I. INTRODUCTION
It is impossible to mention the POSH Act without mentioning Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997) [1] - the case that made history in the arena of combating workplace sexual harassment of woman employees in India. Based on the PILs filed by women rights activists, the Apex Court of India had finally took up the matter and adjudicated that workplace sexual harassment of women is a human rights violation [the Court had consulted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1981 in order to deliver the judgment alongside principles of feminism and violence against women]. The Court had also laid down certain guidelines as legal mandates, binding as per Article 141 of the Constitution of India. However, evidence in the form of later precedents points towards the fact that implementation of these guidelines by the states wasfragmentary and evasive. The same can be illustrated through the case of Medha Kotwal Lele v. UOI [2], wherein the Supreme Court observed disobedience from various parts of the country for abiding by the guidelines, and stated that the “Vishaka Directions, in their true substance and spirit, should be implemented in such a manner so that women could work with dignity, decency and due respect in a safe and secure workplace”.
This non-compliance becomes pertinent to mention as it sets the base for which the current article has to find the answer to. The most important question which one has to ask now, after about a decade of the Act coming into place, is whether it had an impact on making the workplace a safe space for the employees. One of the viable methods of observing that would be to understand the retention rates and labour force participation of women in Indian workplace settings.
II. RETENTION RATES IN INDIA
Retention rates with reference to employment talks about the percentage of employees who continue working in an organisation due to varied factors. One of those factors with reference to PoSH could be that the women employees deem their workplace environment to be safe; another factor could be that the redressal mechanisms put in place are strong and that the women employees are not afraid of speaking up.[3] However, India being a developing country, the available pool for gathering accurate retention rate data predominantly consists of organised women workers who typically possess higher socio-economic status, education, and awareness among other factors. This limitation excludes a substantial portion of women in the unorganised sector from the dataset.
With the advent of the COVID pandemic, the formal sector of India has reportedly been struggling with retaining employees. According to the 'Reimagining Work and Rewards Survey' conducted by WTW, which included 51 companies and 723,000 employees across various sectors such as IT, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare, it was reported that in 2022, approximately 64% of firms in India continue to encounter retention challenges.[4] This finding underscores that over half of the companies in the country are grappling with retention issues even after nine years since the enactment of the PoSH Act.
These general statistics are enough to point towards the fact that the PoSH Act is not being implemented strictly enough across the country.
III. LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
The labour force participation rate, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, refers to the number of working people in the country that engages in the current labour market.[5] In a way, it showcases the size of the labour force available for engaging in the production of goods and services of the country.
Unfortunately, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in India has been abysmally low, and the primary reason for the low rate is because of a correspondingly low rate of Female LFPR. As per the publication by the World Bank database, as of 2022, the female LFPR is at 22%.[6] The same database indicates that the highest female LFPR was in 2005 at 30% after which it was a steady decline.[7] It is such a disgrace for our country, with its population of 138 crores [as of 2020] to have such a huge divide between its male and female working population in the 21st century.
The PoSH Act came around 2013, but it has done virtually nothing in terms of the falling female labour force participation rate. In fact, after 2013, the rate has not increased in any of the succeeding years even once.[8]
A. ORGANISED SECTOR
Although the organised sector is faring better than its unorganised counterpart, still, the COVID Pandemic and the succeeding 2 years has shown a severe drop in women participation in the workforce. According to a study conducted by Deloitte, only 4.7% of CEOs and 7.7% of board seats were held by women in 2021, a number that has increased just slightly from 3.2% in 2014.
B. UNORGANISED SECTOR
The PoSH Act of 2013 defines the unorganised sector as a workplace that has less than 10 employees working under it. The Local Committee with its Chairperson is the body constituted to provide proper redressal for workplace sexual harassment complaints from its women employees.
Above 90% of the total women labourforce are women employees working in the unorganised sector.[9] They are, by effect, the most vulnerable group of people considering their gender as well as socio-economic status in society. The unorganised sector as a whole is characterised by invisible employment; therefore accurate data on the rates of women employees working in this sector are never known.
CONCLUSION
Therefore, it can be seen that the underrepresentation and sheer invincibility of women is a phenomenon that cuts through all sorts of economic and social gaps in our country. The labour force participation rate of women, taken annually, has only been decreasing when one looks at it as a whole, with few incremental rises here and there. Undoubtedly, there has been a rise in PoSH complaints filed in major Indian corporations, indicating a growing recognition of PoSH laws. However, when considering labour force participation and the conditions in the unorganised sector, it becomes evident that achieving gender equality remains a significant challenge with a long journey ahead.
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