It is with a heavy heart that I write that irrespective of the field they are working in, most women have experienced sexual harassment either at the hands of their bosses or at the hands of their clients. And this is more rampant in workplaces that are more male-dominated like food delivery. Here, female food delivery executives have faced sexual harassment because of their clients. The sheer entitlement of men who harass women who have come to deliver their food in itself fills me with rage. But to protect the female workforce from such men and cases, Swiggy has introduced a sexual harassment reform policy.
As per reports, the policy helps female food delivery executives in filing complaints against the perpetrators. Apart from this, after the initial complaint against the customer who misbehaved, Swiggy will not assign a female delivery executive to them in the future again. Also, the customer’s number will be flagged in the system ensuring that no female executive is assigned to them.
Mihir Shah, the Swiggy Head of Operations, said that this policy will stop such incidents from happening and also will encourage the women to report cases against them with the assurance that they will be helped. He also added that their goal is to empower women and make them feel safe on Swiggy’s platform. It is also important to note that food delivery executives are not covered under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) in India. If in situations where a Swiggy food delivery executive is the one who harasses a customer, then it will be considered a POSH case.
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We are glad that such concrete steps are being taken by Swiggy to ensure that their female workforce feels safe to work in their environment. We hope other platforms follow suit, too, and make their workplace safe for women.
Image courtesy – India Times
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