PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS

BY LT-C03:
DIKSHA SINGH (JL19PG042)
SAURAV VIJAY (JL19PG136)
ROHIT YADAV (JL19PG124)
SHIVANSHI MISHRA (JL19PG147)
MILI SINGH (JL19PG075)
 PRAYUSH PRAKASH (JL19PG104)

Introduction

Ethical Dilemma: Should women be really encouraged to work in night shifts in the
current scenario where crimes and health issues against women are at its peak?

Women are the foundation of any economy fundamentally molding fate of the nation. She who
prior remained at home to go to her household obligations is currently keeping up work and
home at the same time, taking an interest during the time spent monetary improvement on an
equivalent balance with men.

Since the time India opened its ways to progression in the mid-1990s there has been a consistent
change in India's economy. Confidence helped in building extraordinary organizations of
learning and taking steps in different field of life in keeping pace with the quickly evolving
world. Women who prior remained at home to go to their residential obligations currently keep
up both work and home all the while, taking an interest in the process on an equivalent balance
with men in social and financial advancement. Ladies have moved away from their customary
jobs of homemaker and youngster raising to social and business arrangements.

In country like India, people are now comfortable with women going out of the home in order to
earn and run the livelihood. But still one of the major issues still faced by the women are the
timings of their shifts. They are still not that comfortable in working in late night shifts may be
due to restrictions from families or safety issues. But as an individual if we demand equal rights,
we are at the same time liable to share the same responsibilities as well.

So in such a present scenario where there are so many criminal cases pending in the court against
women should more and more women be encouraged to work in late-night shifts or not?

Facts

 Factories Act 1948 banned working of women in night shifts by stating that no women
shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours of 6 AM
and 7 PM.
  In November 2019, Karnataka government lifted restrictions on allowing women to work
in night shifts in all sectors. It issued guidelines to employers to ensure safety of women
employees.
 Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra too
amended factories act 1948 to allow women to work in night shifts.

Opinions
Member 1: Diksha Singh(JL19PG042)
Against the view
 I personally don’t favor for women working in late night shifts owing to the current
scenario of the society. We should not be ignorant about the fact that there are criminals
out there and we need to protect ourselves against them.
 One of the recent examples is of an Infosys employee, K Rasila Raju, a software engineer
who was found strangulated to death in her office by computer cable in late Sunday
evening. This sparked a fear amongst the working women across the entire nation. Also
Infosys was slammed for forced night shifts in lonely offices which women employees
can’t refuse to work in.
 Also keeping in mind the fact that although big companies can easily arrange cabs to
drop women employees at their home, small scale industries and companies may not be
able to do so very easily. This in turn might turn to be way too risky for female
employees.
 Although laws have been made for the pick and drop facilities for female employees by
their respective companies. But there is no strict enforcement of the same owing to the
negligent attitude by the responsible authorities. Same was the case registered in
December 2019 in UP’s Hardoi region. The female employee of a very famous hotel was
not provided any cab service after completing her night shift. After the authorities’ cam
to know about the matter, they ordered the hotel to do the needful.
 Also according to study done by Harvard research on 1,50,000 nurses over 15 years, they
found a person’s work schedule can very badly hamper the body’s resilience and control
 over blood sugar levels. Night shifts are damaging and if particularly talk about women,
an erratic mix of day and night shifts might increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
 Women working in night shifts have a 48% increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Also leads to high risk of anxiety and hypertension.
 And as we know that women are the building blocks of our society. And also they are the
ones who have to look after their family as well. So getting a women’s safety and health
into danger, would be equivalent to putting the future of our society into danger as well.

Member 2: Shivanshi Mishra(JL19PG147)

For the view

In my opinion, night shift for women should be encouraged as it brings us one step closer
towards bridging the gender inequality gap which is very prominent in our Indian Society.

