Step 1: Read the situation carefully.
Promotions in Hitesh's company were given exclusively to women employees. Other employees, regardless of their performance or merit, did not get equal opportunities to rise. This is a case of discrimination in the workplace.
Step 2: Connect the observation to Fayol's principles.
Henri Fayol believed that a well-managed organisation must treat all its employees with justice and fairness to maintain their motivation and commitment.
Step 3: Identify the principle being violated.
The principle being violated is the Principle of Equity. This principle states that all employees in an organisation must be treated with kindness, fairness, and justice by the management, without any discrimination based on gender, religion, caste, language, or any other such factor.
Step 4: Explain the principle of Equity in depth.
Equity does not mean that every employee gets identical treatment in all situations; it means that the basis for rewards, promotions, and opportunities must be merit, performance, and capability - not personal bias or group identity. When management applies different standards to different groups, it destroys trust and morale across the organisation.
Step 5: Apply the principle to Hitesh's company.
By promoting only women employees while ignoring equally capable or even more capable male employees, Hitesh's company is practising gender-based discrimination. This violates Equity and likely explains why the company is experiencing high labour turnover - the ignored employees are leaving out of frustration.
Step 6: State the implication and conclude.
Hitesh must ensure that all promotion and reward decisions are based purely on employee performance, skills, and merit, regardless of gender or any other personal characteristic.
\[ \boxed{ \text{Principle violated: Equity (fair and just treatment for all employees)} } \]