A state house committee in Karnataka has asked IT and biotech companies to only employ men for night shifts, in the interest of women security and privacy, according to media reports.
The panel made its recommendations following meetings with Infosys and Biocon in the past couple of moths to assess women safety, ET reported.
IT industry body Nasscom, however, says the government should ensure that women are safe in the city at night.
"In the IT sector, night shift is mainly based on projects. In the BPO sector, predominantly the working hours are at night. If we want to reduce women workforce then it would technically mean denying omen job opportunities," said Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice-president, Nasscom, was quoted as saying.
The move also runs counter to the state government's rule last year that relaxed working laws allowing women to work night shift in factories.
Earlier this year, a 23-year-old woman IT professional was found murdered in an Infosys campus in Pune, leading to calls for IT companies to step up security on campuses.