HYDERABAD: Power distribution companies in Telangana don’t want to recruit women as field staff because they believe women would find it difficult to climb up electricity poles.
The argument did not go down well with judges of the Telangana high court after two women challenged the decision to keep them out only based on their gender. A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy wondered how women could be stopped from becoming ‘linewomen’ when even the armed forces were opening their doors to them.
The bench directed officials to conduct a pole climbing test for the women — V Bharathi from Mahabubabad and B Shirisha from Siddipet — within two weeks.
Interestingly, the power utilities had initially offered the job to women and even offered 33% reservation to them. They later reversed the decision.
Representing the women, senior counsel S Satyam Reddy told the court that the company notified 1,500 posts in 2018 and 2,500 posts in 2019. In 2018, they offered 33% reservation to women and in 2019 they discarded the reservation. For various reasons, they did not take one woman onboard. Worse, they are now not allowing women to compete in the open category.