Educating Leaders on Diversity Is First Step: Equality Summit

(Bloomberg) -- As India competes with global financial capitals such as Hong Kong for foreign investment, business and talent, it can no longer afford to ignore the case for diversity. The decriminalization of homosexuality by India’s top court and moves to address the epidemic of sexual harassment faced by women are just the initial steps India Inc. needs to take.

The developing economy, which is struggling to lift millions out of poverty, has its task cut out for it.

Still, change is coming. The access to bank accounts for more women in the country allows for “enhanced economic participation,” said Minister of Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani. Diversity and inclusion may make people “deeply, deeply uncomfortable” and challenge their views about how a workplace should look, said Bo Young Lee, chief diversity and inclusion officer at the ride-hailing company.

They’re among women who spoke about the way forward to a more inclusive society at Bloomberg’s Equality Summit in Mumbai, along with activists and leaders from business and government.

Key Highlights

• India’s Irani spoke about financial inclusion of women (10:30 a.m.)
• India’s top court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality was “rooted in equality, morality, choice and even the nature of love,” said Daniel Jae-Won Lee, executive director at the Levi Strauss Foundation (4:30 p.m.)
• Data is vital to informing decisions that address diversity and drive change, according to Marie Lalleman, executive vice president and managing director, global clients solutions, at Nielsen (3:45 p.m.)
• Educating leaders on diversity and inclusion is a first step, according to Bo Young Lee, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Uber Technologies (11:10 a.m.)

Spotlight on Disabilities: Agrawal (5:00 p.m.)

Vishal Agrawal, vice president of Global EM Equities at BlackRock and part of the company’s Active Equity Group, was just 17 when he was diagnosed with an illness that left him blind. “It took me 5,000 cold emails, hundreds of interviews, tons of rejections to land my first job,” Agrawal said. BlackRock took a chance on me, he said. “Why can’t we open our mind and take a chance on someone else?”

Mental health is another subject that’s been difficult for workplaces to address, said Neerja Birla, founder and chairwoman of the Mpower organization. “The thing we’re trying to create is a cultural shift, a paradigm shift in mindset,” Birla said. “There are so many issues related to mental health. The stigma, the awareness, the treatment gap -- there’s a lot that needs to be done but at least we’ve made a start.”

Including LGBT Workers: Shahani (4:30 p.m.)

The challenges faced by India’s LGBTQ citizens are vast, said Parmesh Shahani, founder, Godrej India Culture Club. About two-thirds of employees report hearing homophobic remarks, most people are not out about their sexuality and their living conditions can be very difficult.

“I wish companies understood that being inclusive makes so much sense. You’re doing yourself a favor. LGBTQ people, at 6 percent of the Indian population -- are a $200 billion market,” Shahani said.

For Sandra Nandeibam, transgender fashion model, the fight for acceptance is ongoing.

“It’s very difficult to push transgender model into the industry because of our patriarchal, homophobic, conservative views,” Nandeibam said.

Discrimination protection is critical, said Daniel Jae-Won Lee, executive director at the Levi Strauss Foundation. “We’ve not shied away from using our voice, our influence, our products to weigh in on what we care about and to be true to lour brand because it’s about authentic self expression,” he said, noting that in 1992 Levi Strauss was one of the first companies in the U.S. to provide domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples.

Importance of Data in Making Decisions (3:45 p.m.)

Data is vital to informing decisions that address diversity and drive change, according to Marie Lalleman, executive vice president and managing director, global clients solutions, at Nielsen.

“So we see the whole industry looking at getting the data that helps them understand the reality of the facts,” she said. “From the reality of the facts then they can make decisions.”

That’s a view shared by Malaika Myers, chief human resources officer, Hyatt Hotels.

“From a companies and a corporation point of view understanding your data, understanding where women are in your organization, how they are moving is hugely important, and tracking it and measuring it,” she said. “We found that to be part of the solution for us.”

Namrita Jhangiani, partner at Egon Zehnder, cited the example of one of her clients who gave women returning from maternity leave more difficult jobs. This motivated them because of the trust and faith placed on them.

“When you give them a greater challenge they’re motivated to rise to that challenge,” said Jhangiani.

Dr. Reddy’s Ramana: Building Leadership (2:40 p.m.)

