Thursday, September 08, 2005

Porn in the Indian Workplace II

[This continues and concludes my previous post]

Pornography in the workplace simply reflects the changing nature of sexual harassment.
There used to be a time , when India worshipped its women. Then came a time when India locked them up behind the confines of the household.

Now again we see Indian Women come out and make a mark for themselves in the community.
But is this really welcomed by the men ?
My guess is (by and large) - NO
Women , even today are restricted to entry level positions in even newer age companies...have any of us wondered why women comprise only 5% of managers while comprising 25-30% of entry level hires.
In most organizations, there is open hostility towards women who are ambitious. There is a clear belief (ironically reinforced by thousands of women every year) that a woman cannot make a career which is as long or as succesful as a man's. Marriage and childrean are often determinants of the career aspirations and ambitions of women.

Sure there are shining examples of women who have made it big in corporate india.Hats off to them...i mean....they really do deserve a standing ovation.
I'm sure everyone of them will tell you stories about how they were discriminated against in the early stages of their careers. All the ceilings they had to break and all the hurdles they faced.

My guess is that Indian men (who for all their pretensions are still unbelievably conservative at heart), are getting frustrated with all the women who are now holding their own in every profession. And Porn gives them a way to vent this frustration.
And has anyone noticed...Exposure and use of porn is highest in the knowledge industries,which also have the highest proportion of female employees.

Is this situation going to change ?
Not unless ,most of us men, start treating women as equals, and most women truly believing in themselves and be willing to stand up against such blatant discrimination. I'm 22 and I dont see this happening in my generation or the next one.

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