Committees to check sexual harassment may expand ambit

The committees on checking sexual harassment of women at work places may expand their ambit to ensure that none of the government employees face any kind of exploitation.
The Centre had recently conducted a review meeting with representatives of chairpersons of the committees working in all central government ministries to check sexual harassment of women.
During the meeting chaired by Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Sanjay Kothari mentioned that the government is committed to asserting its role as an ideal employer and providing a safer and conducive workplace to the women employees was part of the resolve.
"He summed up by stating that the committees need to expand their role, so that we could reach the ideal situation where there is no instance of harassment of women employees," according to the minutes of the meeting.

Secretary Personnel mentioned that the available data indicates that efforts need to be intensified so that the various welfare measures introduced from time to time actually reach women employees. He mentioned that the women employees were not represented in adequate numbers in various training programmes.
Kothari said that while results of most examinations at various academic levels show exceptional achievement of girl students, the percentage of representation of women in work force remains dismally low.

He stressed the need for making the working environment more conducive to the women as their percentage of representation, though low at this stage, is likely to rise in the coming years.

Kothari suggested that the committees could play an active role in making the working environment more conducive by looking into some general issues such as grant of child care leave, increasing the representation in training for women, looking at the status of availability of basic facilities such as toilets, creche, women staff room, etc.
He said that it is time that the chairpersons of the committees realised that the complaint committees headed by them are fairly empowered and much can be done by them.
On the issue of creches, some participants requested Secretary Personnel to direct DoPT officials to play an active role in setting up of creches in more buildings.

Kothari said proactive role has to be played by concerned departments. He asked them to explore the possibility of earmarking spaces in their buildings, so that creches could come up at more places.
The meeting was held on April 16 here. The committees have been set up in the wake of the historic Vishakha judgment of the Supreme Court in 1997 in a matter relating to sexual harassment of women at the workplace.