Even as India Inc continues to debate on security to women on night shifts and other work-related issues, the women have decided to make things happen on their own. To begin with a forum of working women in the IT capital, representing 43 companies across varied sectors have launched a portal WITS (Women Institute of Information Technology and Services) to discuss and suggest solutions for ?women’s issues at work?.
The workforce that includes bankers, employees from IT and ITeS, postal department, telecom, garment to academia and even public sector defence manufacturing units will focus on hot topics specific to health issues – obesity among call centre women workforce, rising infertility rates and even sexually transmitted diseases. WITS founder Ramani Natarajan said the aim was to form groups within companies across industries, to help women cope in the prevalent ?highly westernised work places?. Security concerns of female staff are also top on the agenda.
?We have been debating issues like safety for women on night shifts. Among other measures, we would suggest that companies should train and deploy women drivers and women security on cabs,? Natarajan said.
UNITES, primarily an IT and ITeS-focused workers? union and a partner to the WITS? initiative, said it received on an average six complaints monthly from women including foreigners, who lamented discrimination, harassment or lack of pay. According to its general secretary Karthik Shekar, the network was also expected to offer support to women professionals in trauma.
?In cases such as immediate lay-offs in the IT sector, we hope that better networking will aid women to extend support to each other and help each other find new employment.?
Many of those who landed pink slips recently in realignments-based job cuts by IT companies were women. ?Most of them were women who had left their native places and stationed here for the jobs,? Shekhar said. WITS is yet to be formally registered and plans to organise programmes on International Women?s Day on March 8.