decade ago, Phaneesh Murthy got away when his then employer, Infosys, made an out-of-court settlement and paid $3 million to Reka Maximovitch, his executive secretary who had complained of sexual harassment. The IT giant even paid Murthy $570,000 as part of the final settlement of his dues.
However, this time he has not got away so easily with iGate sacking him, saying he hadn’t revealed his relationship with Araceli Roiz, its investor relations head.
So what makes someone like Murthy, a super-achiever who helped grow the business of both Infosys and iGate, sexually harass a female colleague yet again?
“This is because a woman’s dignity does not count for much with companies. Despite growing evidence that their productivity is affected by sexual harassment, they care only for their star performers. Decisions such as Infosys’s signal that offenders will get away with impunity,” says Vrinda Grover, a Delhi-based lawyer who works in the area of women’s rights.
Ironically, Mohandas Pai, who was on Infosys Board at the time, says the decision to sack Murthy this time has sent a strong signal that employees, especially the senior management, will be shown zero tolerance for such offences.
But why do men, especially those in positions of power, indulge in workplace sexual misconduct at the risk of their careers?
“A majority of men who target women suffer from feelings of insufficiency or inadequacy. Some even have sexual problems,” says Dr Chandrashekhar, head, department of psychiatry at Bangalore Medical College.
Harassing a woman at the workplace becomes a way of asserting masculinity. Dr Chandrashekhar feels only legal punitive measures can work as a deterrent.
Social psychiatrist Harish Shetty says most men or women who indulge in verbal or sexual harassment have deep-seated insecurities and seldom learn from their mistakes.
“Habits picked up early are hard to give up,” he says.
For Achal Bhagat, chairman of mental health NGO Saarthak, “Sexual harassment is a violent crime, where men equate the need to dominate with the desire to control and feel secure.”
Thus, if repeat offenders get away easy, they move to environments that are favourable to such conduct and where they feel they will not be penalised.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1837877/report-sexual-harassment-few-learn-from-mistakes
