A diverse workplace provides equal opportunities to everyone irrespective of caste, race, colour, sexual orientation, or gender identity; including persons with mental and physical ability (keeping in mind the level of capability required to achieve their tasks).
Inclusive workplace culture is one where everyone feels equally supported, involved, and respected irrespective of their differences.
Today India stands as the most diverse country in the world with a huge population of humans from various religions, castes, tribes, genders, and sexual orientations who speak multiple languages and dialects, and have varied food habits, and cultural practices.
Additionally, internal migrations have created generations of region-specific ethnic people who have never traveled to their ancestral hometowns but speak and practice their primary culture and habits. Added to this, there is a gender-diverse minority who has entered the workspace. How can our workplaces be anything but diverse and interesting!
When it comes to the India Inc. workforce, it is a potpourri of humans from all corners of India, and added to this are the onsite teams with citizens from other countries and cultures. A diverse workforce is a wonderful exercise of unity in its differences and exposes everyone to unexpected human behavior and habits. No matter what the issues, having a diverse workforce and an organizational culture that supports inclusivity is the priority of India Inc, to leverage the tremendous benefits it provides which cannot be achieved with a regional or homogenous group of employees.
In this vast land of ours rarely can people from extreme corners of the country or those with different life values meet, thus a building up of myths around unknown people and social practices are created. Having a diverse workforce dispels these myths, as people have to work together every day on projects and assignments, and slowly get to accept their colleagues from diverse backgrounds. They learn to understand and respect the various social and cultural practices, religious festivals, and food diversity. Acceptance of different types of people and understanding of the situations they encounter teach them the importance of respect for diversity and tolerance in life, making them a better version of themselves. This tolerance also opens the mind up to ambiguity and learning new things in the workplace.
Teams become interesting groups with diversity! Every person is influenced by their culture and the social values they believe in. Their life experiences are unique to them and with diversity in the workplace, the other team members benefit from these experiences. Any brainstorming and or innovation session will be enhanced by the thinking process of diverse groups. Whether it is to arrive at a solution or dig out the nagging issue, everyone has a different approach to it based on individual capability. The power of group ideation gets multiplied. This increases productivity and innovation in teams.
Homogenous groups tend to have similar skills, mindsets, and outlooks about life and work. The talents of persons coming from diverse backgrounds tend to be different, since the life situations have moulded them differently, making the talent pool broader. Someone may be good at problem-solving, another at seeing the big picture has greater patience can handle stressful situations better or has a persistent never giving-up nature! Varied talents complement each other in different situations. Teams get exposed to several languages, dialects, regional thoughts, and market nuances. These skills add to the technical and domain expertise each brings from their learnings.
Cybersecurity is especially in demand as more organisations have moved towards using cloud-based technology to store extremely sensitive information. That leaves them vulnerable to attacks and data theft. Without a strong security system protecting their data, it’s nearly impossible for companies to confidently use tech to optimise their businesses. Similarly, many other in-demand tech roles are essential to companies performing effectively and efficiently using technology.
Everybody likes to work in a place where they feel respected and involved. It reduces insecurities about career growth and biases concerning opportunities. Companies with the right mix of diversity and inclusion see better employee retention. Employees get an opportunity to work with people coming from various social sections, differently enabled, and gender diverse people, thus broadening their understanding of the daily challenges everyone faces. Tolerance for each other increases retention and portrays the company as a new-age workplace. The company earns a reputation in the recruiting market as a preferred employer for long-term growth and security.
Incidents of intolerance in Indian society often get projected internationally, creating global concern. Companies that have documented policies practicing Diversity and Inclusion are respected internationally for their commitment to creating a tolerant and equal workplace. The brand value of the company increases internationally among the global audience. This is critical for India Inc. to bring in increased business and client collaboration in a competitive international market.
Practicing Diversity and Inclusion is the need of society today. Company policies and culture on this are subtle approaches to making it a way of life for everyone. For India Inc., it creates additional benefits for creativity and productivity. It is a fact that diverse teams are more fun and accelerate learning in training activities too. They tend to bring different perspectives to learning discussions and complete assigned tasks in their unique ways with out-of-the-box thinking. Every person needs to get exposed to diverse workgroups to understand the possibility of thinking differently. This makes the group versatile and creative. India Inc. is a place with innumerable start-ups and companies providing innovative solutions to a global clientele. The power of having a diverse workforce was recognized early by the industry leaders. Today, most companies have acknowledged the need for Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and made it a priority in the organization across locations, thus changing their workplaces for the better.
