Tracing the existence of POSH

Women have always found themselves in a tight spot in all realms of life, being referred to as the “Fairer Sex”, fighting the prejudices, the glass ceiling, and basically for their rights, a chance to prove their mettle, and show they are if not superior, then at least to be treated equally with due respect.

Women are equally capable to be the breadwinners of a family and as a matter of fact, it becomes pertinent as a country of equal opportunities to provide them with a safe and conducive environment to focus on the job at hand and give it their all. However, in a country with a population of one billion and counting, there ought to be sour grapes and people feel entitled to misuse their position and power.

How then do we face these masochistic and cynical people, who try to go against the very notion of violating a “Safe Workplace”?

We indeed took a long time but better late than never, the Women of India deserved to be given equal rights and opportunities to shine forth, to ensure their safety and safeguard their interests at workplaces, and it was long due.

April 22 nd, 2013- Historical Day Indeed

Harassment of women at the workplace is not something new or unheard of. Despite ratifying in 1992 for CEDAW (United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), no concrete measures were adopted to safeguard women's interests at the workplace.

In 2013, after public pressure and activism, and the inability to provide justice to victims of harassment in the informal sector under the “Vishakha Guidelines,” the Ministry of Women and Child took a very important step towards this direction by providing a legal framework against sexual harassment at workplace by enforcing the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act which encompasses both formal and informal sectors, and came into force on 9th December 2013.

The question still remains are we really safe? Why do instances like #MeToo have to take place for us to collectively make reforms and abjectly analyze the situation of our workplaces?

There is a lot of disbelief and myths that hover around this topic. The lack of awareness about their own rights and the societal taboo often encourages these instances to go unnoticed. It remains the responsibility of an Employer to educate and make both men and women aware of the acceptable code of conduct and the Do's and Don't's at the workplace.

Would now like to bring your attention to certain facts and distinguish them from the myths that concern the POSH.

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“REAL”:

As an employer or business owner, if you employ 10 or more employees, it becomes MANDATORY to comply with the Act. Now if there are multiple locations, it applies to all locations.

Continue reading Understanding Facts And Myths around POSH Law in India