QUAID-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.”
Employees may find it extremely difficult to question their employer due to power dynamics and in certain nations, this may be made even more difficult if the subject is socially taboo, like sex. Women are subjected to discrimination from an early age, particularly in societies where male children are preferred. Due in large part to its increasing detrimental effects, workplace harassment is becoming a significant concern in all spheres of business.
Sexually explicit jokes and remarks are frequently more subtle at the executive level; however, harassment can take many other forms. As though the target is aware of the joke, some remarks are made in a secretive manner. Other times, female executives experience subtle forms of discrimination, such as someone interfering with their work, making fun of them in front of clients or other stakeholders, or just casually making gendered remarks.
In a case involving workplace harassment, Justice (R) Shahnawaz Tariq, the Provincial Ombudsman (Sindh) for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, found K-Electric CEO, Moonis Alvi, guilty of harassment, ordered his dismissal and fined Alvi Rs2.5 million. Within a month, the fine must be paid. According to the ruling, the CEO subjected the complaint to mental torment in addition to harassment. The order states that Alvi’s movable and immovable assets would be seized if the fine is not paid within the given timeframe. To guarantee compliance, his passport and national identity card could also be blocked.
In an attempt to re-establish the established order and demonstrate control, some males may even turn to harassment. Growing older or gaining more experience doesn’t make handling harassment any simpler. It just becomes more difficult. Some of the attempts by the executive playing a prominent position at KE include body shame, unprofessional expectations and attitude, late-night dinner/coffee invites, indecent stares and comments that were disguised as humor, sending vulgar content, verbal abuse, etc.
Hearing about cases of sexual assault and harassment is depressing. On August 5, the Sindh High Court (SHC) suspended the provincial ombudsman’s order to fire Moonis Alvi, the CEO of K-Electric, on the grounds that the legal system did not adequately protect women from sexual assault, harassment and misconduct at work. Consequently, it is endangering workers. Nearly 235 million working women lack this crucial protection as sexual harassment at work is illegal in more than one-third of the world’s nations. Many women worldwide suffer terrible bodily and psychological harm as a result of sexually harassing behavior in the job.
When women are harassed at work by their managers, coworkers or other individuals, it hinders their ability to integrate into the workforce, perpetuates the idea that women are inferior to men in society, violates their dignity and poses a health and safety risk. The most recent additions to the field of international labour law are the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and Recommendation (No. 206), 2019, which were adopted on June 21, 2019. Their adoption has made it apparent that everyone has the right to work in an environment free from harassment and violence and that the States have a duty to uphold, advance and fulfill this right.
Convention No. 190 refers to violence and harassment as a single composite concept covering “a range of unacceptable behaviours, practices or threats thereof”, rather than providing a closed or uniform definition of what constitutes violence and/or harassment in the world of work and Recommendation No. 206 are anchored in the Declaration of Philadelphia (1944), which states that “all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity”. Since the ILO’s founding, upholding the dignity of every human being has been central to its mission. In order to safeguard workers in general or specific worker groups from circumstances including violence and harassment, the ILO has adopted a variety of standards during the course of its existence.
Because their contemporaries, who are mostly men, don’t share their experiences, women in management and leadership positions sometimes feel alone and unsupported by society. They may be more susceptible to harassment as a result of their seclusion, particularly if they fear being perceived as “weak” or incapable of managing their staff. They could fear that disclosing the harassment would ruin their job. If more men and women band together, harassment can be prevented, but we must make sure that employers safeguard those who speak out. Legal advice, however, can assist protect one’s reputation and make it simpler to fight back.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
