Employers ensure safety for women

[1]

Post the brutal gangrape of the 23-year-old girl that unsettled the city, safety for women is the highest priority. While the authorities are yet to put the required safety measures in place, many organisations in the city are ensuring that their women employees reach home safe and that they are capable of a combat in case they find themselves in a difficult situation. Therefore, from arranging for transport along with guards and conducting self-defence workshops to distributing pepper sprays and allowing them no night shifts, employers are doing every bit to create a safe environment for women.
Ragini Mehta, who works with an asset management firm in Gurgaon was recently handed a pepper spray by the women initiative wing in her office. “In the wake of concerns raised over women safety, people from the women network called all the female employees to the conference room and distributed pepper sprays followed by motivational speeches. Although we all are scared, the meeting revived our confidence,” she says.
The Imperial hotel in the city has joined hands with the Delhi Police to organise a workshop, two hours every day, to train women associates simple and radical measures to ensure their safety. Another Noida-based MNC is also organising karate classes, three times a week, to empower women. “Crimes against women are not restricted to rapes, sexual assaults or harassment. So a woman should be prepared for any kind of attack. That is why I am attending the karate classes at my office,” says Vidushi Khera, a management consultant.
The companies are also beefing up security in office cabs. Most of the employers are making sure that women employees have a male security guard dropping them in case they are travelling alone or have the last drop. They keep a tab on all the drivers and guards who accompany women, have their fingerprints and photographs in place, check for any alcohol consumption and have installed GPS tracking systems in taxis.
Amit Maheshwari of Snapdeal.com adds that they don’t encourage women working after 7 pm. If they stretch beyond 8 pm, they do everything possible to make their journey home safe.
“No manager can ask a woman to stretch at night in my office now. At a friend’s workplace the limit is 6 pm. It makes sense as prevention is better than cure,” says Abhijit Roy, a Gurgaon-based finance professional.
Praveen Sinha, co-founder Jabong.com, tells us that they have established a committee in their office to make certain that the girls report about any accident on time. “We are focusing on sensitising all of our employees about sexual harassment, difference between intent and interpretation, where should the line be drawn and how it’s crucial to report about an incident in time,” concludes Sinha.