Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) in India

Overview

The greater use of technology, growing demand for flexibility at work, and the widespread need for inclusivity and equity in the workplace dominate the new-age job market. With these trends, businesses need to reform their existing policies and work culture to facilitate this trip in light of societal change.

DE&I is a discipline that encompasses practices or policies intended to welcome individuals from different backgrounds and provide them the assistance they need to succeed at work to the best of their ability. Diversity in a workplace is the presence of variances, including distinctions based on racial or ethnic background, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and financial status. Equity ensures that processes and policies are unbiased and provide equal potential outcomes for every worker. Inclusion is the practice of making each individual feel a sense of belonging at work.

See. The Next Level of Diversity for Companies in India

This DEI Toolkit provides an understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Also, it examines the risks and opportunities that rapidly developing technology, demography, and environments represent for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The toolkit describes how organizations can lessen bias in hiring procedures, broaden the talent pool, and benchmark diversity and inclusion across enterprises.

See. 6 Steps for Building an Inclusive Workplace.

DE&I Issues Prevalent in India

There is a growing need to emphasize the issues and discrimination based on gender, disability, caste, and LGBTQ identity.

So far, caste is the area where the least has been done. While studies suggest low representation of disadvantaged castes at higher levels of management, most companies cover it up by claiming to have their people-related decisions based on merit and merit alone.

Initiatives related to LGBTQ inclusion are more common in multinationals (MNCs) and large firms than in small enterprises.

Recruitment and inclusion of disabled people are followed by only a few companies, thus making it an exception and not a norm.

While there has been much talk about gender diversity, there are growing talks about women’s experiences of marginalization. Much is to be done to increase women’s representation at the higher management levels.

Diversity in the Indian Context

Diversity refers to the similarities and differences among individuals accounting for all aspects of their personality and identity. Organizations often define diversity differently, unique to their environment. In India, diversity in the workplace is commonly defined as the practice of including employees from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds and diverse sexual orientations and genders, etc. Some of India's common dimensions of diversity and related legislation are given below.

See. 5 Leaders Who Are Disrupting Diversity

1. Gender [The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013] [section 354 and section 509 of the Indian penal code (Criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty)]
2. Regional Origin and Language
3. Religion and Ethnicity [The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989]
4. Sexual orientation (LGBTQ)
5. Disability [The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.]
6. Age and Generation
7. Socio-economic Status

In India, a person's socio-economic position, including their origin of birth, the family of birth, and parental background, considerably impacts their education level, chances of finding work, and income prospects.

Inclusion

Inclusion broadly means having a sense of belongingness. Diversity without inclusion and fairness is simply intolerable. An inclusive workplace is one where employees with all types of differences and disabilities feel valued and have the same opportunities for growth as their peers. To achieve such cultural competence, employees from diverse backgrounds must work cohesively to understand one another’s perspectives and needs.

With changing work dynamics, companies have realized that they need more than merely having a DEI policy and creating a more diverse workplace to achieve their objective of staff retention, higher productivity, and performance. Inclusion, too, shall be on the priority list of their corporate agenda. An inclusive environment fosters employee engagement; hence, they strive to contribute to the business objectives.

Balancing the Scale Through Equity

If diversity and inclusion are the steps, then equity is the state which is realized while continuously and meticulously treading those steps. In other words, if a workplace is a weighing scale with diversity and inclusion as its balancing plates on either side, equity serves as the weight to keep both sides balanced.

Pursuing equity in the workplace involves ensuring everyone receives the treatment, opportunities, facilities, and resources specific to their requirement. In general, equity thrives in a workplace where employees have opportunities to thrive regardless of their diverse backgrounds.

This activity includes locating and attempting to remove obstacles to disadvantaged groups receiving equitable treatment from the team level through systemic changes in organizational culture. Understanding that the social institutions we now operate in are not equitable and that these injustices are reflected in our organizations is necessary to enact change through an equity lens.

See. The Key Elements of an Impactful DEI Integration Strategy

What Separates Equity from Equality?

