Diversity Equity and Inclusion 2026

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WELCOME TO THE LATEST EDITION OF

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EDITOR'S HRAI TEAM'S NOTE HRAI firmly believes in the transformative power of collaboration and the extraordinary impact that emerges when diverse minds, talents, and perspectives unite with a shared purpose. True progress is never achieved in isolation—it is built through collective vision, innovation, and the courage to inspire meaningful change.

Welcome to the 2026 DE&I Awards Magazine—a celebration of leaders and organizations creating meaningful change through diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This special edition recognizes individuals and organizations who are moving beyond conversations to build workplaces where people feel valued, respected, empowered, and included. Their stories reflect the power of inclusive leadership, equal opportunity, diverse perspectives, and cultures built on belonging.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our awardees for their remarkable contributions and commitment to creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces.

As you explore these pages, we hope their journeys inspire you to embrace diversity, challenge barriers, and create lasting impact.

Here’s to celebrating inclusion, belonging, and the people shaping a more equitable future.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 10

AKANKSHA SANE CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER, SG ANALYTICS

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DR. AMIT DAS DIRECTOR - HUMAN RESOURCES & CHRO AT BENNETT COLEMAN & CO. LTD (THE TIMES OF INDIA)

18 ASHWINI K HR HEAD – INDIA MYRIDIUS

22 BHAVYA MISHRA CHRO-GODREJ CAPITAL

26 DIVYA RAJITH HEAD OF HR,INDIA, AVNET

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PRIYA TIKARE DIRECTOR & HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES-INDIA, LENOVO

32 MEENAKSHI DAGAR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND EXECUTIVE SPONSOR, WOMEN IN LENOVO

34 ANITA KAPOOR DIRECTOR LEGAL – INDIA & SOUTH ASIA AND EXECUTIVE SPONSOR, PROFESSIONALS RESPECT INCLUSION, DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY (PRIDE)LENOVO

36 RADHIKA NAIR

HEAD OF PEOPLE & CULTURE VOLVO GROUP INDIA & TRUCKS TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL APAC REGION

42 RUHIE PANDEY GROUP CHRO & CMO STERLITE ELECTRIC

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A

WARDS 2025

I

46 RENU JETHANI

EXCLUSIVE

NTERVIEWS

64 BHAWNA CHOUDHARY CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER,VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

GLOBAL HR LEADER-SUTHERLAND

50 RISHIKESH RAVAL PRESIDENT GROUP HUMAN RESOURCES & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS,ZYDUS LIFESCIENCES LTD

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SARIKA ARORA GLOBAL HEAD – DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION BIRLASOFT LIMITED

60 SUBHADEEP KHAN CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER,VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

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PARUL VERMA DEPUTY CHRO,VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

65 SHWETA SINGH ASSISTANT MANAGER,VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

68 DR. SUSHIL KUMAR CHATURVEDI GROUP CEO,ASCEND TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE

72 JYOSMITA CHINTEY CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER,BOAT

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SHAVETA KAPOOR GLOBAL ADS HEAD OF MEDIA PRODUCTS,DUNNHUMBY

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114K+ FOLLOWERS ON LINKEDIN A GROWING COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONALS ENGAGING WITH HRAI’S INSIGHTS, INITIATIVES, AND INDUSTRY CONVERSATIONS.

About HRAI Founded by Dr. Ankita Singh, the HR Association of India (HRAI) drives industry-led initiatives and curates prestigious recognitions for organizations, emerging professionals, and trailblazing women across the business ecosystem. HRAI serves as a platform for learning, collaboration, and recognition, bringing together professionals and subject-matter experts from across industries.

What We Do Industry initiatives and professional forums Awards, recognitions, and curated listings Knowledge-sharing through talk shows, panels, and articles Community-building for HR and business professionals Organizations We’ve Engaged With Lenovo, Hindustan Unilever, Biocon Biologics, IHG Hotels, L&T, CBRE, Sutherland, Capgemini, EY, and more.

