[WEBCAST] Prejudice to Pride: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace

In the two years since Section 377 was struck down, the conversation around LGBTQ inclusivity has made its way to more boardrooms across the country, with many companies realising that the case for inclusion is stronger than ever. But while many feel the Supreme Court’s judgement means LGBTQ people will have the same rights as others, there is still a long road ahead. 
 
“We need to move from mere decriminalization to equality in every sense.” In his new book ‘Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace’, Parmesh Shahani presents a manifesto on inclusion in Indian companies and provides employers with a blueprint to upgrade their policies. The book is also part memoir, Shahani writes about his career in great detail, using his own experiences at Mahindra, Verve, Sony Entertainment and Godrej to discuss how India's business landscape has changed over the past few decades. “I wrote Queeristan to push for this change from a location I know best – the workplace, and I strongly feel that if our workplaces become inclusive, they can push other sections of society to do the same.”
 
So where does LGBTQ inclusion in the Indian workplace stand today? What are the existing laws, rights and HR policies and practices? What steps can businesses and individual take to shape inclusive workplaces? Our panel will discuss these questions as well as stories and cases that have pushed this conversation into the public eye, and the Indian companies that are leading the charge.
 
Join us for a conversation on LGBTQ inclusion in corporate India and promoting diversity at workplaces with Head of the Godrej India Culture Lab and the author of Queeristan Parmesh Shahani, Founder of Samāna Centre for Gender, Policy and Law Aparna Mittal and Vice President at Citi and inclusion & diversity evangelist Amita Karadkhedkar. Vice-Chairperson of VIP Industries Radhika Piramal will make closing remarks.

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This programme will be live-streamed on Zoom and Facebook. Viewers can post questions in the comments during the live stream.

Parmesh Shahani is the founder of Godrej India Culture Lab, Mumbai. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in the corporate world, he has guided many of the country’s leading companies on their inclusion journeys. He is a member of the FICCI task force on diversity and inclusion and a board member of Khoj International Artists’ Association. He has been a TED Senior Fellow, a Yale World Fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. His first book, Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India, was originally released in 2008 and re-released in 2020. Queeristan: LGBT Inclusion at the Indian Workplace is his second book

Aparna Mittal is a leading Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advisor, and corporate lawyer with over 16 years of experience. She is the Founder of Samāna Centre for Gender, Policy and Law, India’s leading consultancy, focused on equality and inclusion for all segments of diversity, and with a specialization on gender and LGBTQ inclusion; and brings a unique perspective of multi-themed advisory work spanning across impact investing, entrepreneurship development, financial empowerment, workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, gender mainstreaming in philanthropy, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment. 

Amita Karadkhedkar is the Vice President (Site head) at Citi Bank, Pune. She has been a Tedx speaker and an Inclusion & Diversity advocate to more than 20 MNCs. Amita has spoken on LGBTQ Inclusion and women empowered at several prestigious forums such as– IIM Bodhgaya, NASSCOM (2018), Out & Equal India Forum, SHRM 2018 and PuneConnect 2019 among others. 

Ms. Radhika Piramal is Executive Director and Vice-Chairperson of VIP Industries since 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in arts from Brasenose College, University of Oxford and a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School. She was Managing Director of VIP Industries, India’s leading luggage company, from 2010 – 2017 and was previously associated with Bain and Company and Carlton Travel Goods Limited. 

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