Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN WALKS THE POSH TALK WITH LEARNNOVATORS
ABOUT Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN:
Dr. Rajini Sriraman is the Vice President – HR & Admin at Esskay Design & Structures Pvt. Ltd. She is a senior psychologist and a human resources leader with over 20 years of versatile organizational expertise.
Dr. Rajini is a people-oriented, passionate facilitator and a competent communicator who has created robust development programs that led to sustainable people and organizational transformations. With extensive experience of working with people across diverse cultures and industries, she has converted strategies to actions and enabled institutions to move in progressive directions.
Dr. Rajini has developed several psychometric tools and applied them in various groups and facilitations to bring about quick and lasting change in people. With an intrapreneurial attitude, she has led breakthrough initiatives and programs across industries.
Dr. Rajini is the Chief Architect of the Diversity & Inclusion through Women Allies (DIWA) – Pfizer India Women network, which works with a vision to advance female talent in an inclusive manner. She has also led the Internal Complaints Committee of Pfizer India as its Chairperson for 5 years.
ABOUT THIS INTERVIEW SERIES:
Walking the POSH Talk with Learnnovators is an interview series that features outstanding HR leaders who are pioneers of workplace practices that ensure safety, equality, diversity in their organizations. Specifically, these HR leaders share their experiences related to the implementation of Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) compliance within their workplaces.
Join us on this exciting journey as we learn from their successes, as well as their setbacks and challenges, and seize the opportunity to hear their unique perspectives on the subject.
This initiative is part of Learnnovators’ commitment to helping organizations in India make their workplaces safe for their women employees.
THE INTERVIEW:
1. LEARNNOVATORS: Esskay Design & Structures is an end-to-end steel detailing services provider headquartered at Vienna that has been helping build a strong nation with its cutting edge steel fabrication solutions. It’s a pleasure to have you, a senior member of the organization, to discuss your experiences eliminating sexual harassment at your workplace.
As per this Marching Sheep Survey that is “focused on a specific aspect of policies within organizations, i.e. the relevance of the POSH Act and Policy in the new normal considering the emerging current realities that have surfaced,” one of the key priorities is to add the redressal of domestic violence to the POSH Act and Policy. As a psychologist who specialises in organizational behaviour, would you agree with the suggestion that, despite the protection the POSH Act offers, the current conditions require a certain widening of its ambit? What are your views on this?
Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN: This new world has opened up several avenues to integrate employee engagement and people practices. In my opinion, employee engagement will be the new corporate strategy. Employee experience will define the future of organizations. Having said that, going beyond the four walls of the office and providing a 360o support framework will soon become the compelling need for organizations. A well-rounded support system will redefine the culture and enhance the trust levels and create a strong foundation. The Governments should make it mandatory for covering domestic violence and create special policies to safeguard women. Some countries have adopted laws and policies addressing the situation of workers who are victims of domestic violence. Examples include Argentina, France, Italy, the Philippines, Spain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
While some countries address the effects of domestic violence on the world of work through specific laws on the subject, others include it within gender equality, labour or occupational safety and health legislation.
2. LEARNNOVATORS: We hear the stories of many companies struggling to ensure the effectiveness of their POSH trainings. However, we believe that just like any other subject, training on POSH too must be aligned with the times we’re living in to resonate with today’s learners. In addition, we also believe that any kind of learning solution on POSH should be designed in such a way as to help people understand the topic in the context of realistic situations. In this regard, we are excited to hear about the kind of innovative approaches being used by a few organizations out there to provide employees with a unique and engaging experience while learning about strategies to handle sexual harassment in their workplaces. How successful have you been in revisiting your POSH training to accommodate the preferences of today’s learners in your organization? What strategies do you find working well and what not so well?
Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN: POSH awareness and training programs have to be done on a continuous basis. Moving away from traditional classroom training, we need to bring training nuggets which are brief and powerful. I have personally conducted such programs and continue to educate men and women through micro awareness sessions (less than 5 minutes of awareness, stand up meetings, special town halls, etc.). One needs to speak up and raise their voice when they are in the position of discomfort, and the HR leader has to ensure that opportunities are provided for women to regularly talk about their issues and concerns. Offering non-judgemental listening will be very important. While women are provided opportunities, we need to open up the doors for men as well to listen to their side of the story. This will surely create a fair and ethical organization that people will love to belong to.
3. LEARNNOVATORS: To quote The New York Times article, “Women are living in a world that’s made for men. Whether it’s the cars they drive or the medicines they take, they’ve almost all been developed with men in mind. And that can have life-threatening consequences for women.” At the same time, we are also inspired by this news that talks about how Unilever has achieved a 50/50 gender balance across its global leadership team. Interestingly, we also see other organizations such as Etihad Airways following suit by pledging to increase its female workforce over the next few years. Being a company that is involved in steel manufacturing—a domain that has traditionally been a male-dominated one—how do you go about making your workplace not just safe but also inclusive for women?
Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN: As far as my company is concerned, anybody with talent will find a place. At Esskay, we have a good gender balance at the board, senior management and other roles. It is by design we provide opportunities for women to play critical roles at Esskay. Therefore, you could say that inclusivity is part of the business strategy.
4. LEARNNOVATORS: It is thought-provoking to hear that “…the thinking about safe workplaces needs to go much further. Safety has to be a conversation across all the spaces a person moves through. Also, safety isn’t about not being raped or murdered. Am I able to grow? Is my full potential allowed to surface? That’s the true measure of safety.” As somebody who believes in change making, not just by talking, but by walking the talk, we would like to have your thoughts on the recent view to widen the scope of the POSH Act to also include harassments related to gender bias (discriminatory acts that may not be of a sexual nature) happening at workplaces. Since we do not have any specific legislation for preventing or redressing these types of harassments, would you agree with the suggestion? If not, based on your experiences, how do you think a system can be established within the country to help women handle these challenges at work?
Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN: In fact, this aspect is already covered, though very subtly. However, most of the harassments and disrespectful acts crop up because men are intolerant of women’s talents and potentials. Feelings of insecurity and complexed thinking give rise to issues and harassments in the organization. If men are able to gracefully accept women as their colleagues and equal partners with a common goal and compete elegantly, many of the problems can be solved.
5. LEARNNOVATORS: And finally, we would like to recall this both shocking and inspiring message by Susan Fowler, former Uber engineer and the author of Whistle-blower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber, who had to face a terrifying time after she spoke out against sexual harassment at Uber: “Speaking up comes at great personal cost. Being a whistle-blower is not easy. It is not glamorous or fun. It will terrify you and scare you and forever change your life in ways that will be beyond your control. But, despite all of this, shining a light in the darkness is the right thing to do. In some cases, like my own, it is the only way to leave the world better than you found it.” As somebody who believes in being an ‘authentic fighter’ and in standing up for a cause without any fear, what would be your advice to those around us who are silent victims of sexual misconduct at work to become Silence Breakers to help themselves and the world around them?
Dr. RAJINI SRIRAMAN: Very frankly speaking, our country does not have the maturity to deal with such complexities. Whistleblowers eventually become helpless victims in the process. We even lack the basic sensitivity to protect the anonymity of people who dare to speak up. The only way out is to introduce strong legislation to protect the safety/security and dignity of the whistleblower. Very serious punishments need to be put in place and quickly implemented to support the whistleblowers. On the other hand, whistleblowers need to be celebrated and rewarded for their bold attitude. A holistic policy needs to be implemented and led by the board.
LEARNNOVATORS: Before we sign off, we’d like to thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Rajini. We’ve had an amazing time listening to your insights on dealing with sexual harassment, diversity and inclusion at workplaces. We are confident that the community will immensely benefit from these takeaways. Thank you!
