IIT Bombay’s Women's Cell has been in existence since 2002. With the enactment of the Institute's policy on sexual harassment, the Cell has been renamed the Gender Cell (GC).
The IIT Bombay Gender Cell (GC) inquires into complaints of sexual harassment through its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). The GC and ICC strive to work towards an egalitarian environment where men and women are afforded equitable treatment and equality of opportunity.
Gender Amity
Promote equality, gender justice and non-discrimination.
Workshops & Training
Organize workshops and training programmes to sensitize students and employees.
Inquiry and Action
Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) inquires into complaints in a fixed time frame and recommends action.
What is sexual harassment?
The definition of sexual harassment is broad enough to include different kinds of offensive, hostile, intimidating, humiliating and exploitative language, gestures and conduct. It is important to note here that what constitutes sexual harassment is defined by the person experiencing it, and not by the perpetrator.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual behaviour such as (but not limited to) the following.
Contact
Female QRT (Quick Response Team) in-charge:+91 9167398598
QRT : +919833337979, +919833338989
Office Address:
3rd Floor, N.N.
Next to Student Wellness Center,
IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai - 400 076.
Extension: 5052
Email: gendercell@iitb.ac.in
Types of sexual harassment:
Visual
Suggestive gestures, showing/sharing pornography.
Physical
Physical contact, gestures, or stalking. Unwelcome physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Verbal
Sexually coloured communication.
Demands
Asking for sexual favours in return for something (grades, promotion).
What happens when I complain?
Receive:
Email/letter from complainant
Respond:
In 1-2 days; organize initial meeting
Meeting:
Discuss concerns; provide options
Decision:
Complainant decides how to proceed
Actions:
Mediation; sensitization; formal complaint.
GC-ICC Committee
Prof. Vaijayanthi Sarma (Convener)
Prof. Nandita Madhavan (Co-Convener)
Prof. Arti Kalro
Prof. Sharayu Moharir
Prof. R. P. Vedula
Prof. S. Akshay
Prof. Prachi Mahajan
Prof. Krishna S.
Prof. Bakul Rao
Ms. Pramila Sasalekar
Ms. Padmaja R. Nair
Ms. Archita Patkar
Ms. Tanvi Mehta
Prof. Prabhu Ramachandran
Dr. Shrikant Patil (Liaison Officer, Ex-officio)
Prof. Swati Patankar (Ex-officio Member)
Advocate Veena Gowda (External Member)
Dr. Chanyanika Shah (External Member)
Dr. Asha Achuthan (External Member)
Arpita Kumari (Institute Girl's Nominee, UG)
Prabhat Sharma (ISHA, UG)
Rohan Bajaj (PG)
Shruti Manohar Ahuja (PG)
Sneha Susan George (PG)
Haritha Songola (PG)
IIT Bombay's Gender Cell is a statutory body which works towards promoting equality, gender justice and non-discrimination on the campus. It inquires into complaints of sexual harassment through its Internal Complaints Committee (GC-ICC).
The Gender Cell’s Internal Complaints Committee inquires into complaints of sexual harassment through. Sexual harassment includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behavior:
1.Physical contact and advances;
2.A demand or request for sexual favors;
3.Making sexually colored remarks;
4.Sending, displaying or showing of pornographic material in physical form or through any electronic media;
5.Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature, and
6.Any other acts or omissions that are of like nature to the instances above.
?
Any student, any faculty or staff member, or a service-provider who is associated with IITB may contact the Gender Cell. Any woman who comes to IIT Bombay for work-related reasons may also contact the Gender Cell.
You may write to us at gendercell[at]iitb[dot]ac[dot]in and we will get back to you within 48 hours. You may also contact any of our student members or PoSH volunteers. You may visit our office or call 5052 during office hours.
Utmost priority is given to confidentiality in Gender Cell. All the details and identities are kept confidential during and after the process.
Yes. You can always contact Gender Cell for help. If we can’t help you, we will suggest where you can get help.
You may still approach us, but usually it is essential to identify the accused person. For example- if a person is harassing you via sending vulgar pictures and texts from random ids, you should have the screen-shots of the chats and discussion.In any instance of abuse by a person whose identity is not known, the Gender Cell with the help of other institute bodies will make efforts to identify the person to the extent possible. If necessary, the gender cell will help you to file a case with the police.
You should complain within 3 months of the incident.
IIT Bombay’s Women’s Cell was formed in 2002. With the enactment of the Institute's policy on sexual harassment, the cell has been renamed the Gender Cell. The cell seeks to address complaints of all students, regardless of their gender.
