By Nirmala Menon
In the warm afterglow of the success of our liberalization efforts, India has been on an economic high. With the growth of the IT and ITES sector, women, people with disabilities and cross-regional employees from far flung places in India or abroad are not a novelty any more. Inclusiveness is the new mantra for business success
“Unity in Diversity” has often been used to describe India. Yet, a close look will tell us that this is more an aspirational statement than a ground reality. Diversity in employees means diversity in talents and strategic thinking, yet it also implies differences and conflicts. It is not natural for people of differing backgrounds and perspectives to get along easily with each other. Even if they are not out in the open, under currents of it prevail leading to the creation of cliques and sub-groups at work. North Indians Vs the South Indians, or of regional language cliques or the IIM and IIT-ians hanging out only with their own ilk are some of the not-so-happy outcomes of this diversity at work. The remnants of our caste system and patriarchal traditions still play a role in society.
This unequal access to opportunities exists even as economic necessity is driving some of these thoughts to the background as companies struggle to meet the growing demand for talent. Today, organisations in their hunt for talent are far more receptive irrespective of where from, how and in what form they come. This vast diversity in such close proximity at work is a new experience for corporate India.
Promoting diversity must not be confused with Reservations that the Govt. of India has implemented in the Government and the public sector organisations. The latter is a moral and legal requirement made for social reasons to correct past discrimination. Active diversity initiatives on the other hand are efforts made for business reasons. It is designed to increase creativity and productivity.
Those who have been in Govt. and public sector organisations know the tensions reservations create at work. The roster system in promotions created a certain “class” of people as different from the others - their “protected” status giving off signals that were often not very complimentary. There is currently a lot of debate on whether Reservations should be extended to the private sector as well. If this happens, the private sector should be better prepared to avoid some of the pitfalls of the experience in the pubic sector
Integrating diversity and creating inclusiveness will therefore be a critical skill for managers in the 21 century. Only they will be able to recognize prejudices and stop those from affecting the work environment and productivity. Diversity is not just about ensuring representation but more importantly about creating an inclusive environment that opens doors and opportunities for all to benefit from. Today, to have the opportunity to achieve one’s full potential is accepted as a fundamental human right. Communicating this message to all is a critical factor in ensuring the success of the intervention.
When management time and money is invested, everyone realizes that it is serious business. This also has the additional benefit of letting the non-dominant groups in the organisation know that the organisation is committed to helping them grow to their fullest potential.
Additionally, employees and particularly managers must be educated on potentially litigious issues like employee discrimination and harassment. While these are rare and far between in the Indian context, now with its presence on the global stage, it is only a matter of time before global standards are imbibed into the system. Should a case come up, courts place greater liability on an organisation.
Progressive organisations know that a major factor in employee satisfaction is the experience of being valued, trusted and respected. This is possible only in an environment that has learned to respect all aspects of diversity and inclusion. The better prepared an organisation is to manage this, the sooner it will reap the benefits.
Diversity Management is a new area of work in India and it contains far too much potential to be ignored
The new global order invites India to think big and bold. Changing the mindsets of a billion people brought up in a nation of strong traditions and high levels of cultural, linguistic and social stratification is not a simple task. Yet, if we do not work consciously at recognising and leveraging the tremendous strength of our diversity, we will never achieve the ambitious goals that the nation has dared to dream.
The author is a HR professional with 20 years of experience and is the founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting,a Bangalore-based firm that helps companies put in place inclusion and diveristy programmes. Prior to Interweave, Menon was the Diversity and Employee Relations leader for IBM in India.
