#WeTwo: “These are opportunities to uphold positive culture, compassion and moral intelligence”

New Delhi: #WeTwo invites readers to share instances of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviours at work, especially in the domains of advertising, media and marketing. We will invite experts to analyse the submissions and offer their take on how survivors can be supported, perpetrators can be educated/ deterred, and organisations can become more equal as workplaces. 

Read the first part of the series here: #WeTwo: 'He was way senior. I was silenced. He is still there.' 

In this edition, we asked Dr. Sujaya Banerjee, CEO, Capstone People Consulting, to weigh in on one such instance at a large ad agency. 

The submission: “He would slide his hand down my back, hug me close at every opportunity and let his hands linger all over me. I was uncomfortable and gave him clear hints, but he just carried on. He was way senior and would insist on taking me alone to client meetings, in his car or a cab. When I complained to HR, some seniors (women) counselled me informally, and got me a higher paying client servicing job at another agency, in another city. I was asked to resign and had to sign off that everything was well during my stint as part of the exit process. I have been silenced. He’s still there.”

Dr. Banerjee explains:   

What you are referring to in this instance is inappropriate sexual behaviours at work which need guardrails, boundaries by educating all, including senior leaders on:  

• The hostile environment this can create between colleagues, boss/ subordinates 

• How the power in the equation can create a tacit condition for employment 

• How you can lose talent – many times both parties when the situation precipitates 

• How this impacts the morale and safety of others who witness this 

• How this definitely impacts the culture adversely and can disenchant professional talent 

What can we do about this? 

The organisation must not hesitate to sensitise senior leaders – talk about inappropriate sexual behaviours rather than about harassment. 

There must be strict ground rules around proactively drawing the line on friendly behaviours across genders/ people. And to not persist if there is discomfort, even if our intentions are to be just friendly. 

Any complaint needs to be carried through the principles of natural justice. The (POSH) Act requires for an IC to be involved etc. but teaching colleagues to discuss and sort these situations and retaining friendships and respect can work. HR or a common leader can be a mentor to talk to both parties and de-escalate with the permission of both! 

Often these situations can arise out of mutual relationships going awry… and as revenge action – these must be addressed with maturity. 

The casualty is often one or both parties leaving out of embarrassment, or because of the unpleasantness of the situation. It needn’t be so when things are handled with compassion. 

What could the organisation have done in this instance?

They could definitely have taken the complaint onboard and spoken to the leader in confidence. These are always ‘He said-She said’ situations, but giving both sides a hearing is important.  

Offering the complainant a safe space whether by allowing her leave or opportunities in other parts of the business is the gracious thing to do. 

Depending on the gravity of the matter, the complainee may be asked to apologise (if acceptable) or given time to move out if that seems to be best for all. All this depends on the data collected and validated. 

Certainly, the complainant being asked to move out and retaining the complainee is not common, unless they found the complainant lying or exaggerating or when the relationship is mutual but has gone awry, and it appears like a manipulated situation…

Much as we like to, in collective societies, it’s not common to keep these matters confidential. It can be terribly disconcerting to know that if there is a complaint against a senior male leader, his power and influence will not get you a fair hearing and justice, as the organisation will protect whoever is more valuable to the business. These are opportunities to uphold positive culture, compassion and moral intelligence for any organisation.

That it continues to not be handled fairly is the reason why more work is required in this space. 

Have a story to tell? We, together, need to speak up for equal workplaces. Write in to: speakup@wetwocan.com.

About #WeTwo

• #WeTwo will not name the survivor or accused, or their organisations, without the written permission of the survivor. 

• Where individuals / organisations are named, we will invite all sides of the story – survivor, accused and that of the organisation.

• We will not shame the survivors or assume guilt.

• We will attempt to verify claims made through multiple sources. Cases that are deemed plausible / commonplace will take precedence, guided by a panel of women professionals and industry leaders.

• #WeTwo will be gender-agnostic and speak up for all sides, including alleged cases of "false sexual harassment complaints" that cost career growth. 

• #WeTwo will also guide survivors or organisations that seek help towards professionals for psychological / legal / HR counsel.

• #WeTwo is a BestMediaInfo initiative, conceptualised in partnership with independent content consultant Gokul Krishnamoorthy.