Firstpost's #MeToo Conversations: How must sexual harassment at the workplace be dealt with?
FirstpostMany of these #MeToo stories Since 5 October 2018, a slew of #MeToo allegations have emerged on social media timelines in India, triggering the second wave of the movement. The session roped in panelists like advocate Sonal Mattoo, film editor Deepa Bhatia, Indira Rangarajan, the National Programming Head for Radio Mirchi, and Ramkumar Krishnaswamy, the founder of Leadership Centre, to discuss how companies deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. Mattoo reminded the audience present that the law to tackle sexual harassment at the workplace “is not a high IQ law, it is a high EQ law”. “The committee will put the evidence together.” The panelists also spoke about how sexual harassment is a major cause for women to drop out of jobs, rather than wage gap and other factors. “Senior management’s creation of a toxic culture is what breeds sexual harassment, not just policy loopholes.” “You cannot perpetuate boys’ clubs,” he said, adding that these are the benchmarks companies must set in order to make workplaces safe.