India Inc reports 14% rise in sexual harassment complaints in FY19

MUMBAI: Indian companies reported more cases of sexual harassment in FY19 compared to a year earlier. Data from BSE 100 companies, which are required to furnish this information, showed a 14% increase in reports of sexual harassment complaints in FY19, based on an analysis of their annual reports by ComplyKaro Services. Experts said that while an increase in reportage could point to greater awareness about legislation on sexual harassment at workplace and efforts by companies to make workplace safer for women, the onus is now on companies to make sure that prompt action is taken.

“Women are more prompt these days to report any case of sexual misconduct and it is the responsibility of organisations to take speedy action,” said Suresh Tripathi, vice president, human resource management, Tata Steel. “Prompt action by organisations will act as a deterrent for others, and it will encourage women to come out and report,” he said, adding, “Increased reporting is good to start with as it means there is more awareness. It (such cases) will plateau and start coming down eventually,” he said.

Going by ComplyKaro data based on BSE 100 companies, there were a total of 823 cases of sexual harassment reported in FY19 against 722 a year ago.

IT major Wipro reported the highest increase in number of complaints in absolute numbers

(41) from 101 in FY18 to 142 in FY19. ICICI Bank and Infosys showed maximum reduction in absolute numbers with the private lender reporting 40 cases lesser in FY19 and the IT major reporting 8 cases lesser during the fiscal.

“We have always had a strong anti-sexual harassment policy and a governance model to report and curb sexual harassment in any form. We continue to reinforce this through active participation from all our stakeholders, mainly our employees,” said Richard Lobo, head of HR at Infosys.

Vishal Kedia, director, ComplyKaro, which specialises in prevention of sexual harassment (PoSH) compliance, attributed the increase in number of complaints to “greater awareness of PoSH law in light of the MeToo movement and the corresponding reputational risk involved for corporates in case efficacious internal redressal mechanism is not provided.”

“With increased focus on PoSH in recent times ensuring absolute compliance, heightened awareness and greater employee empowerment, this is bound to happen,” said Saundarya Rajesh, president of Avtar Career Creators and FLEXI Careers India. “One of our surveys of 100 best companies saw a 30% increase in the number of reported instances of sexual harassment between 2018 and 2019,” she added.

However, it is also important to note that this increase in reported cases is alongside growth in women’s representation in these companies, which was at 25% in 2016 and is at 33% now.

The number of pending complaints increased to 14% of all reported cases in FY19 from 11% a year ago, indicating that there is still more to be done for prompt justice.

“The increase in pendency of complaints to be resolved at the end of the year is concerning since the reputational risk for both parties involved can only be mitigated through prompt redressal and a well-trained internal committee,” said Kedia, who is also a trainer at companies on PoSH legislation.