Before the USA’s Civil Right Act, 1964 IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr., established the first equal-opportunity policy for IBM in 1953 [1]. Over the years IBM's Equal Opportunity Policy has been expanded. IBM has been a leader in extending this global policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on multiple personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, skin color, gender identity, and expression.
IBM actively ensures equal opportunity for all employees in all areas of business. That means that IBM makes employment, pay, and promotion decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or other factors unrelated to a person's ability to do a job. And that includes any number of considerations, including marital status, family responsibilities, sexual preference, political affiliation, height, weight.'.
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Many Indian corporates including IBM India Pvt Ltd which is the Indian subsidiary of IBM didn’t have effective LGBT+ inclusive policies in place due to Indian Section 377 which
was introduced in 1861 during the British Rule of India. Section 377 prohibited to recognize lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT+) community as a legal community and denied their rights & expression.
On 6th September 2018, the Supreme Court of India scrapped the controversial Section 377 paving the way for far-reaching changes in the Indian society and its corporate world. A lot of companies in India were hesitant to roll out the LGBT inclusive initiative earlier because Indian law (section 377) prevented them from doing so, but now there is no fear and big corporates like IBM India, Godrej, Infosys, TCS, WIPRO, etc have rolled out policies to be inclusive in supporting LGB+.
With the Supreme Court of India‘s verdict pronouncing the same fundamental rights to the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT) community as other citizens of the country, it is a moment of victory for the LGBT in India. This historic verdict has provided the LGBT community the chance to come out and be who they are while being respected and accepted in a society like that of India.
Most corporate HR leaders feel the decision adds an important dimension to the definition of diversity and inclusion (D&I). “Inclusion of diverse groups in the workforce, be it basis gender, ethnicity, education, culture or religion, has proven to be beneficial for the corporations as it has helped organizations’ decision-making process and outlook towards its key stakeholders, such as customers, become far more fertile. When employees feel involved, respected, and connected, employers gain access to the richness of their ideas and problem-solving approaches
Problem statement
Inclusive workplaces are defined by how well organizations bridge perceived and real gaps between diverse communities within an organization.
Most corporate workplaces have come a long way in diversity and inclusion (D&I) compared with what they were even five years ago, but they still have much more to cover to tackle workplace inequality and promote social inclusion. “While gender diversity has been a key driver for D&I, many other streams like PwD and LGBTQ+ still have a long way to go. There are many challenges to bringing these communities into the mainstream & providing them with a positive work environment.
While much has changed, the full acceptance and accommodation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees remain a work in progress. A recent Harvard University study investigated this issue with a field experiment. The researcher sent fictitious but realistic resumes in applications to 1700 actual entry-level job openings. These applications were identical with one exception: Half mentioned involvement in gay organizations during college, and half did not. The applications without the mentioned received 60% more callbacks than the ones with it[2A].
LGBT+ individuals are discriminated against at workplaces & they are targeted at teasing & bullying over their sexual identity.
Findings from a 2018 TimesJobs survey highlight the general attitude at the Indian workplace. As much as 57% of the participants responded in the negative to a statement that their companies openly recruited LGBTQ+ and candidates with disabilities. More than 55% said they still experienced bias in the workplace, including over gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation [2].
For LGBT+ individuals, the struggle for equality and acceptance in the workplace cannot be achieved by introducing policies alone. It relies on the support of open-minded and compassionate allies who recognize the challenges and are committed to breaking down barriers to inclusion. But what does it mean to be an ally and what are effective ways that companies can harness the energy of such champions to bring about a positive culture change in the workplace?
Most multinational companies are facing challenges in implementing pro-LGBT values due to inconsistencies in the global landscape as laws vary from country to country, moreover, when it conflicts with local law, tradition, working norms, and culture. Therefore, there is a need to have a different flexible & innovative model to advocate, promote, & implement LGBT inclusiveness.
A 2017 study by Out & Equal (LGBT+ Workplace Discrimination at a Glance) [3] found the following
- One in four LGBT employees report experiencing employment discrimination.
- 52.8 percent of LGBT employees report that discrimination negatively affected their work environment.
- The Transgender unemployment rate is three times higher than the national average.
- Over one quarter (27%) of transgender people who held or applied for a job in the last year reported being fired, not hired, or denied a promotion due to their gender identity.
- More than three-quarters of transgender employees take steps to avoid mistreatment in the workplace.
- Nearly one in 10 LGBT employees have left a job because the environment was unwelcoming.
- LGBT employees who make it into senior management are much more likely to be out than closeted: 71 percent compared to 28 percent of their closeted counterparts.
- As per a United Nations report, 72 countries in the world still criminalize lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals.
Economic impact
Numerous studies show that LGBT+ inclusion has a strong correlation with strong economic growth, business performance, and individual productivity and, since 2017 LGBT inclusion has been on the agenda of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. A 2017 WEF report showed that the inclusion of LGBT+ individuals is good for business, while companies that fail to include LGBT+ individuals can see a direct negative impact on both recruitment and retention. [4]
Companies with strong LGBT policies tend to innovate the most, to have loyal employees, and to experience significantly fewer cases of discrimination lawsuits. In addition to that, they are also positively perceived by their customers. On the other hand, the World Bank estimates that India is losing $32 billion a year in economic output due to widespread discrimination against LGBT+ people. [5]
The study found that the most diverse enterprises were also the most innovative, as measured by the freshness of their revenue mix. Companies with above-average total diversity, measured as the average of six dimensions of diversity (migration, industry, career path, gender, education, age), had both 19% points higher innovation revenues and 9% points higher EBIT margins, on average. Based on these findings, a broad-based approach to diversity that values multiple aspects of diversity is therefore most beneficial in terms of innovation outcomes.
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