More than a want, it is the need of the hour. To put it in the correct way, I believe that by now,
our society should have been ready to see women go out at night, at whatever time suits them,
for whatever task they wish to accomplish, be it job related, personal affair, or any other motive.
There is no harm in encouraging the people of India to change their mind set and come forward
together in granting the women of their nation, an environment where they can be encouraged to
work freely and conveniently, without any danger of them being a victim of any crime.

If we consider the current scenario, the amendments made to the Factories Act, stating that
women should be allowed to work at night, can be observed as a significant step taken towards a
progressive future and more efforts should be put in, in order to make this initiative a success.

As it is rightly said, “Rome was not built in a day”, the idea to create a country, wherein women
are not seen as mere fragile creatures who can be used or exploited but rather as logical or
rational human beings who inhibit feelings, desires, emotions as well as the power of deciding or
telling what she wants, can be achieved slowly and gradually and not all at once.

Several measures and steps need to be taken in order to assure the safety of women at workplace
as well as outside the office premises. According to the amended Factories Act, some measures
which should be undertaken in order to ensure women safety and security are:

 Transport facility from official property to residence

  CCTV coverage
 Proper Health and Hygiene conditions
 Efficient security measures including female wardens and female security guards who
shall be appointed for women’s security
 Proper Lighting facility in office premises, etc.

If we wish to progress in our country as a whole and equal, we need to ensure that we do
everything possible in our hands to promote women safety and security and safeguard the
interests of the females of our nation. This will not only empower the women of our nation but
also prove to be a huge part of our nation’s prosperity and growth.

Member 3: Mili Singh(JL19PG075)

Against the view

In reference to the mentioned ethical dilemma that “Should women be really encouraged to work
in night shifts in the current scenario where crimes against women are at its peak?” I stand
against the notion. I, further state the following points in support of my argument:

 SAFETY ISSUES:
For a working women, safety concerns are the topmost priority not only for the working
women but also for her family and keeping in mind the current scenario where crime is
increasing day by day in our country, we as women’s can’t simply compromise on the
safety. Although a lot of companies are providing with the pick and drop service but
nowadays we can’t even trust those drivers and there are many cases proving it. Also,
cases of harassments and sexual assaults is not new for us. Still to this day India is
considered to be one of the most unsafe countries and therefore, it becomes extremely
unsafe for women to work night shifts.

 HEALTH ISSUES:
Night shifts for women’s specifically can lead to various problems and diseases such as:
1. Damage to DNA Structure
2. Breast cancer
3. Diabetes
 4. Cardiovascular and neurological disorder
Keeping in mind the hazardous health concerns and issues it is rather suggested
for women’s to not go for late night shifts and moreover the studies states that a
women and men’s human body system varies immensely due to which a women
has to be extra careful than a man.
 SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
I Personally feel, it’s not that women can’t work. I feel women are equally capable of
doing what a man can but our society at large and our nation considering the crime rates
doesn’t allow a woman to be completely safe. Our society wants to empower women but
what about the harassments and assaults. And it’s not just the duty of the government but
duty of each individual. The sad truth is it is not completely safe for a woman.

 WORK LIFE IMBALANCE:

A woman plays different roles in her personal life and has number of responsibilities and
thus it is important for her to balance both office and personal life and late night shifts
will lead to no work life balance. For ex, a mother can’t take care of her child if she is on
night shifts.

Member 4: Rohit Yadav(JL19PG124)

