With the exception of the stray, headline-grabbing account of sexual harassment, the impregnable silence engulfing sexism and harassment in the workplace is yet to be breached. The deliberate silencing at the behest of our social structures and organisational might is oft confused with absence till a rare reported incident debunks the egalitarian, equitous workplace myth, leading one to acknowledge what every professional knew but dare not admit - women may have fought stereotypical roles of homemakers to enter the workplace but organisational structures are still configured to view women through the prism of gendered identities. Sexual harassment at the workplace, underscoring powerlessness of women, is a manifestation of the insidious operation of patriarchal power that (en)codes women in dominant, social stereotypes. Working women have faced hostility in countless subtle and direct ways ranging from condescending attitudes, hostile men's leagues in organisations, unequal pay, delayed promotions, sly remarks on plight of spouses of working women, less than humorous remarks on women's appearance, flirtatious glances, direct request for sexual favours. In 2001, the survey on sexual harassment at workplace conducted by women's nonprofit organisation Sakshi among 2,410 respondents in government and non-government sectors, in five States recorded 53 per cent saying that both sexes don't get equal opportunities, 50 per cent women are treated unfairly by employers and co-workers, 59 per cent have heard sexist remarks or jokes, 32 per cent have been exposed to pornography or literature degrading women.