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HIGHLIGHTS: KNOWLEDGE & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Elite voices such as Dr. TV Rao, Harjeet Khanduja, and Prasenjit Bhattacharya have been featured in HRAI’s one-on-one talk shows, contributing practical insights and real-world perspectives for professionals.

HRAI MAGAZINE INITIATIVE HRAI publishes thought-provoking articles authored by senior professionals from organizations such as Reliance Jio, Times of India, KPMG, Eveready, Volvo, and more.

HRAI LIST FEATURES HRAI curates an annual list of features recognizing exceptional professionals and changemakers aligned with a central theme each year.

23 of 2023 | 24 of 2024 | 25 of 2025 . Notable organizations featured include: Adani, Amazon, Flipkart, Samsung, Myntra, Uber, Raymond, and more.

EXCLUSIVELY FEATURED SHARK TANK JURY IN THE VISIONARY CEOS LIST: AMIT JAIN, DEEPINDER GOYAL, GHAZAL ALAGH, RITESH AGARWAL,VINEETA SINGH

For HR professionals in India, HRAI offers unparalleled opportunities to connect with like-minded peers, learn from experts, and gain recognition for their hard work and achievements. By joining HRAI, HR professionals can stay updated on the latest trends, best practices, and strategies that can help them take their careers to the next level.

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AWARD WINNERS

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THE JURY A

WARDS 2026

HARJEET KHANDUJA SVP-HR,

RELIANCE JIO

ANJALI RAGHUVANSHI CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

RANDSTAD INDIA

DR. ANKITA SINGH FOUNDER

HR ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

NABAMITA BANERJEE CUSTOMER CARE ASSOCIATECHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER,

SHOPPERS STOP LTD

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AKANKSHA SANE CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER,SG ANALYTICS

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INTERVIEW

Q: Most impactful shift in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

Q: A DE&I initiative that delivered results beyond expectations?

The most transformative shift at SG Analytics (a Straive company) has been moving from policy-driven compliance to culture-driven belonging. Inclusion is no longer confined to HR programs; it's woven into everyday workflows, conversations, and leadership behaviors.

Our women's empowerment platform, NoCeiling, was originally conceived as a professional development initiative. What it became was far more profound: a movement.

We redesigned hiring and performance review processes to minimize unconscious bias, introduced gender-neutral restrooms and identity-inclusive policies, and created open feedback channels where every voice is genuinely heard. Cross-functional DE&I committees ensure that inclusion is a shared organizational responsibility, not a siloed function.

Perhaps the most meaningful shift has been employee ownership. Our people are no longer passive participants; they're active champions. Whether through peer-led mentoring, inclusive hiring advocacy, or leading cultural observances, employees are driving the change themselves.

We also institutionalized listening through inclusion surveys, focus groups, and dialogue forums, ensuring our culture continuously evolves based on real experiences. When inclusion becomes habitual rather than intentional, that's when lasting change takes root. At SG Analytics, DE&I has moved from being a function to becoming a fundamental part of how we think, lead, and grow together.

True inclusion begins when it becomes part of everyday work. At SG Analytics, belonging is built through inclusive leadership, employee ownership, and a culture where every voice contributes to meaningful change.

Through webinars, fireside chats, group coaching, leadership workshops, and industry roundtables featuring senior women leaders, NoCeiling created not just career opportunities but genuine community.

Women across levels found mentors, peers, and role models, many of whom they had never had access to before.

What exceeded our expectations was the ripple effect. Participants began mentoring others, advocating for inclusive hiring, and stepping into leadership with renewed confidence.

The initiative sparked conversations that extended well beyond the sessions themselves, influencing team dynamics and managerial behaviors.

The success came from its design: curated, human-centered, and rooted in real career challenges rather than generic content. By bringing external voices from our client ecosystem into these conversations, we created authentic intersections between aspiration and opportunity.t NoCeiling demonstrated that when you invest meaningfully in people, the returns in confidence, retention, leadership pipeline, and culture far outpace the original intent.