Equity and equality sometimes need clarification, even though their meanings differ considerably. Equity can be understood well with the help of an analogy. In a restaurant, different people with different taste buds cannot be served a similar dish on the grounds of equality. Similarly, individuals with unique aspirations cannot be given the same tools and treatment to achieve their unique goals in the workplace.

Organizations aiming for workplace equality, treating everyone equally and without discrimination, might overlook the need for fairness. The same set of guidelines, privileges, and employee experience design apply to the whole workforce without considering particular demographic demands. An unjust workplace could result from this. Equity aims to pinpoint the distinct needs and specifications that are influenced by demographic characteristics like gender, religion, ethnicity, age, etc.

While leaving the door of opportunities open for those having the means to approach them, organizations should remember to ensure a pathway to the door for those without means. For example, while deciding the Annual Holiday Calander for the company, having the same holidays for everyone might be equality, but being mindful of the specific holiday requirement of the minority group in the workplace is equity.

DEI in the Indian Setting

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel said, “Little pools of water tend to become stagnant and useless, but if they are joined together to form a big lake, the atmosphere is cooled, and there is a universal benefit.” India is a country of contrast. Therefore, values such as inclusion and equality in diversity become all the more precious and sacred to us. We frequently take immense pride in the diversity of our nation's regions, cultures, languages, religions, and beliefs, as well as its vegetation, climate, cuisine, and even how people dress. As a result, maintaining this diversity in all societal institutions becomes an additional duty.

Changing Workforce Demographics in India

Demographic shifts constantly have an impact on a nation's population size. This is one such phase when the increase of working people aged between 15 to 64 is greater than the sum of the younger and older workforce. With ages ranging so widely, having a diverse generational workforce and generation gap in the workplace is common.

Managing Multi-generational Workforce

If appropriately managed, a diverse generational workforce can bring out the best in business, the older workforce's expertise and experience can be shared with the younger workforce, and the young brigade's innovative ideas and technological know-how can be put to use in implementing solutions created using the knowledge and wisdom of the older brigade. As a result, the organization may benefit from this inclusion. Following practices help manage a multi-generational workforce.

1. Creating an environment where younger staff can mentor the older team to understand better technology, current trends, and their work style while younger staff can learn through the enriching experience and expertise of the more senior staff.
2. To forge connections and understanding between older and younger staff and facilitate information exchange, informal intergenerational competitions shall be promoted in the organizations.
3. Line managers need to be trained on different ways to treat young and old staff differently due to the disparities in their workstyle and personal and professional goals. For instance, an autonomous way of working might suit younger teams, but an authoritarian form may motivate the older workforce.
4. Having cross-functional and multigenerational teams will have an edge when looking into problems from all dimensions. Diverse members with diverse ages, gender, backgrounds, and skills bring a fresh and unique perspective and approach to tasks.

See: Diversity and Inclusion Audit Checklist

Laws and Legislations in India for Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity management in India is entirely voluntary and self-initiated by the companies; any favorable action policies are enforced through incentives at the workplace. There are no strict affirmative actions for private sectors. However, there are general laws safeguarding the interest of every citizen of India, whether at the workplace or outside.

Social safeguarding provisions are included in Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution for all Indian citizens. Article 15 forbids discrimination based on religion, sex, ethnicity, caste, or origin of birth. Equal opportunity in matters of public employment (which does not specify the private sector) is mandatory under Article 16(1). Article 16 (2) ensures that no one is discriminated against for any position or office under the state based on religion, race, descent, place of birth, caste, sex, residency, or any combination of these grounds.

In recent years, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights in India have seen significant advancement. Removal of its colonial-era legislation, directly discriminating against transgender people, and interpreting Article 15 of the constitution to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is the significant step taken by India in this direction. Transgender people in India are protected under the constitutional right to change their legal gender and register as a third gender, per the legislation adopted in 2019. In 2014, transgender people were legally recognized by the Supreme Court of India as the “third gender.”

