Hello all my readers! Trust everyone is doing great and are on Top of the World. I too, am good and doing well. Maggie and Jaggy have been away for some time and as requested by my readers privately, they are back with a totally new conversation. This time they will talk on POSH-‘Prevention of Sexual Harassment’. Safety is for everyone which includes the women folk at the workplace. Maggie will lead the conversation here and Jaggy would be the one asking questions. Let us listen in to what they have to say. I trust that this blog will help people to understand better, the subject of POSH. This will be the first conversation in a series of conversations.

Maggie: “Hello Jaggy! Trust you are on top of the world as usual.”

Jaggy: “Yes Maggie you are right.”

Maggie: “Nice to meet you after a long time.”

Jaggy: “Yes Maggie both of us were busy in our own ways.”

Maggie: “Jaggy I had attended a session on POSH Train the Trainers workshop recently conducted at my workplace.”

Jaggy: “That’s awesome. Now you will train people on POSH.”

Maggie: “Yes Jaggy.”

Jaggy: “I have been a Safety Trainer for long but really do not know much about POSH. Would like to know more from you.”

Maggie: “Sure Jaggy.”

Jaggy: “What exactly is this POSH and when was it introduced in India?”

Maggie: “Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace is called POSH in Short P- Prevention O –Of S-Sexual H-Harassment. How it started and why is a long story which I will tell you on another day. The law in India is POSH 2013 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.”

Jaggy: “Great Maggie. Never knew it. Go ahead and educate me.”

Maggie: “Before we get into POSH, I want your answer to what is your understanding of the two words, Sex and Gender?”

Jaggy: “I think both are the same to a large extent. We say either Male or Female sex or gender. Am I correct?”

Maggie: “No Jaggy they do not mean the same. Sex is basically the biological make up of a person. Gender is more of behavioural traits or the roles imposed upon by the society. We say Sex is either male or female but we say masculine or feminine gender.”

Jaggy: “Oh I see! But is there not a third gender?”

Maggie: “The third gender or trans- genders as they are called basically are either male, or female.”

Jaggy: “Interesting but what has this to do with POSH?”

Maggie: “Patience Jaggy you need to understand something else before I get to POSH.”

Jaggy: “Go ahead.”

Maggie: “First and Foremost you need to understand 3 key words, Gender Sensitivity, Gender Sensitization and Gender Equality.”

Jaggy: “Well to me I feel that gender sensitivity is understanding the needs of the gender, gender sensitisation is creating awareness and gender equality is no discrimination.”

Maggie: “Good try Jaggy but let me clarify. Gender sensitivity is being aware of the differences in the gender, gender sensitization is being aware of the feelings and emotions and gender equality is no discrimination which you rightly said.”

Jaggy: “Good explanation Maggie but when and why this gender theory actually start and why differences in roles?”

Maggie: “A long time ago both were considered equal but slowly both men and women realized that due to their respective biological process they cannot perform all the roles and hence the early society of humans decided that a male should do this and a female should do this. But there are instances even in mythologies of different civilizations where both men and women fought in wars.”

Jaggy: “Then probably over a period of time discrimination started that men are stronger than women and women need the protection of men is it not?”

Maggie: “Yes Jaggy but these days, women are also competing with men in all walks of life. Inequality gets learnt, Equality needs teaching. That is why I wanted to be clear on gender sensitivity, sensitization and equality.”

Jaggy: “Thanks Maggie. Looking forward to more such conversations on POSH with you. Keep teaching me.”

Maggie: “Always welcome.”

I had recently undergone a ‘train the trainer workshop on POSH’ and I decided that the world and especially my country men and women should know about it and hence this series.  I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Darshana Vithalani for her inputs and my POSH trainer Mrs. Vandana Chawla for her teaching. Please read, share the blog to all and do not forget to post your suggestions and corrections in the comments section.

Stay safe and be safe.

Live Life – Save Life.

Seshadri Varadarajan.