In June, Wells Fargo launched ‘Transgender People’ Hiring Program’ in the country to attract and train transgender talent in all lines of business, while Axis Bank launched the ARISE ComeAsYouAre program for the LGBTQIA+ community, urging individuals from all universities to apply and build a banking career with the private lender.
Godrej Consumer ProductsFuture Generali India Insurance, IBM, Fidelity International and Fiserv are also among the organizations contributing to a small but growing wave of LBGTQIA inclusion in India Inc.
This is important as workplace discrimination in the country’s broader ecosystem continues to pose a challenge for many people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.
“At Flipkart, creating an inclusive and supportive environment for LGBTQIA+ talent is core to our mission of creating a workplace where every individual feels valued and empowered,” said Varadharaju Janardhanan, Vice President, Human Resources, Flipkart.
Along with its women-led fulfilment centres and centres for persons with disabilities (PwDs), this new LGBTQIA+ centre symbolises Flipkart’s approach to creating a truly inclusive workplace, he said. The company’s hiring policies are designed to eliminate bias and ensure a fair and inclusive selection process, Janardhanan said, adding that it offers specialised training for hiring managers to address unconscious bias. Axis Bank’s new talent acquisition programme for the LGBTQIA+ community was launched at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and focused on skill-based hiring that prioritises an individual’s skill set and potential over traditional factors like a specific degree or a college pedigree.
Harish Iyer, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Axis Bank, says the bank is committed to ensuring equity in all its policies. In addition to overall diversity numbers, he emphasises diversity representation in every decision.
“We assess each manager on the diversity of their teams. All of our job postings include a call for the LGBTQIA+ community to apply. Our policies are based on the principle of equity, which adds value to the struggle that LGBTQIA+ people must undertake to achieve the same place as cis-heterosexual people,” Iyer said.
Multifaceted strategy
In addition to targeted hiring initiatives, often partnering with specialist companies, businesses are working on gender-neutral inclusive policies and raising awareness and understanding of relevant issues among their employees for LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is actively seeking LGBTQIA+ professionals with relevant experience as lateral hires, in addition to developing a future pipeline of such talent through internship models and campus collaborations.
“Both white collar and blue collar employees are being hired,” said Sandhya Ramesh, general manager, DEI at GCPL. She said the firm will hire 15 LGBTQ employees and five interns in fiscal 2025. It is also pursuing a transgender integration initiative at new sites in Tamil Nadu.
IBM said that in addition to hiring a significant number of LGBTQ+ people, it also strives to ensure their advancement to senior and managerial positions. “To promote LGBTQ+ talent, we offer a wide variety of career development and acceleration programs, including career guidance and mentoring from senior leaders,” said Prachi Rastogi, diversity and inclusion leader at IBM Asia Pacific.
Upasna Nischal, Head of Human Resources at Fidelity International in India, said a data-driven approach is needed to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion in the organisation. “Diversity, equity and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility… starting from the board, through our operating committee, all the way to the business and leadership functions, managers and employees,” she said.
Fiserv’s vice president of global HR services, Kanisha Raina, said the US fintech company is focused on building a diverse talent pool that includes partnerships with specialist vendors to attract LGBTQIA+ talent.
Future Generali India Insurance Company said it has implemented LGBTQIA+ friendly employee policies and inclusive infrastructure such as gender-neutral washrooms.
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