This week on Entrepreneurship 101, we look at how businesses are creating inclusive and safe places for the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as what Indian startups are doing in this area.
Bright rainbow-colored gates outside the Wells Fargo Centre in Bengaluru's Marathahalli signify that the multinational financial services corporation is celebrating Pride Month. A rainbow flag adorns the office of HSBC Electronic Data Processing a few kilometers ahead.
The LGBTQIA+ (all genders and sexualities) movement is symbolized by the rainbow flag, also known as the pride flag. Every June, brands all across the world wear rainbows to commemorate Pride Month, with the rainbow flag frequently incorporated into their logo.
What happens, however, after June 30? YourStory takes a deep dive into Entrepreneurship 101 to find out where India Inc stands on the issue of gay inclusion.
Companies that are setting the standard
According to a Glassdoor survey performed in 2020, 76 percent of job searchers and employees viewed a diverse workplace to be a critical factor in evaluating career prospects and firms.
Accenture, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, IBM, Tata Steel, and Thoughtworks are among the companies featured in the India Workplace Equality Index 2021, which highlights companies that have successfully embedded LGBTQIA+ inclusion in their policies—external communication and hiring practices—while demonstrating a long-term and in-depth commitment to queer inclusion.
PayU, a digital payments solution provider, recently commemorated Pride Month by announcing new measures aimed at making the workplace more inclusive and safe. Its medical insurance policy was expanded to cover hormone therapy, gender affirmation surgery, and related pre- and post-care costs.
Tata Steel implemented an HR policy in 2019 to allow employees who identify as LGBTQIA+ to get benefits for their partners that are permitted by law. Child care leave, parental leave, medical benefits, employee assistance programs, joint house points, health check-ups, transfer and relocation benefits, and domestic travel policies are just a few of them.
In 2018, the corporation also established WINGS, an LGBTQIA+ employee resource organization. It hired 12 LGBTQIA+ staff at its Kalinganagar factory earlier this year. Tata Steel, in fact, has been a top employer for LGBT+ inclusion in India since 2020, according to the India Workplace Equality Index.
Axis Bank extended all-gender restrooms last year, as well as mediclaim benefits to all workers' partners, regardless of sex, gender, or marital status.
Saraf Furniture, situated in Rajasthan, has Gender Affirmation and Sexual Harassment Prevention policies in place.
The D2C furniture company has built gender-neutral restrooms and is in the midst of forming a Welfare Committee to preserve and protect the LGBTQIA+ community's rights. Additionally, it has provided awareness and training programs for its existing employees' diverse lifestyles, emphasizing mutual tolerance, understanding, and communication.
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Saraf Furniture has also been hiring LGBTQIA+ people for the past two years. Founder Raghunandan Saraf told YourStory that the company hired 234 people from the queer community last year, with 198 of them currently working there.
Merck India, a science-tech corporation, has been working hard to make its offices more diverse and inclusive. Shiv Kumar, HR Head at Merck India, stated in an interview that "little things go a long way." The company uses gender-neutral language and is pronoun sensitive in all of its regulations. "It's a matter of raising awareness and educating people," he continues. Merck India's medical insurance includes live-in couples of the same gender.
What are the activities of start-ups?
Startups in India aren't far behind. PhonePe, a fintech unicorn, currently employs four transgender people. Its insurance and parental policies also support same-sex relationships. Same-sex partners are covered by life and health insurance.
"Parental leave for main carers is on par with what biological mothers are entitled to," says Manmeet Sandhu, PhonePe's Head of HR.
PhonePe's headquarters offers gender-neutral restrooms, and its recruitment and internal demographic forms allow people to identify their gender and sexual orientation without being forced to (a 'Do not desire to disclose' option is included). "We have a zero-tolerance policy for all sorts of prejudice," she emphasizes.
Similarly, Bengaluru-based co-living firm Isthara CoLiving opened Anannya, an all-inclusive facility, in July to serve the transgender population. "We hope to right conventional housing social conventions and establish a varied area devoid of gender, religious, and community-based discrimination," says co-founder Krishna Kumar in an interview with YourStory.
Other clients are welcome at the facility, making it a welcoming setting. "At any given time, the Anannya resort has more than half of its guests who are transgender," Krishna continues.
Isthara is also assisting them in their upskilling through Anannya. It has partnered with Periferry, a non-profit that trains and employs transgender people in the workplace. It also intends to open other Anannya homes in Hyderabad and Pune in the future. Orientation programs are also held by Isthara to help new employees become more aware of their surroundings during their onboarding process.
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