Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

conditions of work, where work is outsourced or where home-based work is
part of its production and service delivery strategy.
• Ensure that all machinery, equipment and tools are designed for use by both
women and men. Frequently, these are designed by male designers on the
assumption that they will be utilized by male workers; and are often
cumbersome for women to use. Thus, organizations need to ensure that
there is gender sensitivity vis a vis the design of workplace equipment and
ensure that women as well as men are trained in their usage. Providing
feedback to manufacturers with regard to gendered concerns becomes
important in this context.
• Minimize occupational hazards by conforming to safety/health standards.
This is a basic requirement and a biding legal obligation to all employees.
Yet, there are considerable areas for improvements in many industrial,
plantation and service sector work settings.
• Ensure the security of women employees (from sexual harassment/genderbased
violence) within and around the workplace. Often women are the
targets of other employees - superiors, colleagues as well as subordinates—
where harassment and violence is concerned. All employees must feel
totally secure in the place of work as well as in the surrounding areas so
that they do not have additional stress to deal with. The adoption of
existing provisions as well as taking proactive measures to ensure a safe
workplace will be a major achievement for any organization; as a means
of developing both employer loyalty and organizational reputations.
• Account for occupational stress. Often employees work in high stress
situations. The stress incurred may be in terms of the physical task
performed and the physical risks involved, as well as mental stress where
deadlines and targets are concerned. Stress affects people’s physical and
psychological well-being quite noticeably. Companies must be mindful
of such issues/conditions and act favourably to help people cope with
workplace stress. There is a growing body of knowledge on this topic
that management should be familiar with so as to adopt appropriate
strategies.
• Recognize and take responsibility for occupational ailments. With the
widespread dependency on machinery at the workplace and in the work
field, work-related illnesses are on the increase. Appropriate ergonomical
designs relating to work environments, furnishings, equipment etc., as
well as allowances in terms of time and medical care for the affected
workers need to be introduced.
• Account for family crises. Almost all employees have family responsibilities.
In countries like Sri Lanka, there are strong social values associated with
family ties. Sometimes, when there are major crises at home, people are
torn between two sets of loyalties. Further, due to the poor social support
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