Imagine if a beautiful woman accuses a man of sexual harassment ?
Then imagine again if the man turns back, denies and then accuses the woman of the same ?
So who would you believe ?
Let me tell you. Your first instinct would be to believe the woman. Right away. You may not even think twice. Especially if the woman is crying, breaking down all over. Especially if she looks beautiful and stunning. Frail and delicate. Especially if the man is macho and twice her size.
?Disclosure? deals with the issue of allegations in a working place. It also questions an average person's mindset when it comes to gender issues. It?s a story of Tom Sanders, a successful executive at a high-flying computer firm who has to deal with his new boss, Meredith Johnson, a woman with whom he has had an affair with long ago. Though Tom is a thorough gentleman and a professional, he faces hell when after a closed door after-office-hours meeting with his new boss, Meredith accuses him of sexual harassment. His whole world comes crumbling down as his colleagues and his family look accusingly at him and his career take a nose dive.
In a brilliant fight, Sanders not only comes clean but also exposes the plot of the company that was hatched against him.
Black and white. Day and night. Is it really simple ? Then what about grey ? And what about twilight ? The question the book raises is the way some women use or misuse their sexuality for their own means. They know the easiest and the most effective means to tarnish the reputation of a man : Just make a noise about the way he chased a woman, harassed her or even molested her. Do you really think people ask for the evidence ? Not unless it becomes a police case, which it very rarely does.
Usually you hear women lamenting about the unfair and unjust treatment meted out to them in a male dominated society. They feel discriminated against and ignored. They blame their periods, marriage, husbands and babies for their dismal state of lives and careers.
Then there are women who decide to work hard against all odds. They blame nobody, take care of their homes and / or careers, use every ability they have and strive ahead in their chosen profession.
Yet, there is another class of women who belong to the twilight zone. They may not have the ability to work hard or brains to land wonderful projects but they know how to make the right moves. Flutter those eyelashes. Smile a simpering smile. Cross and uncross those legs. Look frightened and if nothing works, cry. Sob away and your work place hurdles are removed in an instant. Sometimes things work for them because they look so believable but sometimes it?s simply because people don?t want to have embarrassing scenes in a professional place.
I have seen many male colleagues who are perfect gentlemen being pushed to a corner by ladies who have real or imagined complaints about harassment by them. Look, not all men pant after every pretty woman in a cave-man like way, especially in a professional place. Men may have other things in mind too, like a career, a cricket match or even food. Why do we have to have an image of men as these sex-starved out-of-control dodos ?
When we talk about equality of men and women, it should be just that : equality. Why should either of them have an unfair advantage ? An advantage to cry wolf ? An advantage to cry ? An advantage to create a scene ?
The message of this book is that since the goal is the same, that is to get ahead in your career, we should make the rules same for everyone. Use hard work, sincerity, smarts and dedication. Leave your gender behind when you go to work.
The book is very racy and is effectively covered in just seven days of Tom Sanders? life. The suspense is brilliant and you may not feel like putting the book down till you have read the last page. Then you may keep it down, look up and think about the games people play. You may think about how we just take people at their face value and how easily we get judgmental. Who knows, you may become a wiser person after this !
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