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories -- the only Indian company on Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index -- has identified about 25 leaders in the middle management as part of its diversity push. They’re undergoing a nine-month leadership program that will enable them to handle bigger teams, according to M.V. Ramana, chief executive officer, branded markets, India and Emerging Markets at the drugmaker.

The company had also been hiring people with disabilities both at its operations in India and in other markets, Ramana said. “What we have been consciously doing is to ensure that all our work places are conducive for people with disabilities to easily move around,” he said.

Google Asia Pacific’s Osius: Bridging the Gap (12:15 p.m.)

Closing the divide between poor rural towns and villages and wealthier urban hubs has long been one of the most difficult development challenges in India.

Improving access to technology is a key way of bridging that gap, said Ted Osius, vice president of government affairs and public policy for Google Asia Pacific. The company began by joining forces with Indian railways and providing free wifi at train stations.

“After doing it in India we took it to Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil, because it works very well, provides access and that’s our mission.”

People have started realizing that the Internet is an equalizer, said Tech Mahindra’s Gurnani. “All these apps, they may start with the consumption of a Tiktok or consumption of Youtube, but they eventually lead to their source of healthcare, their source of education and their source of financial inclusion.”

Standard Chartered’s Cooper: Local Empowerment (11:10 a.m.)

While a company can set global gender targets and develop programs on inclusion, the key is local implementation, according to Simon Cooper, chief executive, corporate, commercial and institutional banking at Standard Chartered.

“The real power is in empowering the local CEOs, so you know against this global framework what your local diversity and inclusion agenda is, how you can develop a local D&I agenda that fits with that legal background, social background, historic background,” he said. “And we are starting to see real traction with that.”

You can watch a Bloomberg TV interview with Cooper earlier today here.

Ikea has decided that half its workforce will be women “which is totally unusual in the ecosystem, in the business ecosystem in India,” said Peter Betzel, chief executive officer of Ikea in India. The company has women driving forklifts as well as installing kitchens at customer locations, he said.

There’s also a need to talk about racial, ethnic, religious, economic status and LGBT diversity as well as disability in India in the way it’s being discussed in the rest of Asia, said Uber’s Lee.

The challenge with diversity and inclusion is that you will make people “deeply, deeply uncomfortable” and challenge people’s views about how a workplace should look, she said. There is a need to have conversations about sexual orientation at the workplace.

Designer Dongre: Woman Entrepreneurs (10:45 a.m.)

When a woman is earning her own income it’s a huge game changer, said Anita Dongre, founder of House of Anita Dongre Ltd. The government has been encouraging most companies to go and create employment in villages -- it would be great if enterprises like Uniqlo (owned by Japan’s Fast Retailing) were employing more women as part of that.

“It’s a perfect timing for a young woman entrepreneur to be in India,” Dongre said. The country has a rich legacy of crafts, which can become a huge source of empowerment for women. “When a woman is earning her own income it’s a huge game changer.”

India’s Irani: Financial Inclusion (10:30 a.m.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to get more Indians to open bank accounts has helped improve women’s financial inclusion, said Minister of Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani.

“One of the greatest challenges for having enhanced economic participation of women was access to credit,” she said. In the past five years 370 million new bank accounts were opened of which 199 million were women.

Among the first initiatives by Modi was a government program where loans are provided without a collateral. Of the 200 million loans given, 70% were to women, Irani said.

While the Indian Parliament makes progressive laws to advance gender equality, it is also the responsibility of companies, non-profit organizations and citizens to recognize the new rules. “It is the woman’s right to bear the fruits of that progressive law, not a woman’s compulsion to stand at the end of the line waiting for the rainbow to hit her,” Irani said.

Read More

• In the most recently concluded general elections, India’s regional parties instituted a quota system to lift more women into parliament
• In the year since India’s top court issued a landmark ruling decriminalizing homosexuality, LGBT issues get a push from companies in the country
• Gay-rights activists in much of the world have made historic gains in a fraction of the time it took the movements for civil rights and women’s rights
• The ancient caste system still shapes modern India

--With assistance from Vrishti Beniwal and Anurag Kotoky.

To contact the reporters on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net;Muneeza Naqvi in New Delhi at mnaqvi6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Subramaniam Sharma

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