Author: Asiya Shervani
A professional with a multidisciplinary and practical approach towards organizational ethics, leadership, diversity, social inclusion, employee accountability and engagement. Asiya Shervani is not only a facilitator but also a researcher, instructional designer as well as an executive coach. She uses art, cinema and drama to create learning experiences which produce real and long-lasting results. She is on various PoSH committees as an external investigator and advisor. She enables conciliation and restorative justice and helps create practices and policies which build nurturing and equitable work spaces.
The constitution of India pledges to secure the right to live (and work) with dignity. It is the duty of every employer to ensure safety, health and parity for all workers.
Additionally, the Right to Privacy has been linked to autonomy and self-growth, which implies that every worker, whether directly or indirectly employed, including volunteers, apprentices and support or outsourced staff have the right to a dignified workplace where they can be who they are and let their guards down.
We need to create work cultures which are free from discrimination on the basis of caste, gender, sexuality or any other dimension.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013 protects women from non only sexual but also gender-based harassment.
Organizations need to create credible and functioning committees which spearhead work on prevention as well as remediation.
If you wish to educate yourself on the role and responsibilities of these committees as well as how their investigation is different from other investigations, please listen to this 75 minute talk organized by Amity University.
I have been commissioned to write a report on gender and caste-based discrimination and indignities at Indian workplaces or workplaces in other countries where there is a substantial Indian/ Indian-origin workforce.
Please feel free to share your experiences on gender or caste-based discrimination or indignities, microaggressions, bias, prejudice, oppression or hostility at the workplace in the comments below. Alternatively you can connect with me at Asiya Shervani | The Trainer Network (TNW)