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Delhi Commission For Women Slams Indian Bank For Discriminatory Policy On Pregnant Women's Employment
Writer: Mrinalini Kaushik
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India, 21 Jun 2022 10:56 AM GMT
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A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Creatives : Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Delhi Commission for Women has given notice to Indian Bank regarding its new recruitment policy where three months or above pregnant women are termed 'temporarily unfit' for the job.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) wrote to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor about creating women-friendly opportunities and workspace in the banking sector amid discriminatory recruitment practices by the Indian Bank coming to light. DCW has called out this new policy as illegal and misogynistic.
Its chairperson, Swati Maliwal, also issued a notice to the Indian Bank on Monday, June 20, regarding the withdrawal of a new employment policy of considering women pregnant for three months and above as 'temporarily unfit' for recruitment.
We have issued Notice to Indian Bank for their rule denying joining to pregnant women terming them 'medically unfit'. Earlier SBI also had to withdraw similar rule after DCW Notice. Also written to RBI now requesting them to fix accountability against misogynistic rules by Banks! pic.twitter.com/ODHWgh3Eg9
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) June 20, 2022
New Recruitment Policy As Discriminatory
The DCW had taken suo moto cognisance of the new recruitment guidelines posted by the Indian Bank, reported by the Free Press Journal.
In its letter, the DCW urged the RBI governor to create directives to facilitate safe and anti-discriminatory workspaces for women.
The bank had posted a circular on Wednesday, June 15, which stated that "A woman candidate, who as a result of tests, is found to be pregnant of 12 weeks' standing or over, should be declared temporarily unfit until the confinement is over."
It also specified that the woman candidate should be re-examined for a fitness test six weeks after giving birth, as cited in The Scroll.
Action Recommended By The Commission
Outraged, Maliwal had earlier voiced that the new policy poses a grave problem as it defies the Fundamental Rights under our Constitution, prohibiting discrimination based on gender and sex. She has sought the withdrawal of the new policy from the Indian Bank and how this policy came about.
In response, the Indian Bank had taken out a statement on June 17 claiming that it has always given significant importance to women's empowerment, constituting around 29 per cent of the employees. It has further noted the apprehensions and remarked that it would take necessary steps to provide more clarity on the issue.
The recruitment policy has also been condemned by the All India Democratic Women's Association, which addressed a letter to Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, expressing concern over the discrimination as it is the second bank to do so. State Bank of India (SBI) had made a rule along similar lines for pregnant women in December 2021, which was removed after facing criticism.
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