In May 2022, BharatPe, a startup,announced a revamp of its governance framework to address any potential risks associated with suspicious transactions in response to a prolonged dispute with its Co-founder and former Managing Director (MD), Ashneer Grover. The company, in December 2022, filed a civil case at the Delhi High Court, and a criminal complaint with the Economic Offenses Wing alleging misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, and other misconduct. As the controversy unfolded, BharatPe's board, primarily comprised of multinational venture capital funds, came under scrutiny, with governance experts questioning their responsibilities and level of accountability. Did the board allow governance issues to persist for an extended period?
Sexual Harassment in Virtual Workplaces is a collection of eight vignettes set in India that describe various sexual harassment incidents perpetrated by supervisors, colleagues, and clients at virtual workplaces involving video calls, social media groups, and online chats. The harassment occurred both as one incident and as a series of incidents and consisted of behaviours such as requesting video meetings, comments about appearance, sharing pictures without permission, verbal put-downs, offensive comments, and sexual propositions, all of which led to adverse impacts on their targets.
On January 10, 2020, Samira Ahmed, a British Asian woman, won a landmark gender discrimination case against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Ahmed’s emphatic victory was a major setback for the BBC, which had been facing accusations of inequities since 2017, after it released the salary details of its top earners and a gender pay gap report showing major disparities in the way men and women were paid. Tony Hall, the BBC’s director general, had pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020 or sooner, assuring that work was already underway. Was Hall heading in the right direction to crack down on gender inequality? What could Hall do to be at the forefront of change on gender equality?
In May 2013, iGATE Corporation ended its employment contract with Phaneesh Murthy, then chief executive officer, amid allegations of sexual harassment. iGATE maintained that Murthy had violated company policy; thus, it dismissed Murthy “with cause,” effectively ending all of the company’s severance obligations under the agreement. Murthy responded by suing iGATE, claiming breach of contract and defamation. In March 2014, iGATE countersued Murthy for damages the company suffered due to Murthy’s behaviour. Could iGATE justify its termination of Murthy’s contract? What were the implications of ending a senior executive’s agreement for cause?
In May 2013, iGATE Corporation suffered a major blow after terminating its president and chief executive officer, Phaneesh Murthy, as a result of allegations of sexual harassment. Murthy had previously been forced to step down from Infosys Limited for similar reasons. After Murthy’s unceremonious exit, iGATE struggled to fill its top leadership position. Finally, in September 2013, a new chief executive took over and outlined a plan of action that differed completely from his predecessor’s strategy. However, the company, which had been poised to achieve big ambitions, had lost momentum and appeared directionless. Had iGATE made a mistake by hiring Murthy as its top executive just 18 months after he had been fired from Infosys? Why did iGATE not conduct due diligence on its talent acquisition and management, especially for the critical position of chief executive officer? How could other organizations turn around a position of vulnerability to become resilient?