In the wake of increasing incidents of violence and atrocities against women, following are the procedures developed to ensure safety of women in our society and in our work places.
The suggested guidelines for the safety for women at the workplace are broadly categorized under four heads:
1. Physical
2. Environmental
3. Organizational
4. Educational
Each of the above heads has procedural requirements and future recommendations.
PHYSICAL
This focuses on the physical security of women employees in an organization. It ascertains the safety of female employees, whilst they are on the job/ inside office premises - the workplace needs to be secure and women assured of basic safety on the job and in office.
Procedural Requirements
Identification documents (driving license, photo ID, address proof, Finger prints) to be collected from drivers, security guards and all casual staff
24x7 operational CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras at vital locations or places, such as entry/ exit, common passages, etc in the factories and industries. However, this should not impinge the modesty and privacy of the employees
Where CCTV is not possible, manned entries/ gates and security deployment at the site/ office/ location 24x7 or depending upon the kind of working hours
Future Recommendations
IInstallation of electronic doors allowing access to the work area only to authorized employees / staff
High security fencing to discourage human trespassing in factory/office premises or campuses
Security guard or a colleague to accompany the driver in the cab, if a woman staff working in a night shift is either the first to be picked up or last to be dropped
GPS based monitoring of cabs/transport vehicles with panic buttons
SMS Alerts / Information Systems to be designed/installed
A thorough risk assessment of the neighboring area is recommended to ascertain that stringent measures are in place to mitigate any security risk
Mobile Applications to be installed on employee phones for increased tracking and safety measures
ENVIRONMENTAL
The environmental aspect complements the physical aspect of security and helps maintain a safe and secure standard in any premises. This plays a vital role in ensuring the basic yet critical aspects of safety of employees
Procedural Requirements
Clearly displayed emergency contact numbers and a designated officer(s) available round the clock to be contacted in emergency
Well lit work areas, staircases and parking lots till the last woman employee leaves the site
Separate and secure toilets for women close to their work station
Strict surveillance of visitors. Details of all the visitors such as name, organization, address, purpose of visit, person visited, time in and time out to be recorded in a register. This should apply not only to the visitors coming for business purposes but also to courier staff, delivery boys etc
Provision of company transport for women working in night shifts both to and from the workplace
Hiring of cabs/ transport vehicles on a regular basis only from established agencies
Future Recommendations
Security staff and drivers to be employed only after police verification or to be recruited from reputed agencies that have such measures in place
Compliance and Audits / Random Checks / Patrolling to be done periodically including breath analysis of cab drivers
24x7 transport helpdesk for drivers & staff / family members with dedicated emergency cab on standby for exigencies
Emergency Response Systems to record and support any emergencies across group of employees
Tracking of Ad-Hoc and No-Show staff transport users to drive more discipline in transport usage
ORGANIZATIONAL
It is for the employer to create a positive atmosphere at the workplace where a woman is encouraged to come to work, secure in the knowledge that she will be treated with dignity, respect and will be protected from harassment.
Procedural Requirements
At the time of orientation, women in organizations to be made aware of their rights, facilities and actions that they can initiate regarding sexual harassment
To have a Code of Conduct agreement in place - to be affirmed annually by employees and vendors with clear defining behavioral norms especially for males with female employees
Internal compliance measurement on the awareness of the policy
Payment of salaries directly into bank accounts to avoid any kind of harassment by supervisory staff over subordinate women employees/casual women employees
Setting up of a sexual harassment committee reporting to the Managing Director or a senior member of the management and headed by a woman
Strict disciplinary action against those found violating the code of conduct to ensure that it is not repeated
The majority or at least two women to be on the committee, one from the staff and one from management
Every office to have a representative reporting to the committee
Every complaint verbal or written to be documented and investigated promptly by the committee and appropriate action must be taken irrespective of the person being a senior, supervisor, colleague, staff, customer or vendor
Women employees to be assured of speedy redressal, confidentiality of their complaints and protection from reprisal
Future Recommendations
Employee Feedback and Action on Company transport via Emails
EDUCATIONAL ASPECT
The awareness of women employees of their company policies on sexual harassment and gender discrimination and the more they are encouraged to report all instances of discrimination without fear, the greater would be their feeling of security and empowerment.
Procedural Requirements
Awareness and training on security and safety. Dos & Don'ts while traveling by company cabs, Emergency contacts, Police help lines, company contact points
Awareness of the company policy on sexual harassment, on gender discrimination or gender biased approach and the complaint process
Regular reminders of the ethical values of the company, through emails, posters, sessions, etc
Provide training to all women employees and educate them about their rights and facilities
Training / Informing male employees through training sessions on what is expected out of them.
Training of all women staff on staying alert and being better prepared
Training of supervisors and other staff on how to respond to complaints of sexual harassment/gender discrimination
Future Recommendations
Self-defense classes to be organized at the workplace or sponsored by the organization
Posters advocating gender sensitivity to be displayed prominently
All organizations to have a system in place to monitor their activities on gender sensitization and security and safety issues
On-line basic security awareness training where women employees are guided on how to act when faced with sexual harassment
Drivers Training on Safety and etiquettes done twice a year with a special focus on mindset /behavioral change
