Key Highlights:
- 57% Indian employees say that their company will never hire any LGBTQ+ or specially-abled professionals at senior leadership.
- 65% professionals confessed that they haven’t witnessed any change at their workplace after the decriminalisation of IPC Section 377
- 40% respondents said that the prime objective of companies focusing on Diversity and Inclusion programs is only to attract and retain talent
- Professionals are judged first on basis of their physical appearance, revealed the survey
New Delhi, November 27, 2019: The ‘physical appearance’ of a professional is the first factor on which people are judged at corporates, claimed 40% of Indian employees in a new study conducted by TimesJobs on Diversity and Inclusion. Ethnicity, personal liking, and preferences are the other factors on which professionals are judged the most at their workplace.
TimesJobs conducted an exclusive survey on ‘Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives practiced by the Indian corporates’ which solicited responses from 1,137 professionals across diverse industry verticals.
A majority (57%) of respondents said that their company will never hire a professional from the LGBTQ+ community or specially-abled background at senior leadership.
India Inc. Fails To Practise Diversity At Leadership Roles
More than 65% of employees said that they haven’t seen any change at their workplace after the decriminalization of IPC Section 377. A majority (77%) of professionals revealed that they have no co-workers who belong to these sections of society.
TimesJobs’ survey asked the respondents about the representation of professionals from the LGBTQ community in leadership positions. More than 83% of respondents denied that their company didn’t have anyone with alternate sexual orientation at the senior leadership. Around 43% of individuals claimed that expressing their sexual orientation is a big taboo in their organization.
“Diversity and Inclusion is not a one-time agenda. Companies will have to continuously find new ways to empower and nurture their workforce. It is not just a moral obligation but a sound business practice. Businesses will have to take some bigger risks and corporate culture needs to be restructured so that the modern workplace can accurately reflect and support the business requirements which align with its goals”, said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.
Representation Of Women And Specially-Abled Professionals Improves At Corporates
The TimesJobs’ D&I survey highlights that the percentage of especially disabled professionals have increased at their workplace, as per 52% of respondents. Around 54% of professionals said that their workplace was a diverse workplace, while 21% of individuals clearly denied that their workplace was anything but ‘an inclusive workplace. Further, 67% of respondents reveal that over the years, the average percentage of women employees has increased at the corporates.
Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives Take Centre Stage To Attract And Retain Talent
In the TimesJobs survey, we asked our professionals ‘Is D&I a prime agenda for your organization’? Around 49% of individuals accepted that encouraging workplace diversity is a prime agenda for their organization.
The D&I report also revealed that the prime objective of companies focusing on Diversity and Inclusion is to attract and retain talent, as per 40% of individuals. As many as, 25% of professionals think the aim of their organizations to propagate diversity is to achieve business results. While 20% of respondents find D&I programs are important at their workplace to comply with the legal requirements.
About TimesJobs
TimesJobs is a platform to help competent professionals enhance their career growth. With over 25 million registered jobseekers across the board and more than 60 million page views every month, it is the most preferred career portal among ambitious and talented professionals who want to make smarter career decisions that accelerate their career progression.