Gender Cell frequently organizes training sessions, gender sensitization workshops and talks related to gender based issues for faculty, staff and students. We also organize painting competition, film screenings and other cultural events highlighting contributions by women or related to gender issues.
Friday, March 8, 2024 is International Women's Day and the United Nations theme is "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress". The Gender Cell invites you to join us for the following event to mark the occasion - Ratna Pathak Shah in Conversation with Professors Mazhar Kamran (IDC) and Mukta Tripathy (Che) followed by a felicitation of women Staff Members in co-ordination with PTD Cell, IITB. VENUE: PC Saxena Auditorium TIME: 10.30am- 12.00pm
On 10th Feb 2023, to observe the International Day of Women and Girls in Science , the Gender Cell in collaboration with Prof. Nivethida T from the dept. of BSBE organized a panel discussion on “Navigating Cross Gender Mentorship in STEM : Perception, Expectation and Strategies”. Faculties from various departments and student representatives in the panel deliberated on different aspects of the above mentioned topic.
On 3rd December 2022 a training for the security personnel was conducted by Prof. Pooja Purang and Prof Nandita Madhavan ( Convener and co-convener of the Gender cell) along with Advocate Veena Gowda (external member to the GC). The training was attended by the ASO as well as approximately 84 security personnel of IIT Bombay. The Training covered issues of gender sensitization, victim shaming, SHWW law of 2013 and the Institute Policy on Prevention and Redressal of sexual harassment.
A 2-day workshop was conducted on Nov 26th and 27th, 2022 to train selected IIT Bombay students on prevention of sexual harassment (PoSH). The workshop was conducted by by PoSH@Work team. The goal of the workshop was to help students understand the purpose and applicability of the Sexual Harassment of Women in the Workplace (SHWW) Act 2013, and the IIT Bombay policy on the prevention, prohibition and redress of SHWW. Qualified students then took on the role of PoSH Champions in the Institute, as part of which they support aggrieved students and facilitate interaction with Gender Cell and train the other students holding any POR (Position Of Responsibility) on PoSH . The first day of the workshop contained group activities such as role play to understand sexual harassment and its different forms. This was followed by a presentation explaining details of the law's history and the redress mechanisms as per the IIT Bombay policy.On the following day, the students were assessed on the assignments given on the first day.
On the eve of the UG orientation held on 28th Oct 2022, the new students of the institute were made aware of the Gender cell of IITB. The members of the Gender cell briefed them on the need of awareness regarding Sexual Harassment at Workplace and the role of the Gender cell for providing a safe and secure environment for every stakeholder at IITB.
This was a discussion event themed around Placements and gender bias. There seems to be a view, as seen from facebook posts/email forums and heard among some students, that women sometimes get preferential treatment in placement activities. GenAdda is conducted a discussion regarding this on March 13, 2020, to bring out different views and experiences, and attempt the development of some perspective around this topic.
The event was a poet's evening themed around Gender through Poetry. The event was held at the Gender Cell Office on 17th February 2020. This was open to faculty, staff, students, and campus residents, witnessed various participants who shared their own poems as well as read works of other writers. The works featured in this session consisted of various genres, ranging from classical Tamil poetry, Bhakti poetry from Maharashtra, poetry of Urdu poets, as well as contemporary poetry, all with a theme around important gender issues.
The following are some important official documents regarding sexual harassment at the workplace, including Indian Government acts and reports, international conventions and research papers.
?The following are links to videos, articles, art work and organisations that address sexual harassment in diverse ways. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure these are current and reliable. However, the Gender Cell does not monitor, control or guarantee the information contained in these third party sites.
Title | Description |
---|---|
Nazariya | UN Women | Sexual Harassment By UN Women Asia and the Pacific |
Video depicting the contrast between how a man and a woman perceive an interaction between them at their workplace Jan 2, 2020 3 m 42 s |
Kaam Ki Baat | UN Women | Workplace Harassment | Kaam Ki Baat (Talking about Work) questions the everyday normalisation of sexual harassment of women at the workplace and advocates for safe and equal workspaces for all women (youtube) Dec 16, 2019 2 m 33 s |
Is This Sexual Harassment? Men & Women Discuss |
BBC video depicting events between two colleagues which are then discussed by people . A social experiment by journalist and presenter Ben Zand Jan 13, 2019 6 m 6 s |
Not Okay: 5 Women Share Their Everyday Sexual Harassment Stories | Women's Day | The Quint |
Video depicting five Indian women sharing their everyday sexual harassment stories Mar 6, 2020 6 m 27 s |