Unilever Bangladesh Limited, one of the largest global entities in Bangladesh, recently introduced two critical policies against abuse. These reinforce Unilever’s policy of upholding an ecosystem which is inclusive and protects its employees.
The two policies ‘Prevention on Sexual Harassment (POSH)’ and ‘Support Survivors of Abuse’ uphold an inclusive ecosystem to protect all employees from any form of harassment or bullying, whether individual or collective and whether motivated by gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, or role.
According to global estimates published in June 2020 by UN Women around 243 million women and girls have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work from home has become the new normal. Unfortunately, for those who consider their respective workplaces to be safe havens, may be exposed to domestic violence at home, resulting in absenteeism, low productivity, amplified health risks and higher attrition.
Unilever recognizes domestic abuse as an equality issue and the Bangladesh introduction of the global policy will work in parallel to the Government’s efforts in bringing gender equality in the country.
Giving utmost importance to the wellbeing of the employees, Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, Kedar Lele said, “Unilever Bangladesh is committed to ensure a safe and secured workplace for all its employees. The principle of ‘Respect, Dignity & Fair Treatment’ is enshrined under the ‘Code of Business Principles’ of the company and UBL is committed to provide an environment that promotes respect for human rights, equal opportunity and free from all kinds of harassment, including sexual harassment.”
