Creating a safe workplace for Women is a necessity now; if you feel Empowering Women Leaders for your Company..!!

I have known this friend of mine from long now, extremely hard-working, dedicated to the core.

So she does a lot of work travel, going on shoots for the brand she works with, market visits. Now, she had her schedule planned and her entire 4 days plan is intact.

She does a search on the OTAs for the best deals and Woo! she gets one :)

The game-changer to this episode is when she presents her bills to Finance for the reimbursements which actually 'she was asked to pay on her own'. As expected, the bills are questioned on unnecessary issues like why the GST of the same state was not billed to count the rebate, why a 5star and then came the most wildest of the question - 'you are allowed to travel alone who else traveled with you since the booking shows 2 occupants'. The last one pierced her heart. The booking done via the online OTA was done only for her but the system took it to double instead of single because of the reserved inventory with these OTAs.

Because of which this poor girl had to give explanations to the Finance department, show mails. I mean for God sake if the company is asking a Senior Women Employee to travel on work, the last thing which they can take care is of proper Stay and Travel facility, you can't expect her to book a OYO room and risk her life for God Sake.

This turmoil doesn't end here the gentleman from the Accounts team called the OTA to enquire about the stay details, his words were - 'can you please tell me if she was alone in the room or with someone else as well'.. The accountant presented the booking id, email and mobile number of my friend to get the assurance of the OTA, to seek the details. My friend was shocked and felt completely mentally harassed to understand all this, on her request, the OTA CC team send her a mail with the details. And they also went ahead and reached the hotel to get a written note on clarification of the occupancy details.

This was raised as an huge hue and cry by my friend in the company, but to her surprise no one stood for her - the HR, the legal, the Finance/Accounts team and not even the Ceo. BUT SIMPLY NOTHING HAPPENED. No one was questioned on the right and wrong etiquettes of how things should have been done originally. No one reached out to my friend with an apology note on how the matter was handled. The kind of agony, feeling of disrespectfulness, mental harassment, feeling of character assassination what she has gone through, unfortunately no one could even relate to it.

The matter was done and dusted and covered under the carpet.

I write here today, to understand your thoughts on this story. Precisely, your views.

1. What was done to her, firstly was that required just to clear the bills??
2. Secondly being a woman senior employee doesn't she deserves to stay in a safe place if she doesn't have a choice instead from a OYO room??
3. Thirdly the audacity of the junior accountant from the accounts team, was he being ordered to do all these to check-on the where-about of a woman employee to prove there point that the occupancy and cost was for double and not single.
4. Why was their no Woman Intervention in all this episode, by the HR, the Legal, the Management teams did not stepped in to help solve this issue. Why was this matter handled so recklessly by a junior accountant calling and enquiring the OTAs about the woman's where-about?
5. Was this the only way to handle to situation?

 PS - this doesn't end here, the story rebounded with a twist. Awaiting your thoughts ... !!