The ‘India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI)’, publicized as the country’s first extensive benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on LGBT inclusion at the workplace showed 65 private companies sharing data on their diversity and inclusion practices.
The index released on Friday measures nine areas including policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group, allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement and additional work.
The index comes two years after the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which decriminalized same-sex relationships in the country.
Parexel is thrilled to be named an IWEI 2020 Top Employer for LGBT inclusion!
— Kathleen (@kpomykola) December 12, 2020
Read the full report at https://t.co/vldkTnewxc#IWEI2020 #EqualAtWork India Workplace Equality Index https://t.co/dkeWudRo3Q
“With the times that we currently are in, it is imperative to safeguard the rights of those who have otherwise been left on the margins,” said hotelier, Keshav Suri, a prominent LGBTQ activist.
“This really is the tipping point, and corporate leadership, through their clout and influence, can play a crucial role in shifting the narrative.”
The last two years have seen a significant growth in numbers across industries but members of the community say there’s still a long way to go.
“The recognition has taken a long time coming. It has been a hard struggle and really the fight has started now after the legal victory that decriminalized homosexuality and liberated millions of people belonging to the LGBTQ community,” Prateek Guha, a corporate lawyer told RFI.
The issues raised by the LGBTQ community vary from education, medical help and employment to marriage and family, and legal and state recognition.
A long road ahead
Although this has resulted in creating awareness and initiating some programmes and policies, many within the community feel that what India needs right now is an anti-discrimination law.
“We are yet to see real change. We are in for the long haul,” Rupali Singh, a queer activist told RFI.
In 2014, India's Supreme Court for the first time recognized a third gender, paving the way for millions of people to have a legal status, better protection and jobs.
Since then, the country elected its first transgender mayor Madhu Bai Kinnar in 2015, started its first transgender school in the southern state of Kerala two years later and the community was allowed to participate in the world’s biggest religious festival, the Kumbh Mela last year - normally reserved for men.
#India's first #WorkplaceEqualityIndex is here. To know which #company is named as top #employer for #LGBTQ+ people, read the article of our blogger @chirali_08 linked below. #IWEI #LGBTQCOMMUNITY #LGBTQRights #LGBTQIA #LGBTQIAontwitter https://t.co/ymJWhGvBlM
— ED Times (@EDTimesOfficial) December 12, 2020
Small steps forward
A year ago, Amruta Soni, who is based in the city of Mumbai, earned the distinction of being country’s first third gender person to be appointed as a corporate house managing director.
The country also got its first dedicated hiring consultancy firm for the members of the LGBT community.
In 2015, the southern Indian state of Kerala unveiled its much-awaited Transgender Policy - a first of its kind - envisaging ending of societal stigma towards the sexual minority group and ensuring non-discriminatory treatment.
“We have long said as part of the gay rights movement that the victory in court was not the victory that ended a battle. It was a victory that began one. I mean really the fight has started now,“ Gautam Bhan, an activist told RFI.
India’s LGBTQ citizens are not a minuscule minority. The approximately 33-million-strong population refuses to be stay silent any longer in their efforts to reclaim equality.
They’re demanding the right to own and inherit property, include their same-sex partners on hospital and insurance forms, and receive legal recognition of the same sex relationships and marriage.
Coming out has gotten easier for millions of Indians. The fight for constitutional rights is the big goal now.
