Earlier this week, an incident rocked the little world of us ex-infoscions. A female employee was strangled to death by a security guard on duty at around 5 PM on a Sunday evening in Pune Phase II Infosys office. Infosys being our first company, holds a special place in all our hearts. We were not ready to believe that something like this has happened in what we considered one of the safest place on earth. And it was. We used to happily roam the abandoned streets of Mysore DC at 3 AM; the feeling of being out so late and not scared made us feel proud to be part of Infosys.
And we still feel the same.
A friend sent a message; about one of the reactions to this incidents - of course by all the so called Feminists; that women should be allowed to Work from home; should not be forced into night shifts etc..etc... He asked me - "What do you think?" And here's what I think.
"What happened in Infosys is unfortunate. Both for the company and the girl's family. But solution is not changing the rules of employment based on Gender. The IT companies stand on the ideals of being un-biased - whether it be sex, color, nationality or religion.
1. May be, IT Companies have to be more strict on their external vendors serving security, janitors, cab drivers, pantry, transportation etc... However knowing Infy, I am sure, they take extra care with all these vendors too. There are background checks on them as well.
* My friend responded to this saying "but how will a background check ensure anger management issues of a human?"
True. No human is born criminal. And for every murderer there is always a first time. So background check with clear criminal record can still give us a security guard like the one in this case.
Background check itself in India is such a flawed system. India a country of billions; where there is no single ID system (Aadhar system has been introduced; which ideally should take care of individuals data; but that's flawed too). It's easy to fake one's background due to lack of supporting data. So, that's a whole different issue altogether.
2. Another friend suggested - there should have been a female security guard at her floor; since she was the only girl working on that floor that evening.
Fair suggestion. That should be a process in place by HR and the company; where if duty calls at off hours; then someone should request the security team for a female guard.
Safety is not one person's responsibility. It's sad to see the crime rate increasing; but society as a whole bears the burden of it. But changing the work culture based on Gender - not a solution in today's world.
Being part of this IT world for a decade now; some of the so called feminist reactions to this incident drives me nuts.
On one hand; we keep yelling about equal rights for men and women; on how women are equal to men in every area; and then on another hand we start tweaking the system asking for favors when it comes to night shifts, weekend work etc...
And please - don't say managers or companies force you into this. An employee always has the right to deny; and of course that will have its consequences. It will effect your promotion, your job - but You cannot eat your pudding and have it too my friend!! You feel unsafe working at odd hours; fair enough; go ahead say NO. If that requires you to quit the job; QUIT IT. There are many 9-5 day jobs in the country; pick one of them. But you won't, for all the extra perks you would lose otherwise. So you are sheepish enough to stick around and work at odd hours; you make the choice of keeping the job over your fears of life/safety and when something goes wrong; you gladly put all the responsibility on someone else.
So, yeah, what happened in Infosys was unfortunate. But what happened in Delhi gang rape was also unfortunate. And what happens everyday on streets or in closed rooms or pubs are unfortunate too. One can't foresee disastrous future, however can stay alert and conscious of his/her surroundings. Yet, incidents like this occur, that's outside individuals control. And force us to rethink the kind of society we have evolved into.
-Sarita
Dated - 4th February 2017
And we still feel the same.
A friend sent a message; about one of the reactions to this incidents - of course by all the so called Feminists; that women should be allowed to Work from home; should not be forced into night shifts etc..etc... He asked me - "What do you think?" And here's what I think.
"What happened in Infosys is unfortunate. Both for the company and the girl's family. But solution is not changing the rules of employment based on Gender. The IT companies stand on the ideals of being un-biased - whether it be sex, color, nationality or religion.
1. May be, IT Companies have to be more strict on their external vendors serving security, janitors, cab drivers, pantry, transportation etc... However knowing Infy, I am sure, they take extra care with all these vendors too. There are background checks on them as well.
* My friend responded to this saying "but how will a background check ensure anger management issues of a human?"
True. No human is born criminal. And for every murderer there is always a first time. So background check with clear criminal record can still give us a security guard like the one in this case.
Background check itself in India is such a flawed system. India a country of billions; where there is no single ID system (Aadhar system has been introduced; which ideally should take care of individuals data; but that's flawed too). It's easy to fake one's background due to lack of supporting data. So, that's a whole different issue altogether.
2. Another friend suggested - there should have been a female security guard at her floor; since she was the only girl working on that floor that evening.
Fair suggestion. That should be a process in place by HR and the company; where if duty calls at off hours; then someone should request the security team for a female guard.
Safety is not one person's responsibility. It's sad to see the crime rate increasing; but society as a whole bears the burden of it. But changing the work culture based on Gender - not a solution in today's world.
On one hand; we keep yelling about equal rights for men and women; on how women are equal to men in every area; and then on another hand we start tweaking the system asking for favors when it comes to night shifts, weekend work etc...
And please - don't say managers or companies force you into this. An employee always has the right to deny; and of course that will have its consequences. It will effect your promotion, your job - but You cannot eat your pudding and have it too my friend!! You feel unsafe working at odd hours; fair enough; go ahead say NO. If that requires you to quit the job; QUIT IT. There are many 9-5 day jobs in the country; pick one of them. But you won't, for all the extra perks you would lose otherwise. So you are sheepish enough to stick around and work at odd hours; you make the choice of keeping the job over your fears of life/safety and when something goes wrong; you gladly put all the responsibility on someone else.
So, yeah, what happened in Infosys was unfortunate. But what happened in Delhi gang rape was also unfortunate. And what happens everyday on streets or in closed rooms or pubs are unfortunate too. One can't foresee disastrous future, however can stay alert and conscious of his/her surroundings. Yet, incidents like this occur, that's outside individuals control. And force us to rethink the kind of society we have evolved into.
-Sarita
Dated - 4th February 2017
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