Transport, timings, SOS: How India Inc is trying to keep women staff safe
Tata Motors offers flexible shift timings for women and door-to-door transport equipped with female security personnel and audio-enabled CCTV. For women who work on the shop floor across shifts, there are mid-level managers in some locations who voluntarily rotate supervision until the last woman employee reaches home and reports back to the local leadership team, said Tata Motors CHRO Sitaram Kandi. E-commerce giant Amazon also has similar measures in place.
The company offers commute services with designated pick-up and drop-off points, and encourages female employees to use company-provided safe transport that includes the accompaniment of a security guard at night, said Liju Thomas, Amazon India's director of human resources. Thomas added that all vehicles are equipped with live speed monitoring, SOS buttons, and real-time alerts. Lack of safety for women employees has become the focal point for protests across the country after a Kolkata doctor was found raped and murdered in the Kolkata hospital where she worked.
At Indian companies, more harassment cases are surfacing as a larger share of women register their grievances. Only 81 out of the top 300 companies listed on NSE had reported complaints in FY23, showed a study by the Centre for Economic Data & Analysis (CEDA). In FY14, the year when the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act came into force, these 300 companies reported 161 cases.
The number shot up to 767 in FY22, and 1,160 in FY23. Quick commerce firms employing women delivery partners have added more security. Big Basket's women delivery partners have guidelines on doorstep delivery, alignment of convenient delivery slots and SOS facility for use in case of emergencies.
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