Pride and prejudice

Geetu Vaid

Working while camouflaging one's identity and constantly checking one's back for the fear of getting discovered is certainly not a very productive approach at workplace. An important aspect of recognising the rights of LGBTQ is the acceptance they get at their place of work. India Inc has taken baby steps in this regard, but there are still miles to go before our workplaces become discrimination-free zones for employees with different sexual orientation

The character of Karan Mehra (Arjun Mathur) in web series Made in Heaven portrays a wedding planner, a closeted gay caught in the dilemma of living a lie or coming out in the open. Some of the episodes highlight the challenges and difficulties that he faces due to his sexual orientation, but the role that his “identity” plays in his career and its growth is conveniently glossed over. And this reel treatment of the issue is indeed very close to the real life. 

It has been more than nine months since the Supreme Court repealed more than 100-year-old Section 377 to decriminalise same-sex relationships. However, it has not rooted out homophobia from our workplaces so far. 

On a personal level, this is evident in snide remarks, gay slurs and veiled sniggers that follow the persons identified as not ‘straight’. “I am often asked about my marriage plans besides caustic comments on my choice of clothes and colours,” says Harish Singh, who works as an HR professional in a corporate. 

Harish is not an isolated case as radical and stereotyped perceptions have little tolerance for the LGBTQ community when it comes to day-to-day interaction and work assignments. “I have carefully camouflaged my private life as I have a marketing job and am not sure how my clients will react on finding out that I am gay,” says Pawan Kumar, who is working in Gurugram. Besides victimisation, there are also issues over discipline and hierarchy. “Even some of my good friends have warned me against the response from my juniors if they came to know of my orientation,” adds Pawan, who is running a start-up in Bengaluru. While it is tough for homosexuals once their identity is revealed in their workplace, the situation for transgenders is quite grim. In most of these cases, discrimination against them begins right at the entry level and the few who manage to get a job may have to bear bullying and even assault in many cases. 

Decoding inclusivity

June is celebrated as the Pride Month and while gay parades and Pride festivals highlight the contribution of the LGBTQ community to society, their rights in workspaces need to be highlighted. 

While much is being said about maintaining the diversity and inclusion in business operations and organisations are also going all out to have a diverse workforce, the bitter fact is that just having a diverse workforce does not necessarily ensure its inclusion. So what does inclusivity mean for a person from this group? “Everyone looks for a discrimination-free atmosphere at workplace, according to me a free and unbiased environment where I can be myself and give my 100 per cent,” says Harish. However, when it comes to Indian corporates and business houses, LGBTQ inclusivity is a work in progress and lot of ground needs to be covered before a safe work environment will be provided to this group and their right to dignity and work will be safeguarded. 

Besides the human rights’ angle, there is also the financial side that can’t be ignored. According to a World Bank report India’s loss in the GDP due to homophobia was $32 billion. Given the tough economic conditions, it is something India Inc can’t afford, hence the significance of LGBTQ inclusivity at workplaces. 

Working for change

Some forward-thinking companies have already come up with concrete measures in their HR policies to ensure equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders in India. These range from medical reimbursement for sex-change surgeries, medical benefits for same-sex partners and childcare leave for those opting to adopt. But on a larger scale the impact of the changed perception in workplaces is yet to be seen. 

The fear of persecution, discrimination in grant of assignments and projects and blocking of promotion avenues are some the major concerns that stop LGBTQ employees from coming out in the open. Ironically, many participating in Pride marches prefer to keep the ‘masks’ on in their workplaces. “At my workplace, it will change a number of equations and even my chance of getting the right projects as well as raises, so it is better to not talk about it. It is much easier this way,” says Samruddhi, who works as a copy writer in a leading advertising firm in Mumbai.

Creating a culture of respect is the first step towards according dignity of work to the fringe groups making them feel a part of an organisation. 

It is heartening to see that many companies in India have taken initiative in this regard. Bengaluru-based IT major Intuit was among the first few companies to step forward in this direction. The company’s in-house Pride Network is dedicated to sensitisation campaigns and counselling for all employees and a ‘reach-out’ platform for the LGBTQ workforce. Godrej Industries have founded a culture lab to sensitise employees about LGBTQ individuals in the workplace. 

Infosys, another multinational IT giant, has a full-fledged employee resource group christened IGLU (Infosys Gay Lesbians and You) wherein LGBTQ employees can share their issues and problems on a common platform. Google’s Gayglers is a group where employees can volunteer to create awareness about gay rights at workplace. On similar lines, Intel, too, has a support network in the form of IGLOBE. 

Progressive management

A well-defined anti-discrimination policy framework is what comes under the purview of diversity and inclusivity managers and this role is gaining traction in established groups increasingly. Thanks to the progressive managements and enlightened D&I managers, several perks are now available to LGBTQ employees. At Godrej group, for example, the employees are allowed to select gender at the time of joining and the term ‘spouse’ has been changed to ‘partner’. The company also allows health cover for same-sex partners and a specified paid leave for those opting to adopt a child. At the Royal Bank of Scotland, too, medical benefits are allowed for same-sex partners and surrogacy leave is provided, irrespective of the gender of the partner. 

Encouraging as these may seem, these are just a handful of examples. For a majority of companies the LGBTQ rights and inclusion are conveniently brushed under the carpet. 

Political ideology and the influence of radical groups also force many companies to not provide an open support to these employees in form of perks and policies. Many employees too, don’t come forward to claim facilities like medical leave and reimbursement for the fear of persecution and harassment,” says an HR manager of a leading machine tool manufacturing company in Maharashtra. “A majority of Indian companies don’t even have a forum to address this diversity and inclusion. A dedicated approach to understand the cost of discrimination and homophobia at workplace should be discussed with the leadership team along with sensitisation sessions as a  first step to promote the culture of inclusion within the organisation,” adds Harish.

Dutee Chand may have brought the issue of the LGBTQ rights to the fore once again by coming out in the open about her relationship. While the response to her has largely been positive, when it comes to the C suites and board rooms it might still take some time and a lot more effort to generate confidence in individuals to come out of the closet and carve a successful career for themselves.