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Rasheeda Bhagat

"In order to ensure a safe and congenial workplace, your company has formulated and implemented a policy against sexual harassment."

— An extract from the 2001-2002 Annual report of Infosys Technologies.

WHEN this was drafted, the script writers would have hardly imagined that four months down the line, one of the better known faces of Infosys — its sales and marketing chief and director on the board of management, Mr Phaneesh Murthy — would have to quit under a cloud. And the former employee, who sued him in the US, did not have much faith in the company's anti-sexual harassment policy either.

Mr Phaneesh Murthy resigned on July 23, with the company announcing that a sexual harassment case had been filed against him and Infosys by a former employee, who was laid off a year ago.

This has created shock waves in the Indian corporate world, where sexual harassment issues are discussed only behind closed doors.

Till now only sketchy details of the case are available and the company's top brass is tight-lipped, and understandably too, about the details.

We do not know who the aggrieved employee was, what are the details of harassment alleged, and what kind of compensation she is demanding.

Mr Phaneesh Murthy himself, whose response was available to hardly a couple of journalists before he switched off his mobile phone, said that he was "completely disturbed and shocked" by the charge. A Reuters report quoted him saying,

"I believe the charges are unfounded. Obviously, I am mentally disturbed and distracted that false charges can be brought against me." Speaking to STAR News and denying the charge, he had said that he was resigning because he would need to concentrate on preparing his defence.

A rediff.com story quoted Mr P. R. Ganapathy, in-charge of investor relations and head of administration at the Fremont office of Infosys, from

where Mr Phaneesh Murthy operated, saying that Infosys was served a notice on unlawful termination and sexual harassment about a month ago, and refused to reveal the name of the plaintiff on grounds of privacy.

He added that the "company has a well-documented policy against sexual harassment and a grievance council headed by a well-known lawyer", and this was the first such case against it and that it came as a total surprise.

That this charge against a senior and successful executive of a company such as Infosys, widely acclaimed for its transparent management and ethical corporate governance, should send shock waves in corporate India is understandable.

Way back in 1997 the Supreme Court had, in the case of Vishakha versus the State of Rajasthan, clearly delineated the concept of sexual harassment at the workplace and set down guidelines for government departments, business houses and other organisations to follow.

The apex court could not have been clearer on what constitutes sexual harassment: "It includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as physical contacts and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, and any other unwelcome physical, verbal, or non verbal conduct of sexual nature".

The court had also held that in the absence of domestic law occupying the field, any international convention not inconsistent with the fundamental rights spelt out in the Constitution could be read into these provisions to enlarge the meaning and content of this definition.

But despite the court's insistence that these guidelines be notified, and companies like Infosys putting such a policy in place, actual complaints of sexual harassment are few and far between, and not a true reflection of what goes on at the workplace.

When a lot of people, and this includes women too, dismiss the problems faced by many female employees on this score as "exaggerated", and accuse the victim of unwelcome attention as "a prude", they do not realise that when a female colleague feels uncomfortable at the workplace, she is certainly not going to give the best to the job on hand.

Of course, there are any number of other reasons why employees do not measure up to the tasks or responsibilities given, but these cut across the gender divide.

Despite the progress made on the industrial and economic fronts, on many counts our society continues to be traditional.

Given the phenomenal cultural changes happening in the metros and some urban pockets, a large corporate house or government undertaking attracts employees from various strata of society.

For instance, when you employ two women MBAs in a large organisation in Chennai, the socio-cultural background and value systems of each might be very different. One might feel comfortable holding a glass of beer or wine at a party and enjoy an `adult' joke, or go out with colleagues after office hours, without in any way, compromising her basic value system.

The other might come from an orthodox background, be a teetotaller and feel very uncomfortable when such jokes are cracked.

But both might be equally competent, hard-working and efficient.

No prizes for guessing that the first woman is more likely to be "accepted" by her male colleagues in a metro. So, should the other feel unwanted or left out of the circle?

If she is, indeed, made to feel thus, her performance in the team is bound to suffer over time.

She might not even think she is facing harassment at work, leave alone pressing a charge of discrimination because of her gender.

So, sexual harassment of women at the workplace is not so much a legal, as a psychological and social issue.

Even the best legislations will have no effect unless the perception people have of women undergoes a major change.

So, the challenge at the workplace is to make both kinds — in fact, there will be more than two — women feel comfortable and part of the team. And lest men think there are problems only with women and their perceptions of what might constitute sexual harassment, let it be clear that personality and cultural and social differences between men are equally huge.

A very conservative male executive reporting to work with his vibhuti clearly visible on his forehead might attract a sneer or two from his so-called modern colleagues. So will another man who does not enjoy lewd jokes.

But these men are more likely to be dismissed with a sneer and nothing beyond that.

A woman who does not do the "in-thing", however, will be made to feel so miserable that she will carry this tension from her office to her home and then into her family relationships.

Though over the years women have become much more visible in the work place, there are many departments or organisations where there is underlying, unstated tension, even discomfort, when it comes to the gender equation.

Either it is the men who are uncomfortable working with women, or vice-versa. So, the challenge then is to evolve a kind of work culture that removes the gender or the sexual tension. It should be possible to evolve a congenial atmosphere where the male and female employees can work together in a friendly and informal atmosphere, without making the more orthodox or traditional people, male and female, uncomfortable.

This is the challenge to be met effectively by the team leader.

If this is not done, we will continue to force talented and trained women to opt out of careers, as was found by a recent survey done by IIM Ahmedabad, which found that an alarming percentage of women MBAs in India do not pursue a career. And this would be true of women from other streams of higher education too.

Sexual discrimination, as spelt out in the American Civil Rights Act of 1964, defines it as direct sexual advances or propositions, including higher-ranked employees asking for sexual favours; intimidating or excluding women employees to jeopardise their employment status; creating a hostile workplace for women by using sexist jokes, remarks, or pinning up sexually explicit or pornographic photos.

Sexual harassment is rude, demeaning behaviour, and is usually about the abuse of power.

According to the American National Council for Research on Women, women are nine times more likely than men to quit their jobs, five times more likely to transfer, and three times more likely to lose jobs because of harassment, resulting in serious economic consequences for their families.

Of course, though not directly connected, a related gender issue being widely discussed in the western world is how some young women who lost their jobs ended up on the pages of Playboy magazine.

The Guardian quoted the cover model, 28-year-old Nielsen: "The truth is I did it for the fun, not the money... When you lose your job it takes something out of you, and doing Playboy has given me my confidence back."

And an estimated six-figure boost to her bank balance, added the article.

Columnist, Lisa Granatstein was more caustic. "It is the American way, isn't it now? Women go from a scandal to the pages of Playboy. Who is next? The women of WorldCom?"

(Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)

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