Q: A misconception about DE&I organizations need to move beyond?

that

One of the most limiting misconceptions is that DE&I is primarily about representation

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INTERVIEW

numbers, and that once diversity quotas are met, the work is done. This checkbox mentality undermines the deeper, more meaningful work of equity and inclusion.

Representation is a starting point, not the destination. An organization can have diverse teams and still be deeply exclusive if those individuals don't feel psychologically safe, heard, or valued.

At SG Analytics, we've approached DE&I as a cultural transformation, not a compliance exercise. Our focus has been on creating experiences, not just policies. We host DE&I Talk Shows with industry thought leaders to broaden perspectives, run unconscious bias training as a sustained learning journey rather than a one-time event, and maintain open dialogue forums so employees can shape the culture alongside leadership.

We measure not just representation, but belonging, through engagement scores, inclusion surveys, and qualitative feedback.

The question we ask ourselves isn't "Do we have diverse people?" but "Do our diverse people truly thrive here?" That shift in question changes everything.

Q: Emerging DE&I priorities organizations should focus on in the coming years?

As workplaces evolve, we see several emerging DE&I priorities becoming critical: Intersectionality: Moving beyond singledimension diversity to recognize that individuals hold multiple, overlapping identities. Policies and programs must reflect that complexity rather than treating diversity as monolithic.

Socioeconomic inclusion: Class and economic background remain underaddressed dimensions of equity. Initiatives like our AspireHer program, which mentors girls from underprivileged backgrounds pursuing technology degrees, reflect our belief that talent is universal, but opportunity is not.

Bridging that gap must be a deliberate priority.

Mental health and psychological safety: Inclusion must extend to emotional wellbeing.

Employees need environments where they can be authentic without fear, and organizations must build the structures and trust to make that possible.

Inclusive leadership capability: DE&I can no longer rest with HR alone. Building genuine inclusive leadership skills across all managerial levels will define the next era of organizational culture.

Multigenerational inclusion: With up to five generations in the workforce simultaneously, organizations must navigate diverse expectations, communication styles, and values, and design experiences that resonate across all.

The organizations that will lead are those that treat DE&I as a strategic, evolving, and deeply human priority.

Q: One piece of advice for leaders building more inclusive and equitable workplaces?

Listen before you lead.

The most common mistake leaders make in DE&I is designing solutions before truly understanding the problem. Inclusion cannot be top-down; it must be co-created with the very people whose experiences it aims to transform.

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INTERVIEW

Before launching initiatives, sit in listening sessions. Read your inclusion survey data not just for scores, but for stories. Ask uncomfortable questions and be willing to hear uncomfortable answers.

Invite employees, especially those from underrepresented groups, to shape the strategy, not just participate in it.

At SG Analytics, our most impactful initiatives were born from genuine listening.

When employees felt heard, they became invested.

When leadership showed vulnerability and accountability, trust grew.

And when trust grew, culture shifted.

Leaders must also model the behavior they seek. Inclusive culture flows from inclusive leadership: how you hire, how you recognize, how you respond to bias when you see it, and how you make space for voices that are different from your own.

DE&I is not a program you launch. It's a practice you commit to, every day, in every decision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Akanksha Sane is the Chief People Officer at SG Analytics, where she leads the People & Culture function and also serves as the Site Head for Pune.

With over 24 years of experience in human resources across organizations such as PTC Software, Flex Technologies, Tech Mahindra Business Services, and WNS, Akanksha brings deep expertise in strategic HR management, employee engagement, talent acquisition, learning and development, organizational development, and HR transformation.

"Inclusion is at its most powerful when it moves beyond policies and becomes part of everyday experiences. A truly inclusive workplace is built through meaningful conversations, active listening, shared responsibility, and a genuine commitment to creating a sense of belonging for everyone.

The most resilient organizations recognize that diversity is only the beginning. Lasting impact comes when every individual feels heard, respected, empowered, and encouraged to contribute their unique perspectives. Leaders who cultivate trust, embrace different viewpoints, and create opportunities for every voice to be heard lay the foundation for cultures where people and performance thrive together.