See. How to Create an Inclusive Space for LGBTQ Workers

Antidiscrimination law that is comprehensive and stand-alone has yet to be in effect in India. However, there are legislations such as the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 (replaced by Code on Wages, 2019), the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act of 2017, and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 all contain some anti-discrimination provisions. Even though these laws are now in force, much must be done to raise public awareness of their obligations and extent.

DEI Actionable Areas

The available talent pool is getting diverse with changing demography and worldwide migration of people. Many firms are dealing with five generations of employees to inspire and manage. Developing an inclusive approach to talent is more significant than ever in these changing times. Businesses today have a greater responsibility to provide equal prospects for all employees. Easy adaptability to shifting markets and demands and the ability for organizations to deliver broader services by utilizing their diverse range of skills and expertise within their organization are just a few advantages that can come from fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace. Given below are three levels at which DEI needs to be examined.

See. 7 Actionable Tips for Diverse, Equal, and Inclusive (DE&I) Hiring

See. What key elements should an employer consider when creating a diversity program?

1. Diversity recruitment
2. Organizational analysis
3. Employee experience, reward, and advancement

Diversity Recruitment

Diversity recruitment means recruiting a diverse range of qualified talent from a mix of differences, including individual experiences, traits, beliefs, different gender, religious or social background, etc. An inclusive workforce contributes toward creating an inclusive workplace and remaining innovative and competitive.

Apart from job advertisements and job portals, there are many other avenues to support the diverse recruitment agenda of an organization. One such way is to approach agencies working towards training and job placements for disabled people. Similarly, many agencies are doing great work toward the job placements of transgender people.

See. Empowering Inclusive Workplaces Starts with You

Action Steps for Diversity Recruitment

1. Assess organizational needs and align diversity recruitment with the company’s business goals.
2. Obtain buy-in and commitment from the senior management and leaders to achieve goals.
3. Train leaders regarding the organization’s diversity initiatives and business cases for diversity.
4. Communicate diverse recruitment goals to hiring managers and obtain their commitment to support the goals.
5. Train the hiring managers if required to ensure the selection of the best candidates.
6. Allocate the budgets for diversity recruitment.
7. Evaluate and update the existing job descriptions and job postings to reflect company values and accurate skills required to perform the job.
   See. Writing Inclusive Job Postings and Descriptions
8. To attract diverse talent, introduce benefits such as hybrid work culture, flexible work timings, etc.
9. Partner with agencies and diverse communities to find a diverse pool of qualified talent.
10. Attend career fairs and initiate campus recruitment drives to reach the varied talent pools.
11. Strengthen the onboarding process to ensure new hires align with organizational DEI goals and values.
12. Constantly monitor the process and follow up with the hiring managers and new hires.
13. Borrow best practices for diverse recruitment from other organizations.
14. Develop policies for the company’s diversity recruitment and retention plans.

See 5 Steps to Improve Diversity Recruiting

Organizational Analysis

1. Benchmark DEI across the company

• Identify the leaders who might need more insight into the significance of diversity and inclusion in key performance indicators of the organization, such as equity in pay and progression, etc.

2. Determine behaviors resulting in exclusion

• Identify behaviors resulting in exclusion and constantly monitor learning and development initiatives, including training on the company’s goals to adopt DEI.

3. Comprehend employee experience

• Identify managers and line managers who must be aware of the employee experience, specifically in large firms. This results in the need for more awareness of inclusion shortcomings, such as benefits favoring one group.

Employee Experience and Advancement

1. Train and incentivize employees across levels to enhance inclusion in their day-to-day interactions and dealings to check and balance the dynamics within the organization to maintain the voice of employees from diverse backgrounds affecting their sense of belonging to the workplace.

2. Conduct objective performance evaluations to identify the managers subconsciously applying narrow criteria in performance assessments, calibration, and giving rewards leading to inequity.

3. Take ownership of employees’ career planning. Take support from the learning and development team to provide bespoke and targeted career path guidance to all the employees. See. Chart: Phases in DEI Strategy Implementation