Goa, Mar 12th: Sarvam, a Goa-based workplace culture and POSH awareness initiative committed to promoting safe, respectful and equitable workplaces, successfully hosted Dignity Dialogues 2026 – The Uncomfortable Truth Lab on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026. The national level virtual conclave brought together professionals, leaders and workplace advocates to discuss dignity at work, gender equity and the importance of POSH awareness in organisations. Participants joined the dialogue from states like Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Delhi, reflecting the growing national interest in conversations around safe and inclusive workplaces. The organisation has also recently expanded its presence with new chapters in Maharashtra and Karnataka, strengthening its engagement with companies across regions to build workplaces rooted in dignity, accountability and inclusion.
The conclave was initiated by Shivani Panigrahi, Regional Head – Karnataka at SARVAM for PoSH, and moderated by Ashwini Patwardhan, Founder of SARVAM for PoSH. The dialogue was thoughtfully conceptualised and curated by the SARVAM team under the expertise of Amit Jadhav, Regional Head – Maharashtra, reflecting the organisation’s continued commitment to meaningful conversations around workplace dignity.
A key highlight of the conclave was a live social experiment conducted through anonymous audience polls, allowing participants to reflect on their own workplace experiences. The findings revealed common professional patterns, reinforcing the need for deeper conversations around workplace behaviour and culture.
Insights from the social experiment conducted during the dialogue revealed a clear shift in workplace expectations: dignity at work is no longer seen as merely a compliance requirement. Instead, participants emphasised that the future of workplace culture will be defined not by the absence of complaints, but by the presence of dignity, trust and accountability embedded in everyday organisational behaviour.
Speaking during the session, she said, “Sarvam was created with the belief that workplace dignity should never be treated as a checklist item. Our goal is to help organisations build cultures where people feel safe to speak, leadership takes accountability, and respect becomes a lived workplace value. What emerged from this dialogue is that employees today are no longer willing to accept silence as the price of professionalism — the real shift now is the expectation that dignity at work must be visible, measurable and actively upheld by leadership.”
Opening the discussion, CA Pallavi Salgaocar, Finance Director at Geno Pharmaceuticals and Goa State President of Laghu Udyog Bharati, shared candid insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and professionals. She highlighted the persistent gender bias in venture funding, noting that women founders are often asked personal questions unrelated to business performance during funding meetings.
Reflecting on these experiences, she emphasised the need for inclusive decision-making spaces where women leaders are respected for their expertise and vision from the outset.
“Women should not have to prove their credibility every time they enter a room. The room itself must be inclusive enough to recognise competence and leadership without bias,” she said.
Salgaocar further stressed that organisations must go beyond measuring productivity to actively assess fairness and representation, encouraging men to play a role in building inclusive cultures.
“Dignity at work is not a privilege it is a fundamental right. Conversations like these must continue beyond Women’s Day if we want to transform workplace culture in a meaningful way,” she added.
The dialogue also featured CA Priyanka Chaturvedi Agrawal, Director and Co-Founder of Ally of Inclusion, former Director at KPMG India and ESG Director at BNP Paribas Global. She spoke about the role of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) framework in strengthening workplace safety and highlighted how sexual harassment often stems from unchecked power dynamics and repeated microaggressions.
“In many workplaces, silence has been normalised. People hesitate to call out behaviour because they fear being misunderstood or labelled difficult. But silence allows microaggressions and power misuse to continue unchecked,” she said.
She further emphasised that prevention requires organisations to look beyond formal procedures.
“True prevention is not only about having policies or committees in place. It is about creating environments where employees feel heard and safe enough to speak even when the issue is still unformed or uncomfortable to articulate,” Priyanka added.
Notably, the session also saw strong participation from male professionals, reflecting the growing understanding that creating safe and respectful workplaces is a shared responsibility.
Amit Jadhav, Regional Head – Maharashtra, Sarvam, emphasised the importance of continuing such conversations across organisations.
“Workplace dignity cannot be built through policies alone. It is shaped by everyday behaviours, leadership accountability and the courage to question what has long been normalised. Conversations like Dignity Dialogues are meant to open that space where organisations can move beyond compliance and begin building cultures where respect and safety are lived values,” he said.
Following the dialogue, speakers also noted that conversations around workplace dignity are gaining urgency as organisations revisit their compliance frameworks. Recently, the Government of Maharashtra directed workplaces in the state to conduct a PoSH compliance audit within 30 days, reinforcing the intent of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 to ensure safe and respectful workplaces.
Responding to this growing need for awareness and compliance support, SARVAM for PoSH continues to work with organisations through training, advisory and culture-building initiatives. The organisation has also recently expanded its presence with new chapters in Maharashtra and Karnataka, strengthening its engagement with companies across regions to build workplaces rooted in dignity, accountability and inclusion.
Through initiatives like Dignity Dialogues, Sarvam continues to work with organisations across sectors to strengthen POSH awareness, conduct training programmes and facilitate leadership conversations that build safe and inclusive workplace cultures.
With participation from professionals across industries, the event concluded with a collective call for organisations to embed dignity and accountability into workplace culture, ensuring that conversations on gender equity and workplace safety continue long after International Women’s Day.
