How does a company with only male employees set up an IC?

Alex, an HR professional joins SunGen Private Limited, an organisation with 30 employees as their HR anager. Alex wants to ensure that all the HR processes and practices are in place. When he inquired with the management about the internal committee, he was told that there is no internal committee in SunGen Private Limited as there are no women employees in the organisation and it’s an all male employee organisation.

Do you think this is right?

According to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act, 2013 every internal committee in an organisation should be headed by a presiding officer who must be a woman employed at a senior level at the workplace. However, if a senior level woman employee is not available, the presiding officer will be nominated from other offices or administrative units of the same workplace. Further, if a senior level woman employee is not available even in these other offices or administrative units of the same workplace the presiding officer shall be nominated from any other workplace of the same employer or other departments or organisations. 

Section 4(2)(b) of the PoSH Act 2013 also stipulates that at least half of the IC members must be women. In an all-male workforce, achieving this balance requires efficient planning. Companies can appoint women members from different locations, offices or units to meet this criterion. This demonstrates that despite existing challenges, it is feasible for companies with all-male workforces to constitute an IC that adheres to requirements as mentioned in the law.

Additionally, according to Section 4(2)(c) every IC must also consist of an external member who is familiar with issues related to sexual harassment. This person can be from a non-governmental organisation or any organisation committed to the cause of women. This external member is crucial as they will be able to bring an unbiased perspective to any sexual harassment case and they will also be beneficial in bringing their expertise related to prevention of sexual harassment. It is expected that this external member will be a woman. This external member will play a very important role in bringing a gender balance in the internal committee and provide a lot of credibility to the internal committee by functioning impartially and effectively. 

Constituting an IC in all-male workforce can be tackled creatively to ensure adherence to the compliances as mandated by the PoSH Act, 2013. By appointing senior women from other offices, ensuring the inclusion of external members familiar with sexual harassment issues and maintaining the required gender balance, companies can create a robust IC. This way these committees not only comply with the law but also foster a safe and respectful workplace for all employees. 

Thus, SunGen Private Limited is not in compliance with the PoSH Act, 2013 and to ensure that they are not levied any penalty of non-compliance of the PoSH Act, 2013 they will have to ensure that they set up the internal committee as soon as possible with the guidelines provided above.