Gender sensitivity : emerging challenge for HR

With the emergence of more women in work place, corporate environments needs a closer look to make it safer, encouraging, positively charged that can promote healthy relations between genders. The moderator role is cast on HR function, the ensure that the climate is always healthy minimising conflict between employees over gender sensitive issues. The Tehelka episode is a pointer on the failure side of it. There could be similar issues in many corporates many waiting to explode, casting a shadow over the corporate image itself. Legal remedies, harassment systems apart, HR needs to overhaul the existing policies ; from hiring to seperation, ensuring safety and security of women in work place. Foremost is to encourage more women to enter the environment into positions that are not threatening to them . Identifying those positions, making them sustainable from a career growth perspective is also essential to retain talent and encouarge growth. Identifying Male Mentors who have trust of women employees; Forums - virtual or real- for women to log in private concerns annonimously; empower them with tools and assistance for networking, instant connectivity, safe travel modes, privacy and space besides help them better balance of family and work needs are al essential. Policies to work from home, where ever feasible can be a great motivator. There are endless possibilities for HR Heads to intervene and initiate steps to ensure respectable corporate image on this front these times. A must KPI for all HR Heads in India.