Nov 2024 at the DEI Lab: Launching Our DEI Directory!

Season’s greetings. We know you’ve been celebrating Diwali (and our birthday, per our last email), and we’re here to tell you that the party isn’t over.??

1. We’re launching our DEI Directory – your one stop public resource for all things DEI.
2. Plus: exclusive interviews with featuring superb inclusion orgs and projects.
3. And our next event! In December! For which you have to join us.??

MAIN STORY

The DEI Directory, and why we made it

Over the last few months, we worked on curating a comprehensive public repository of resources to help foster more inclusive and equitable workplaces and work cultures. We're calling it the DEI Directory. It’s a frequently updated, fully searchable curation of shareable knowledge recommendations for all of you to find useful DEI resources in one place. (And no, you don’t have to ask a chatbot to get you the information you want.) You can check the directory here, and the user’s guide here.?

Curious about where to start? See a list of 5 timely resources on women and workplace from our database that you should know about.?

1. A decade of the POSH Act: What the data tells us about how India Inc. has fared by CEDA?
2. Women @ Work 2024: A Global Outlook by Deloitte??
3. Voice of Women by Aon?
4. World of Work Outlook for Women in 2024 by Manpower Group?
5. Fem Work by Shruti Singhal | A Podcast on the feminist approach to the future of work?

The archive is full of links like this, so please dive deep. Important: if you’d like to recommend a resource that should be in the directory, write to us at [email protected].?

QUIZ

Which was the one of the first Indian laws related to the inclusion of a historically excluded group in the workplace?? ? ?

A. The Maternity Benefit Act

B. The Equal Remuneration Act

C. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act

D. The Vishaka Guidelines

Scroll down to see if you got it right!

“I haven't come across a single report that says diverse organisations have failed. We need to ask ourselves what qualifies as merit. Is it graduating from a top institute or college? Is it enduring discrimination generation after generation and still showing up with courage? Is it the ability to number crunch or analyse complex data? Or is merit also about empathy, emotional intelligence, and compassion?”?— Aruna Ganesh Ram , Co-Founder of Breath Beings , reflecting upon her work, in conversation with the Lab? ?

NEWS FROM US

What The Group’s Been Up To

• DEI Lab’s Spotlight: This month, read about about how a DEIB professional and an artist got together to found ‘Breath Beings’ – an org that partners with businesses to create equitable and inclusive workplaces, one breath at a time. Also: read about how 凯度 is making waves in Indian advertising by supporting brands to create more inclusive ad campaigns here.?
• Event Alert! We’re back, fam. :) This December 3rd, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we’re hosting Workplace Inclusion and Disability Rights in India at Godrej One in Mumbai. We’re proud to be collaborating with the law firm Khaitan & Co , who will release their updated handbook about Indian disability law at the event. It’ll be an afternoon of learning from industry experts about strategies, nudges, and advice that everyone can implement to advance disability inclusion in their workplaces. Register (asap) here.?
• This month, Godrej Consumer Products Limited hosted a hiring drive with Atypical Advantage in Malanpur (Madhya Pradesh, India), specifically aimed at empowering persons with disabilities. They welcomed over 30 candidates who showcased their talents in interviews for various roles in production operations! Over in Africa, our colleagues celebrated the sixth batch of graduates from the Style Academy, an initiative dedicated to youth empowerment and employability. Check details here.?
• Godrej Properties Limited just launched their awesome This Able Me Internship. It’s a 9-month paid internship for persons with disabilities offering on-the-job training, mentorship from Godrej leaders, and a pathway to a full-time opportunity specifically designed for persons with disabilities. Apply here.??
• Awards: GP were also recognised as India’s Top Builder at CWAB Awards by Construction World;? received a Golden Peacock Award? for their dedication to sustainable practices and responsible growth in the real estate sector; and won the LGBTQ+ Inclusive Organisation in Asia Award at the 2024 Community Business Asia Awards. Also, Godrej Capital has been recognised as one of India's Best Workplaces for Women 2024: Top 100 (mid-size) for the second consecutive year! Colleagues, we are so inspired by you. We're also learning about other winners from India’s largest diversity benchmarking study, conducted by the renowned DEI consultancy Avtar.??
• Godrej Agrovet Limited became one of the leading companies to sign the India Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto along with 3F Industries Ltd., Navbharat, Emami Agrotech Limited and more. This initiative represents a crucial step in reshaping India’s palm oil sector, paving the way for a more responsible and sustainable future.?
• ERG Launches: Across our group's businesses, women, and employee resource groups for women, make the world go round. Catch a glimpse of the Agrovet team at the Launch of WINGS 2.0 in Mumbai and Hyderabad here.?(Our own Parmesh Shahani and Roshni S Iyer make an appearance!)
• Hiring News: Godrej Capital is hiring LGBTQIA+ folks for their collection team in multiple locations. Hear what our colleague Sarthak Jaiswal has to say about her experience. To apply, write to [email protected].?

WORK MATH!

IN MORE NEWS

DEI Around India & The World

• Dasra launched For Youth Leadership (FYL), an initiative to foster youth leadership in South Asia. It’s a platform to confront issues such as sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and climate change across South Asia.?
• Vaivab Das writes for The Wire on the status of transgender welfare boards in India, and how various state governments are doing on trans representation and welfare policies.??
• Shailaja Paik, a historian of modern India who writes about caste and gender, shedding light on the invisibilised lives of Dalit women, became one of the 2024 MacArthur '"genius grant" recipients. Check out her work here. Lab members are also admirers of Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature; and the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyō, which won the Nobel Peace Prize.?
• Sangath India released a new study about understanding structural inequities in Covid-19 vaccine access and uptake among disability, transgender and gender-diverse communities in India. Read it here.?
• David Hood writes for Bloomberg Law on the politics of language surrounding the usage of DEI vs Diversity. Hood also discusses a about educating corporate America about the benefits of DEI. You can check the survey, called “Next Level DEI,” and its findings here.?
• The Hindu Opportunities HR Conclave released a primer on DEI during their event held in October. The participants included Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Member of Parliament for South Chennai; Meena Sinha, head, Human Resources, RR Donnelley; Saundarya Rajesh, founder-president, Avtar, and others.?? ?

GODREJ ONE BOOK CLUB

Extra Bold

Co-authored by Ellen Lupton, Farah Kafei, Jennifer Tobias, Josh Halstead, Kaleena Sales, Valentina Vergara, and Leslie Xia

Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers, is “part textbook and part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide, and self help guide.” It is a meaningful toolkit for anyone interested in learning how power structures are embedded in and reproduced through design. The book helps imagine feminist, inclusive, anti-racist, and non-binary practices towards radically joyful design futures. Written for everyone, Extra Bold asks folx situated within and beyond the field how we might collectively, from our respective positions, challenge inequity and hierarchies in design.?Check out this much needed design guide here.

FOOTER

Quiz Answer: A. The Maternity Benefit Act?

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was one of the first laws to be enacted in India to directly engage with workplace inclusion. However, there were other laws like The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, The Apprentices Act, 1961, The Mines Act, 1952, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and The Factories Act, 1948 which set various precedents on regulation of workplace practices.??

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