The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with Full Circle organized a workshop on “Sensitization on the issues and implications of workplace Sexual Harassment” on 19th November 2014 at ITC room of the Bengal Chamber. The objective was to interact with CEOs,HR Heads and Internal Complaint Committee members of different companies to make them aware of the Act and Policies of The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Ms. Sunita Thawani (Founder CEO of Full Circle) was a guest speaker. Some of the participants included Mr. Gulu Balani (VP-HR & Corporate Services of Embee Software Pvt. Ltd.), Ms. Sreela Das Gupta (Head Diversity and Inclusion at BPS of Tata Consultancy Services), Ms. Swati Sharma (Dy. Manager, HR of Birla Corporation Ltd.), Smt. Y Lama (CM & Chairperson ICC of National Insurance Company Ltd.), Mr. Rajib Roy (AVP Administration of EREVMAX), Mr. Narendranath Chattopadhyay (Managing Director of Sicorp India), and many more.
This hands-on session included question and answers segment addressing the following points:-
>> Difference between Harassment in general and Sexual Harassment.
>> Knowing stereotypes associated with men & women and how they affect the conscious and subconscious behaviour at workplaces.
>> Different forms of sexual harassment as per the Act.
>> Awareness of other important legal definitions of the new law.
>> Rights of Complainant and Accused.
>> Checklists of Do’s and Don’ts for men, women, observers and employees.
>> Awareness on false or malicious charges.
>> Employers’ mandatory obligations under the Act and penalties for non-compliance. Effects of Sexual Harassment on the individuals, institutions and society.
The participants were greatly benefited as they came to know each other’s expectations & anxieties, they understood perceptions and causes of misunderstandings, they became aware of benefits of inculcating respect for self and respect for others, they came to know about the compliances and consequences for non compliance. The participants expressed their willingness to participate in this type of workshop in the future.