When inclusion becomes a way of working rather than a workplace initiative, it transforms culture into a shared purpose— one that inspires collaboration, drives innovation, and enables individuals and organizations to grow together."

— Inspired by the DE&I philosophy of Akanksha Sane

At SG Analytics (a Straive Company), she plays a pivotal role in shaping a people-centric, inclusive, and high-performance culture. As Pune Site Head, she oversees the site’s overall management, strategic direction, and operational excellence, ensuring seamless collaboration across facilities, administration, HR, and employee engagement. She also represents the organization at the site level, strengthening alignment between business priorities and employee experience.

A postgraduate in Personnel Management from the University of Pune, Akanksha has led initiatives across performance management, HR process transformation, shared services consolidation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is passionate about building workplaces where culture, trust, capability, and business outcomes come together to create lasting organizational impact.

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AMIT DAS

DIRECTOR & CHRO, BENNETT COLEMAN & CO. LTD.(THE TIMES OF INDIA)

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INTERVIEW

Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The most meaningful shift, in my experience, has been to start treating inclusion as a feature of how the organisation runs instead of a calendar initiative.

At Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd (The Times of India), inclusion shows up in practical places.

Who gets hired. Who gets heard in the room.

Who gets access to the next opportunity. How managers respond when an employee's life reality does not fit the standard template.

Whether policies truly help people in the moment they need them, or only on paper.

The Times Women’s Forum is a useful example of that shift. What began as a small platform for women colleagues to connect has grown into a community of more than 700 women across locations. They share advice, raise concerns, build networks beyond their immediate team and find sponsorship that the formal system does not always provide.

Around this sits a structure of flexible working, maternity and adoption support, crèche facilities, a strong POSH framework, women focused hiring and recognition through the SHE unLTD. Awards.

However, the real test is whether inclusion has moved out of the HR calendar and into everyday manager behaviour. That is the only measure that matters.

"The most meaningful shift has been treating inclusion as an everyday way of working rather than a standalone initiative. "

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

Within the Times Women’s Forum, the conversations are real. We observed our women colleagues talking about career growth, mobility, confidence, caregiving, wellbeing, visibility and the everyday barriers that rarely surface in formal reviews. That is content the organisation does not typically get from engagement surveys.

Two things made it work, in my view.

Leadership sponsorship gave it credibility from day one. But the ownership came from the employees themselves. It never felt like a centrally designed initiative pushed downwards, but a community that the organisation chose to back, and the difference between those two things is visible in everything the network has produced.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One misconception that needs challenging is that DE&I is largely about representation.

Representation matters, but it is just the starting point.

The harder questions sit downstream of hiring. Once people are in the organisation, do they feel heard. Do they have equal access to opportunity. Are they supported through different life stages. Are they being considered for the next role and not just the current one.

Are managers sensitive to realities that may not look the same for every employee.

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INTERVIEW

At Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd (The Times of India), we have tried to treat DE&I as a leadership and culture question rather than an HR scorecard. ELEVATE has helped us sharpen women focused hiring. The Times Women’s Forum has built peer networks that exist outside formal reporting lines. SHE unLTD. Awards have surfaced stories that the formal system might otherwise miss.

Policies around flexibility, maternity, adoption, crèche support and POSH awareness give the framework practical weight.

None of this works unless the employee experience improves. Diverse talent should be able to contribute, grow and be considered seriously without having to fight repeatedly for things that should already be available to them. The work of inclusion is making that experience ordinary, not exceptional.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

I believe the conversation has to become more practical. More local and connected to how people experience work.

If I had to name where the next phase of DE&I will be won or lost, I would say it sits with the manager. Inclusion is experienced most directly through the immediate manager.

If the manager layer is not equipped to do this well, no central program will compensate.

That is the priority I would put at the top of the agenda. Two other priorities sit alongside it. One is inclusion across life stages. A young hire, a returning mother, a caregiver, a mid career professional and a senior leader are looking for different things from the workplace.

Fairness does not always mean uniformity. It is understanding context and removing barriers where they exist.

