Fewer women reported sexual harassment in India's top listed firms in FY19

Reporting relative to the number of women employees shows a decline over the previous year

In the financial year 2019 (FY19), scores of women, across industries, shared personal accounts of sexual harassment, most of these at work places. Borrowed from the west, it was supposed to be India’s #MeToo movement. However, data for India’s biggest companies weaves a different story, with fewer women reporting sexual harassment relative to the number of women employees.

Business Standard collected data from hundreds of annual reports across periods, as part of a yearly check on representation of marginalized groups and discrimination among companies forming part of the S&P BSE 100 index. The analysis looked at 76 companies for whom continuous