Making Diversity Not Just a Priority, But a Way of Life

There have been several studies that clearly show that a diverse workforce makes for a more profitable organisation. The DivHERsity Awards 2021 recognised and honoured champions at companies — Large, SMEs and Startups — for whom diversity at the workplace is not just a key result area, but a passion.

At AccelHERate 2021 —  India’s biggest (virtual) B2B conference for companies — on March 5, winners of the DivHERsity Champions from Large Enterprises, SMEs & Startups shared how they are driving successful D&I programs in their organisation by providing vision, leadership, legitimacy and executional prowess.

At the table were: 

• Sarika Naik, Chief Marketing Officer & Chairperson, Diversity – India, Capgemini Technology Services India
• Deepali Dev, Chief Operating Officer, ECOS India Mobility & Hospitality Pvt Ltd
• Gopinath Pullaihgari, Director & Head of Human Resources, Verizon India (Verizon Data Services India Pvt. Limited)
• Manish Patel, Director – Information Technology, MG Motor India Pvt Ltd
• Mridvika Raisinghani, Managing Director – Global Search, Shortlist Professional Services Pvt Ltd
• Sailaja Bhagavatula, Managing Director – Intelligent Platform Services Lead, Accenture Advanced Technology Centers in India, and Inclusion & Diversity Sponsor, India, Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd
• Priti Singh, Senior Vice President – Human Resources, Mastercard Incorporated
• Suraj Chettri, Regional Director HR, India & South Asia, Airbus India Pvt Ltd

Key highlights:

• Suraj Chettri, while talking about why he is passionate about building diversity, narrated a personal story. “A wise man once told me that if you are not wise, then you are otherwise. The only thing that you can do is surround yourself with wise women and you will see the magic and change happening around you. And I have seen this happen within organisations — at Airbus, with a 80% diverse HR team.”
• Sailaja Bhagavatula describes diversity and inclusion as an imperative — something that is “just the right thing to do”. She says that this is achieved by tapping into diverse segments of talent. “That's how we have been able to keep up with innovation that our clients need, and the different skills and capabilities that we need. D&I is a given for us; it's not something that we treat as an agenda,” she said. 
• Priti Singh said that globally, Mastercard Incorporated has 40% women representation, and efforts are on to move the diversity needle fairly quickly, in the positive direction, in India as well. She added, “For an organisation like ours, where women are making financial decisions, it makes sense for us to have a diverse perspective, and products that are more relevant for women.”
• Gopinath Pullaihgari says as an organisation, Verizon India feels it is responsible to create an enabling ecosystem. “At Verizon, one of the key things that we focus on is our commitment to create equal opportunities. We take pride in our talented and diverse team, and that is what makes Verizon a great place to learn and grow. D&I is core to our business,” he said.
• “It is the law of nature to have equal representation,” said Sarika Naik, adding that at Capgemini Technology Services, the belief is that diversity and inclusion is a business imperative, which is why a lot of their diversity initiatives are driven through and by business. “We are clear that the future of this planet will be equitable and sustainable only if we invest in our initiatives around an inclusive world,” she noted.
• Manish Patel said that he is passionate about D&I and believes that all individuals deserve opportunities. This is why MG Motor India Pvt Ltd has a workforce that looks diverse. “Achievements are more when we focus on similarities, rather than differences. Diversity helps bring a positive culture at the workplace,” he said.
• Stating that equality is something that we are born with, Deepali Dev admitted that there are very few women in the transportation industry, which is why bringing in the D&I angle to the entire business brings in more quality and more dimension to the entire thought process. 
• Diversity is important to Mridvika Raisinghani because she believes that the workforce should be a reflection of the communities that we operate in. “To run successful companies, we need to have a highly engaged workforce. And we can't have that until our workforce has everyone included in it,” she said.

Click here to watch the full video of the Top5 DivHERsity Champions (Large Enterprises, SMEs/Startups) and find out in detail how each of these champions are furthering the cause of diversity in corporate India.

Do you want to launch or promote a DivHERsity Program at YOUR workplace? 

Get in touch with us at simran@jobsforher.com.