Facing Gender Discrimination and Harassment at Work: Can We Take Action After Leaving?

Please note, I rejoined an organization after a gap of 3 years. It was supposed to be a 4-member team, out of which 3 boys were friends of the Team Leader. I was recruited from outside. However, from the time I joined, the 3 boys were very uncooperative, never gave any training, and did not consider me to be a part of the team as well. Despite taking the initiative to break the ice and ask them what the problem was and why they were behaving like this with me, there were no major changes in their behavior. After a considerable amount of months, due to my self-hard work, my performance was appreciated by the management, which started troubling one boy from this gang of 3, and he started bad-mouthing me in front of the other colleagues. The situation was just getting from bad to worse. I did complain to my main manager regarding this fellow's behavior, but it was in vain. Now that I have resigned from the organization, his bad-mouthing has still not stopped.

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

The second unfortunate thing is that even in today's world, where we consider girls to be on par with men, this boy does not allow any single girl to work in the team. In the past year, 4 members (all girls) have resigned from the team, all due to their thuggery, which they follow blindly since there is no one to take action against them.

Seeking Action and Support

My query is: can we, girls, get together and take action even though we are not a part of the organization now?

Also, is there any rule that can stop such stupid behavior that can be avoided in an organization?

That boy is still roaming around in the organization without performing well and being a threat to all the girls in the team. He just wants to come and assert his dominance and is happy when people are scared of him. The funniest part is that the Team Leader and these three friends (all boys) have warned the team that they are not supposed to talk to any of us, and if that is done, they will deal with them outside. Isn't it funny that they want to take control of the team like reputed thugs? Isn't this wrong? He has been in the organization for six years but is frustrated because he is not getting a chance to grow. Will he ever grow with this behavior and attitude of his?

Please assist and advise on how we can help in addressing this boy who is an absolute nuisance to the organization. Shouldn't the HR or the manager take action against this boy?

Addressing Workplace Harassment and Reporting Procedures

Have you reported this issue to your manager in writing or by email? Reporting to the manager is the first step. If you haven't received any reply, then reporting to the police is the next step (the employer should be informed in this regard), which you should have taken when you were being harassed. You should also make sure that evidence is not required from your end because you only have to report and re-report any acts of harassment.

Late reporting is often considered a misuse of the law, and in your case, it is too late. Taking any action now may not yield many favors for you. You now have the added burden of providing proof and demonstrating your mental state for reporting late. You can consider this a lesson, but all you can do is help the remaining female employees working under that team benefit. "WOMEN" do not back down in such occurrences.

Have you received any reply from your manager after making a complaint? If not, you should consider that it might not have been thoroughly assessed. You may suggest that the rest of the female employees, if they are working, gather courage and draft a formal email to the manager to address the matter.

Regards.

Addressing Workplace Harassment: The Role of POSH Committees

Such fellows will ever grow, and they are ostensibly a danger to the organization and to the employees around them as well. I advise that every organization should have a panel such as POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) so that employees who face such kinds of problems and difficulties may report to the POSH committee. This committee will take action after a concrete investigation is done. In the first place, you will have to report such incidents to your manager and then to the POSH committee if it exists. If the manager is not responding to this complaint, please follow the hierarchy.

The same thing (a similar case but not exactly like this case) happened to me. I reported all the problems to the POSH committee. They commenced an investigation of my case and arrived at a decision to dismiss my team leader, but on humanitarian grounds, they did give him an opportunity. Also, they issued an internal memo to my manager as he was trying to defend the team leader.

Such kinds of goons should not exist in the organization at all.

Regards,
Kranthi

What matters is evidence. Do you have sufficient evidence of his badmouthing or bad behavior? If not, then find out what you can do to generate the evidence. Once evidence is at hand, approach your HR manager to take action against this person. If nothing happens, then approach the occupier of your company (MD or Director) and submit your evidence. If the occupier also does nothing, send a legal notice to him for failing to stop the harassment at work. If he still does not respond, file a suit against him.

Another thing you can do is to film his behavior secretly and upload it on YouTube. This will be the best evidence for the police to take action. Social media has not spared even ministers and big shots, so who is this person in your organization?

Dinesh V Divekar

Hi, Greetings to all! Please note I rejoined an organization after a gap of 3 years. It was supposed to be a 4-member team, out of which 3 boys were friends of the Team Leader. I was recruited from outside. However, from the time I joined, the 3 boys were very uncooperative, never gave any training, and did not consider me to be a part of the team. Despite taking the initiative to break the ice and discuss the issues with them, there was no major change in their behavior. After several months of hard work, my performance was appreciated by the management, which started troubling one boy from this group of 3, and he began badmouthing me in front of other colleagues. The situation was escalating. I did complain to my main manager regarding this individual's behavior, but to no avail. Now that I have resigned from the organization, his badmouthing has still not stopped.

Another unfortunate aspect is that even in today's world, where we consider girls to be on par with men, this boy does not allow any single girl to work in the team. In the past year, four members (all girls) have resigned from the team due to their bullying behavior, which goes unchecked since there is no one to take action against them.

My question is: can we, as girls, take action together even though we are no longer part of the organization? Also, is there a rule that can prevent such behavior in an organization?

This boy is still present in the organization, not performing well, and posing a threat to all the girls in the team. He seeks to assert dominance and is content when others are intimidated by him. The irony is that the Team Leader and his three friends (all boys) have warned the team not to communicate with us, threatening to confront them outside. Isn't it absurd that they want to control the team like notorious gangsters? Isn't this wrong? He has been in the organization for six years but remains frustrated because he is not advancing. Can he truly progress with such behavior and attitude?

Please advise on how we can address this troublesome individual who is a nuisance to the organization. Shouldn't HR or the manager take action against him?