How do we appoint a presiding officer on the Internal Committee when we do not have a senior female employee ?
The company is expected to appoint a senior woman employee as the chairperson or the presiding officer i.e. a female employee appointed at a senior position. The presiding officer should be an employee of the workplace. If such a female employee is not available then the company can nominate a senior female employee from another office/units/ department/ workplace of the same employer.Â
A male senior employee cannot be the presiding officer of the committee. This was designed to uphold the core of the PoSH Act which was constituted to protect the legitimate interests of a woman. For this purpose a female presiding officer was considered to be committed towards the cause of women.Â
In India, not all organisations have women at senior positions. In such a case the employer can nominate a female employee who they trust has the maturity and capacity to fulfill the role under the Act even if she is not  a senior level employee.
It is the company’s responsibility to arrange for skill building workshops to equip her to implement the anti-sexual harassment policy and the procedures therein to abide by the PoSH Act.Â