Teletech Services India Ltd:  Trainer Shows Off Porn Site

By Bala Shah

'Men will be men' is a cliché handed down through generations to us. No, it does not really mean men being courageous, strong, or upright. Instead, in most cases it underplays the perverse sexual intentions of some men. So, if men are to be men, would accessing porn sites at work places and flirting with women by some of them be justified? All in a day and age when companies brag 'We are an Equal Opportunity Employer'.

Check this one out. Gaurav Sawhney, a Dell & IBM Certified Technical Process Trainer at Bharti Teletech Services (India) Limited (A Bharti Teletech JV) till August 7, 2006, opens a porn site on his computer a couple of days before he quits. He would have done this before, but this particular incident came to light. The grapevine said that in order to throw his weight around, Gaurav flaunted the site to a few junior female employees, much to their offence. That Gaurav accessed a porn site was recorded by the network administration. But no action was taken against him ostensibly because he was leaving anyways in a day or two. Secondly, accessing a porn site at one's workplace which one is not supposed to indulge in was not considered a major offence by some of the managers as 'men may just be men'.  According to sources in senior management, a few of the trainers have always been untouchables as they have history in the old boys club.  This prevents the Sys Administrators stopping such activities as is done in all other companies.

The incident has died a quiet death, and Gaurav Sawhney has moved to Dell International hired by one of its head honchos.

What is shocking and frustrating is that such incidents are clear cases of what the Supreme Court of India recognizes as sexual harassment at the workplace. Take a look at http://www.indiatogether.org/combatlaw/vol2/issue3/harass.htm

 The corporate community in India, top to bottom, has to take the law against sexual harassment at the workplace much more seriously if they want to make their workplaces fair and equitable.