s Association, against the environment minister in Dehra Dun.

An airhostess against her colleague Mahesh Kumar Lala, in Mumbai.

An IAS officer in Thiruvananthapuram, against the state minister.

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HISTORY• During the 1990s, the most controversial and brutal gang rape at

the workplace involved a Rajasthan state government employee who tried to prevent child marriage as part of her duties as a worker of the Women Development Programme.

• Rajasthan High court let the culprits free

• Women’s rights group called Vishakha that filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India.

• In 1997, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment in the Vishakha case laying guidelines.

• A bill known as the Sexual Harassment Of Women at the Workplace (Prevention And Redressal) Bill, 2004 is still pending.

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HISTORY

The Vishakha guidelines categorically state that:

It is the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in the workplace or institution to:

• Prevent sexual harassment• Provide mechanisms for the resolution of complaints

All women who draw a regular salary, receive an honorarium, or work in a voluntary capacity in the government, private sector or unorganized sector come under the purview of these guidelines.

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What is Sexual Harassment? Sexual Harassment takes place if a person:

• Subjects another person to an unwelcome act of physical intimacy, like grabbing, brushing, touching, pinching etc.

• Makes an unwelcome demand or request (whether directly or by implication) for sexual favours from another person, and further makes it a condition for employment/payment of wages/increment/promotion etc.

• Makes an unwelcome remark with sexual connotations, like sexually explicit compliments/cracking loud jokes with sexual connotations/ making sexist remarks etc.

• Shows a person any sexually explicit visual material, in the form of pictures/cartoons/pin-ups/calendars/screen savers on computers/any offensive written material/pornographic e-mails, etc.

• Engages in any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which could be verbal, or even non-verbal, like staring to make the other person uncomfortable, making offensive gestures, kissing sounds, etc.

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Two Types of Harassment

• Quid pro quo

• Hostile-Environment

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Quid pro quo

• “This for that”

• A person in power (manager or supervisor) makes employment decisions based on if the employee grants or denies sexual favors.

• Job• Promotion• Raise• Assignments

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• Examples of Quid pro quo:– Demanding dates– Disciplining or firing a subordinate who ends

a romantic relationship– Changing performance expectations after a

subordinate refuses dates

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Hostile Environment Hostile work environment

• Occurs when organizational members are faced with an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment because of their sex

• Interferes with their ability to perform their jobs effectively

Examples are:• Certain sexist remarks• Display of pornography or

sexist/obscene graffiti, • Physical contact/brushing against

female employees

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EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY

An employer should know :

It is his legal responsibility to provide safe working environment for women free from sexual harassment and discrimination

Sexual harassment can have a devastating effect upon the health, confidence, morale and performance of those affected by it.

The reasons why women remain silent about sexual harassment. An absence of complaints about sexual harassment does not necessarily mean an absence of sexual harassment.

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EFFECT ON ORGANISATION The tangible and intangible expenses and

losses organizations experience:– Costly investigation and litigation – Negative exposure and publicity – Embarrassing depositions – Higher employee turn over – Erosion of organization's brand names, goodwill,

and public image

– Negative impact on stock price

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EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOUR…….

–Increased absenteeism –Lowered employee morale –Reduced productivity –Decreased efficiency

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PREVETION & RESOLUTION

Adopting Sexual Harassment Policy

• A clear statement of the employer’s commitment to a workplace free of unlawful discrimination and harassment.

• Clear definition of sexual harassment (using examples), and prohibition of such behavior as an offence.

• Constitution of a complaints committee to investigate, mediate, counsel and resolve cases of sexual harassment. The Supreme Court guidelines envisage a proactive role for the complaints committee, and prevention of sexual harassment at work is a crucial role. It is thus imperative that the committee consist of persons who are sensitive and open to the issues faced by women.

• A statement that anyone found guilty of harassment after investigation will be subject to disciplinary action.

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CONTINUE……

Communicate Policy and Enforce Policy Complaint Channels need to provide

different routes that employees can take to file complaints; i.e., contacting the responsible authority for sexual harassment, a supervisor, calling a hotline, complaining through email, etc

Sexual Harassment Awareness Training

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PREVETION & RESOLUTION

Conducting time-to-time surveys is helpful to identify and prevent factors/situation leading to incidence of sexual harassment.

Commitment is shown through enforcement and action by the responsible authorities.

Organizations must place just as much emphasis on reporting responsibilities and mechanisms as on the policy itself.

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The Manager’s & Supervisor’s Liability• Managers and Supervisors are agents of

the company

• Held liable for sexual harassment– Their own acts– Failing to respond to harassment occurring in

their department

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Do’s & Don’ts

• Treat men & women equally.• Minimize cursing and avoid sexual

language• Avoid jokes about men versus women.• Avoid stereotypes• Refrain from touching employees• Don’t make references to appearances• Don’t date employees under your

supervision• Don’t post or allow others to post

suggestive materials.

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Colleague’s Liability

It is important that one : • be professional at all times. • set a positive example. • consider your attitudes. • avoid making assumptions. • think before making personal comments. • don't go along with the crowd. • be supportive of people who wish to talk about being

sexually harassed and • direct them to the appropriate persons / authorities.

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What can women do? As women, one can make it easier for oneself:

• One must shed one’s mentality of tolerance. One have to stop telling oneself that this kind of behavior on the part of men is inevitable and unavoidable.

• Express strong resistance the first time it occurs. If you allow the action to take place without expressing your strongest disapproval, the offender will assume that he has your consent.

• Don't encourage males to behave unbecomingly with you or try to attract their undue attention. At all times, maintain your own self-respect.

• Dress in a manner that befits a work environment.

• In case someone behaves with you in a manner that makes you feel uncomfortable, protest loudly and at once. Let others know that such conduct has been meted out to you.

• Keep safe distance from the offending party.

• Register a First Information Report with the police station.

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CONCLUSION

• Sexual Harassment has proved costly to many organizations in terms of monetary losses.

• Court settlements fail to capture the human and economic consequences of these activities in terms of lowered morale, lost time from work, and lower productivity.

• Employers need to be proactive to protect their employers and their resources. They need to develop an effective policy, distribute it, educate workers about their rights and how to obtain them, have a thorough investigative process in place, and keep current on changes in laws and court decisions.

Thank You !!!