Allegations against the CJI: Misuse of power and no procedural fairness

The Supreme Court brazened it out in how it dealt with these allegations and now its reputation lies in shambles

Economy News: The events surrounding the l’affaire Chief Justice of India have been well documented – even if the final outcome is not. On the 19th of April this year, an ex-Supreme Court staff member submitted a detailed affidavit to the Judges of the Court alleging sexual harassment by the Chief Justice. The Court had multiple options before it – order an enquiry under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplaces Act, follow its own internal sexual harassment complaint procedure or follow simple common sense. Over the last 20 days, it abandoned all of these.

The process started with an ‘emergency Saturday hearing’ in a case dramatically titled: “In Re : Matter of Great Public Importance Touching upon the Independence of Judiciary – mentioned by Shri Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India”. It has ended in a secret report exonerating the Chief Justice of all charges…

The case of Justice Clarence Thomas

In 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas, a federal Circuit Judge, to the United States Supreme Court. Soon thereafter, a private interview given to the FBI by Professor Anita Hill was leaked to the press. Hill was called to testify publicly. In senate hearings that were televised across the United States, Hill affirmed on oath that Thomas had sexually harassed her while he was her supervisor at the Department of Education.

Thomas’ supporters questioned her credibility, claiming she was delusional or had been spurned. During the senate hearing, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch went as far as implying that “Hill was working in tandem with ‘slick lawyers’ and interest groups bent on destroying Thomas’ chances to join the court.”

Hill agreed to take a polygraph test. The reports of the test confirmed her claims. Thomas refused a similar test. He however stated that he was being subjected to a “high-tech lynching for uppity blacks” by white liberals who were seeking to block a black conservative from taking a seat on the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the United States Senate confirmed Thomas to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52–48…

The mutiny against Gillette’s ad shows why we need movements like #MeToo

Critics ignore the explicit message of the advert, which is that gender is culturally constructed, and that we all have a responsibility to shape the future of our society

Latest News: Gillette’s new ad – “The best men can be”, which plays on the razor brand’s long-held motto, “The best a man can get” – is powerful and emotional, a carefully-spun narrative about the role models young boys see in their daily lives. It tackles bullying, sexual harassment, inequality in the workplace, and sexism on screen, by promoting courage, humility, responsibility, and kindness. It says all of these behaviours make up that complicated construct, “masculinity”. And it challenges viewers to question what sort of behaviour defines manliness.

The mutiny against Gillette’s ad reinforces why we need movements like #MeToo and shows how painfully little distance we as a society have covered since it began. In the wake of various high-profile allegations, #MeToo Movement  called out unsavoury behaviour that was somehow condoned by society – behaviour that increasingly comes under the umbrella of “toxic masculinity”. Yet Gillette’s ad, which recognises this drive for change and wants to take positive action, has been met by a major backlash.

The YouTube video of the ad had more than 200,000 comments just a few days after going live. The numbers of likes have hit 387,000. More tellingly, the number of dislikes exceeds 796,000.

Contain Source By Business Standard  OR  BS

One in three UN employees say they were sexually harassed in last two years

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told staff in a letter that the study contained “some sobering statistics and evidence of what needs to change” to improve the workplace at the United Nations

International News: A third of United Nations employees have reported experiencing sexual harassment at the world body over the last two years, according to the findings of the first-ever survey on such misconduct released Tuesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told staff in a letter that the study contained “some sobering statistics and evidence of what needs to change” to improve the workplace at the United Nations.

One in three respondents, or 33 per cent, reported at least one instance of sexual harassment in the past two years, but that figure climbed to 38.7 per cent for those who reported some form of sexual harassment during their time at the United Nations.

The most common type of sexual harassment were sexual stories or jokes that were offensive, or offensive remarks about appearance, body or sexual activities.

UN employees were also targeted for unwelcome attempts to draw them into discussion about sexual matters, offensive gestures and touching, according the survey carried out by Deloitte in November…

Contain Source: Business Standard or BS

Sexual harassment row: Google India employees join protest in solidarity

Some of the demands include commitment to end pay and opportunity inequality

BS | Around 150 employees of Google India walked out of their offices in solidarity with the protest over the company’s treatment of women. The protest saw participation from three Indian offices — Mumbai, Hyderabad and Gurugram.

According to senior executives at Google, the protesting employees had discussions about pay parity, sexual harassment at workplace, and the #MeToo movement. Google confirmed that a walkout happened at offices in India.

“Yesterday (on Wednesday), we let Googlers know that we are aware of the activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the support they need if they wish to participate. Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes. We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action,” Sundar Pichai, CEO Google said in a statement.

Some of the demands include commitment to end pay and opportunity inequality, publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report as well as a clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. |Business Standard  

Harassed at workplace? Govt launches 'SHe-box' portal for sexual assaults

The sexual harassment electronic box will be made as 'interactive' as possible

 

The Women and Child Development ministry Monday launched an online platform to enable women employees of the central government to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace.

"We are also going to soon conduct a national survey to assess the nature and magnitude of sexual harassment at the workplace," Union minister Maneka Gandhi said after launching the portal at her office here.

The WCD minister also instructed officials to make the 'SHe-box' (sexual harassment electronic box) as "interactive" as possible.

"To begin with, central government women employees can file complaints, but we are going to widen the ambit to include the private sector as well," she said.

"We just need to make a few changes in our online interface. Once it is done, employees from private companies would also be able to lodge complaints," Gandhi added.

The decision to host an online platform for sexual harassment cases was taken by the WCD ministry last October after the minister received complaints from women employees in various ministries.