October 2024: The Birthday Letter

Hey there. Still obsessed with Moo Deng? Same here. But we must moo von to talking about our work. The Godrej DEI Lab turns one year old this month: welcome to our birthday letter! We’re covering:

1. What we’ve been upto over the last year :D
2. A book rec for this moment in our thinking about caste and inclusion ?
3. News that affects us, from India and around the world ?
4. Our regular dose of quizzing, meme-ing (hippo special) and more.

For most of the last year, the Godrej DEI Lab has been curating an ongoing oral history made by and about the people who work at the Godrej Industries group. This long-running initiative tells stories of inclusion and allyship from a wide range of our colleagues. Through this, we hope to create a new history of acceptance, change and belonging at our century-old workplace. Please check out some of our work here, or check #GodrejOneProject on Instagram.

MAIN STORY

One Year Of The Godrej DEI Lab

It’s been a year of growth and learning for all of us at the Lab. We began in stealth mode, launching our storytelling projects to small groups of people, going input-mode on social media, and understanding as much as we could about diversity, equity and inclusion at the Godrej Industries Group, and beyond. To give you just three places where you can check out some of the results of our work:

1. We produced the first ever Godrej Industries Group DEI annual report.
2. With our colleagues, we made four short films about how inclusion works at the Group.
3. In our publication, Spotlight, we’ve started to document DEI work happening around Indian workplaces that we admire and hope to learn from.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about any of this, or any of our other ongoing work. Send us your news and views on [email protected].

QUIZ

In 2018, when Frances McDormand won an Oscar, she closed her rousing acceptance speech with the term ‘X’. The term provides for ensuring diversity in casting and production staff for a filmmaker’s contract. What does the term ‘X’ stand for? ? ?

A. Accessibility Index ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

B. Inclusion Rider

C. Diversity Charter

D. Access Rider

Scroll down to see if you got it right!

“Our policies are also for non-traditional families, for parents who don’t fit the usual mould, for adoptive children, and much more. While there’s so much more work to do, I think people in the corporate world are finally understanding the dimensions and the nuances that come with taking an intersectional lens and are trying to come up with solutions.”?— Parmesh Shahani , in conversation with Shikha Aleya , reflecting on the changing nature of care policies at the Godrej Industries Group in TARSHI ’s latest edition for In Plainspeak. ?

P.S.: We’d really recommend checking out TARSHI’s special on Workplaces and Sexuality here.?

NEWS FROM US

What The Group’s Been Up To

• Pride @ Godrej: At our workplace, Pride is not just a one-month event. It's a year-round commitment to our values, to the world we live in –– and to our colleagues. To share this queer joy, we created the film "Pride @ Godrej.” We think you’ll enjoy checking it out here.
• What Women Want (Really): Godrej Capital just won an award for Most Preferred Workplace for Women! The award was given by Marksmen Daily , whose report “Empowering Women, Powering Business Growth” you can read here.
• Over at Godrej Properties Limited, Zoya (They / Them) has started their fab blog “Beyond Conversations: Redefining Inclusivity for Tangible Change,” about their experiences of working in DEI. Read + follow it here.
• Style (to) Quotient: Read what Chaitanya Dalvi from Godrej Industries Limited (Chemicals) has to say about his experience marking Talent Acquisition Day and the journey from men’s fashion to chemicals.
• Magna Jakarta: The Indonesia team of Godrej Consumer Products Limited partnered with Koneksi Indonesia Inklusif (KONEKIN) to conduct a comprehensive accessibility assessment of their workspaces. Following that, they also implemented key infrastructure enhancements at their office to support PwD better. Read more about it here. They’re planning to launch an inclusive 3-month online workplace readiness recruitment boot camp designed for diverse PwD talents, which will be followed by an internship opportunity. ?
• Change In Chile: The GCPL Chile team recently conducted sessions on Karin’s Law—a new government legislation designed to enhance protections against workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and violence. Read more about the law here.
• ISL Day: To mark International Sign Language Day, celebrated annually on September 23, The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) added 2,500 new terms in collaboration with multiple organisations. The ISL dictionary is now available in 10 regional languages. Learn some more about this from our colleagues at L’affaire here.
• Internship Alert: Godrej Capital is hiring for LGBTQIA+ interns in the tech field. Apply here. Read about some of the previous interns' experience with their lovely ‘Be You’ programme here.

