Saturday, December 01, 2012

Sexual Exploitation, Another Story!

Just a few days after I posted a blog on
Sexual Exploitation at work , I came to know of another story.
Strictly, technically speaking, it is not really sexual exploitation, but more of taking advantage of a situation. But, the point is, any experience with unwanted sexual undertones leave an impact on the woman's mind!
Coming to the story.

Due to the nature of my job, I keep meeting people from various companies. That day was no different and I reached the place of meeting at the designated hour. The lady I had to meet had recently joined and we got talking and hit off well. A meeting which was suppose to be a serious, formal business meeting turned into a fun, a bit of giggly affair between two girls!
The girl in question was really accomplished and I thought was under employed at her current position. So, I voiced my opinion and she suddenly became silent. I was about to apologise as I thought I may have crossed my line when she started talking. She conveyed that she resigned from her last company under not so happy circumstances.
She had become an eye sore for some colleagues (male colleagues) as she was doing well and was good at her work. Two male colleagues in her team took her performance a bit personally and started harassing her. Unnecessary snide remarks were made which made life difficult for her.
She complained to the manager but in vain. The manager was very pally to one of the two colleagues so shielded them and told this girl that she is imagining things. The male colleagues continued to be non-cooperative and made sexually loaded comments. This started affecting her performance and her morale. Her manager gave her a bad appraisal based on her performance of last 2-3 months. Her performance for the better part of the year was ignored as if it never existed. To make things worse, out of the two colleagues who were harassing her was promoted and she was asked to report to him. He actually had the guts to come to her and say, 'Let's forget the past and work together to be the best team in the company'. She realised that if she worked well, she can continue to be a star performer but that would also mean that the male colleague would gain & get credit as he heads the team. If she doesn't do well, she may face more such situations. Hence, she quit!
It may not have seemed like a good decision then but it all turned out well for her in the end and today she is doing very well for herself.
My point here is, she is getting what she deserved now where as it should have come to her earlier. Due to a sick mind she had to lose out on something which was truly hers!

Time Zones