India’s corporate houses are finally waking up to the need to keep pace with the rest of the world in promoting queer diversity at the workplace. In this regard, a workshop to address LGBT inclusion in the workplace is going to be held in Bangalore on the 20of September in Bangalore.
The Creating Inclusive Workplaces for LGBT employees in India is the second in this novel series and the first public workshop on this subject in India.
The problems associated with LGBT inclusion are many, beginning with the inherent closeted nature of India, where talking about normative sexual practices is taboo; this attitude propagates bigotry and prejudices against the queer community, which spills over into the workplace.
As corporate houses across the world wake up to the need to make their workplaces diverse and LGBT-inclusive, one of the biggest challenges faced by LGBT employees is ensuring the business need and emotional commitment from the senior management in terms of support.
The brief filed in the US Supreme Court by over 200 companies during the landmark US V Windsor case supporting same-sex marriage demonstrates how businesses worldwide increasingly view queer inclusion as an important programme. The case led to a landmark victory where the Supreme Court struck down key portions of the anti-queer Defence of Marriage Act that made federal recognition of same-sex marriages impossible.
The workshop will expose executives to personal stories by LGBT professionals, explore workplace issues and their impact on the organisation’s functioning. The workshops are designed to increase awareness and develop strategies so as to challenge assumptions and motivate the corporate structure to create a more exclusive work environment.
The three-hour-long workshop will begin at 2 PM at Thomson Reuters, at the RMZ infinity building on Old Madras road; the fee for attending the session is $75 per person.