IN MORE NEWS

DEI Around India & The World

• The Hindu reports worrying news from International Labour Organization data: young Indian professional women are working more than 55 hours a week, the highest globally. The public conversation around work stressors in Indian industry has gained force after the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a young employee at EY. Here’s the letter her mother Anita Augustine wrote, addressing the chairman of EY India as well as the public at large.
• The Supreme Court has released a handbook on terms to be avoided while referring to persons with disabilities. They have provided alternatives emphasising the necessity of respectful language.
• An analysis of annual reports of the Nifty50 companies shows that complaints filed by employees on internal platforms as a percentage of total headcount ranges between just 0.01 and 7.4 per cent in FY24 –– meaning that less than 10% of Nifty50 employees file internal complaints related to workplace harassment. While number of PoSH complaints have increased in FY24 as reported by The Economic Times , the overall situation is concerning as it’s not representative of the strength of the workforce. Hear what our colleague Megha Goel (CHRO, GPL) has to say about rising PoSH complaints.
• After the Paralympics, Abhishek Anicca wrote a beautiful essay about shifting the gaze of non-disabled society on people with disabilities. It’s an argument about the need for a culture that shares the vocabulary of one’s disabled body, its aspirations and imperfections.
• Students launched a Permanent Anti-Discrimination Cell for Transgender Students (PADCTS) in Panjab University, Chandigarh . ?
• The Lab team has divided opinions on the much-discussed option to choose to sit next to a woman on IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) Airlines; but we’re all kicked that they’re trying out the gender-neutral option ‘Mx.’ for internal candidates. Back in August, they also onboarded 77 female pilots.
• In September, 亚马逊 released an update on their racial equity audit, which took years to complete. We think it’s a crucial DEI document. You can read it here. ?
• The Digital Futures Lab 's report, “From Code to Consequence,” studies gender bias in the tools Indian AI firms are developing for several sectors. ‘Coded Bias,’ Netflix ’s investigative documentary on uncovering flaws in facial recognition technology tackles similar themes. Watch it here. Not 100% DEI-related, but do read Ted Chiang’s argument for the wide gap between AI and the human creative process. ? ?

GODREJ ONE BOOK CLUB

Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability

Art by Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam

Text by Srividya Natarajan and S. Anand

This month, we are reading a modern classic, Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability. The text calls for the story and struggles of B.R. Ambedkar to be universally known and acknowledged. Bhimayana’s art, made by Pardhan Gond artists, is as stunning as it is easy to comprehend. This award-winning graphic novel represents the lives of everyone who comes from a marginalised caste background. The writing, the structure, the art, everything works to honour the depth of ?lived reality. Check out the book here, and our review of the book here. Also: follow Mavelinadu Collective here for their new series: “The More You Know: sharing facts about figures in the anti-caste movement!”

MEME

Moo Deng, the internet’s darling (and ours), is a moo-d. She also?raises?new hope for the conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus, the endangered species to which she belongs. Ecological inclusion for all!

FOOTER

Quiz Answer: B. Inclusion Rider

‘X’ refers to Inclusion rider, a term developed by Professor Stacy L. Smith. It is an addendum to an actor/content creator’s contract that stipulates that stories and storytellers should look like the world we actually live in — not a small fraction of the talent pool. The purpose of the inclusion rider is to counter bias in interviewing/auditioning and hiring/casting in specific employment positions in the entertainment industry. Read more and check the template here.

Until Next Time

• Laugh: Watch how Nidhi Goyal (founder, Rising Flame) uses her experiences in the ableist world to bring (hilarious) attention to the dangerous stereotypes around gender and disability. Do check out her work at the intersection of sexuality and disability here.
• Watch: Check the trailer for Chambal Media ’s latest production, “?? ??? ???/This is work,” directed by Preeti Kanungo here. The film is a deep dive into the lives of ‘invisible caregivers’ and the intergenerational impact of care injustice.
• Celebrate: The feminist outlet BehanBox won 4 Laadli Awards for gender sensitive journalism this year. Read more about the stories ranging from lack of labour laws to protect women gig workers, exclusion from land and property rights for trans people in India, and more) that won here. Also: listen to their new podcast ‘Kaam Ki Baat,’ on women and work, created and hosted by Nandita Dutta.
• Read: The beach is supposed to be fun and relaxing. But for young Jason Jacoby Lee, who is autistic, free-roaming dogs make it excruciating. In his first solo-authored essay, Jason writes about his experience making the case for accommodation for all in public spaces. ?

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