For the view

Since, these days it’s all about gender equality and women are nowhere behind in
comparison to men, so women should be empowered and encouraged in order to give
them equality in comparison to men. Since men can work in both shifts so they are
privileged with an extra edge.
It might make companies to take extra measures in order to keep women secured at night
even during pick and drop as well as in the company premise as well.
Just because a woman can't work during night shift, company has to compromise over
quality work which could be delivered by a certain person who is a female. So here
company starts searching for an alternative for that work to be done and the women loose
their chance of showing their skills and giving value to the company.
 Gender gap will be reduced if the females are given an opportunity to work at night. And
if more and more females will be working at night, it might increase the safety of females
in workplace and which will lead to more comfortable environment for women.
Even during night hours’ female security guards should be kept in order to keep the
security from refraining from their duties and maintaining a balanced security system.
It will provide women opportunities to keep their position in this competitive world and
will create more and more opportunities to women. And more the women are empowered
more will be the strength lying at the hands women and will provide them strength to
stand against men and be courageous enough to strike the right note against people who
try to offend their personal space.
Haryana, Rajasthan ,Madhya Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra amended
factories act 1948 and allowed women to work at night.
Saying no to a woman for a certain thing just because of gender is wrong and shouldn't be
favored and a society of women dominant should be built in place of male dominant
country. I’m order to change something for women we men need to change our mentality
and provide a better world and environment for the women not just for our present
condition but for our future generations as well.
Don't say no but 'yes' and empower women to give them a better stand in the society and
help them to build a strong personality to stand against and odd which offends them.

Member 5: Saurav Vijay(JL19PG136)

For the view

According to my opinion, if women feel that working environment is secure for her and if she
has capability to do the job then she can go for late night shifts. As there is no difference between
men and women and overall in BPO industries there is no physical work. The only quality they
require is how perfectly she speaks and can handle the queries of customer. In the MNCs for the
travelling purposes the males are preferred but if we encourage the females to work there then
they will also get the opportunity to travel and make deals with the international clients which
will provide them a good exposure. We should respect the women who is working in night as
they are playing vital role in economic growth. I believe women are more patient, soft and can
handle a customer better than men.

Rather than stopping them to work, we should create a healthy working environment to make
them feel safe and secure. There are various laws present on the working time of females but
they are not properly enforced. So it’s both our and government responsibility to make those
laws or rules enforceable, there should be rules and regulations that complements the working
conditions for both males and females rather making laws which stops a particular gender to
work. As both men and women are necessary for the growth of the economy
In this way, she can also contribute towards her family financially and in this challenging world,
she can be self-dependent as this is very much necessary for today’s generation.

Because country like India is a developing nation and also every other country is now increasing
the competition so nobody wants to lose his identity in this scenario and woman also have the
same right to work with man. As they also have many desires to live their life independently and
wants to enjoy life as they want. It would be helpful for mentally stress or It will be helpful to
provide all the facilities to her kids whether it is education or living happy life.

Member 6: Prayush Praksh(JL19PG104)

For the view

What I believe is everyone should be given equal opportunity to work and show their talent.
Shift should not decide or be any huddle in the ladder of your success, Let’s take example of
Saloni Sinha a copy editor at Hindustan Times, she has to be there at a particular time that is the
reason she does night shift. The main reason many women prefer to work in night shift are better
pay and cut throat competition in employment. However, working in night has some
consequences on your health, living habit and family.

National Commission for Women, India has a survey report that state that 28.9% Women feel
insecure on Night Shift, 71% felt secure during the night shift, 87% satisfied with Transport
facilities made by the company. Mindsets will have to change if women have to work at night it
will be a huge step towards gender parity be it night or day it is the state’s responsibility to make
women feel safer.
But employment act establish restriction on women working in night at industrial and
agricultural business. The industrial sector includes quarrying, mining, manufacturing, packing,
ship-building, and the electricity sector.

Conclusion

Considering the opinions of every individual of the team, there is a clash of opinions. Some are
in the favor of encouraging women to work during late night shifts while some are not. So the
major points that came out to be in against the issue are:

 High criminal issues in the society during night shifts.

 Not so strict enforcement of laws for security of women.
 Every company cannot provide commuting facility.
 Health issues of women.

The major points that came out to be in for the issue are:

 Bridging the gender inequality gap.

 More empowerment to women.
 More women workforce in night ensures more safety.
 Rather than stopping them to work, we should create a healthy working environment to
make them feel safe and secure.