The other is access. Learning, mentoring, visibility and progression cannot continue to depend on location, networks or proximity to leadership. Organisations will have to be more deliberate about who gets seen, sponsored and developed, and more honest about who is currently being missed.

The future of DE&I will be measured by whether employees across very different backgrounds and life realities feel that this workplace works for them too.

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

My advice would be to treat inclusion as a leadership habit. Employees read inclusion through daily signals. Who gets invited into the room. Whose view is taken seriously. Who receives credit. These are small decisions, repeated thousands of times across a year, and they shape culture far more than any formal declaration.

Leaders do not need to have all the answers.

They do need to listen carefully, notice patterns and act when barriers begin to show.

At Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd (The Times of India), the outcomes have been strongest when leadership sponsorship and employee ownership come together. Programs provide structure and leaders create the conditions in which people feel safe to participate.

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INTERVIEW The leaders I have learned the most from are the ones who treat inclusion as something they are personally accountable for, not delegated. It shows up in the way their teams behave, the way decisions get made, and the way people choose to stay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Amit Das is a Global Thought Leader & HR Visionary with a career spanning 37+ years, shaping future-ready organizations across diverse industries through leadership transformation, cultural coherence, agile workforce capability, and tech-enabled people architecture. Over the years, he has held leadership roles with marquee organizations including Tata Motors, CESC Ltd, Britannia Industries, Vodafone, RPG Group and Reliance Group, bringing deep expertise in building scalable people systems and resilient performance cultures. He currently holds the position of Director & CHRO, “Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd (The Times of India)”, India’s largest media conglomerate with multiple power brands across print & publishing like The Times of India, The Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times to name a few.

“Lasting cultural change is created when inclusion moves beyond policies, programs, and annual initiatives to become an integral part of everyday workplace experiences. It is reflected in the decisions leaders make, the opportunities employees receive, the voices that are heard, and the sense of belonging people feel within the organization. True inclusion flourishes when leaders actively champion fairness, employees take ownership of creating supportive communities, and organizations ensure that access to growth, learning, recognition, and career opportunities is available to all. When people feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their authentic selves, workplaces become stronger, more innovative, and better equipped to drive sustainable success for everyone.”

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Dr.Amit Das

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ASHWINI K

HR HEAD – INDIA MYRIDIUS

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INTERVIEW Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

What began as an effort to create awareness and support for the LGBTQIA+ community evolved into a broader movement focused on authenticity, allyship, and belonging across the organization.

The most impactful shift has been moving DE&I from being a set of programmes to becoming a shared leadership and employee responsibility. We consciously embedded inclusion into everyday moments—how we hire, how we manage performance, how we celebrate achievements, how we conduct meetings, and how we listen to employee feedback.

The series brought together employees from India, the United States, and the Philippines, creating meaningful conversations around identity, inclusion, and lived experiences.

What surprised us was the level of engagement from employees who were not directly part of the community but wanted to learn, participate, and become allies.

Our Employee Resource Groups have played a significant role in this transformation. They are not symbolic communities; they are active partners in shaping policies, raising awareness, and creating safe spaces for dialogue. Equally important has been visible leadership sponsorship, which reinforces that inclusion is a business priority rather than an HR initiative.

The result is that employees increasingly feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. We see inclusion reflected not just in participation rates, but in the quality of conversations, the confidence with which employees share ideas, and the sense of belonging that people describe when they talk about their experience at Myridius.

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One initiative that exceeded our expectations was the launch of our LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, Embrace, and its “Embrace Around the World” series.

The success stemmed from three factors: authentic leadership sponsorship, employeeled storytelling, and a genuine commitment to listening rather than prescribing solutions.

The initiative strengthened cross-cultural understanding, encouraged more open dialogue, and reinforced the belief that inclusive workplaces benefit everyone—not just the communities they are designed to support.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that DE&I is only about representation numbers.

While representation is important, it is only the starting point. Inclusion is ultimately about whether people feel valued, heard, respected, and empowered to contribute.

An organization can have diverse talent and still fail to create an inclusive culture if employees do not experience fairness, psychological safety, or a sense of belonging.

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INTERVIEW

At Myridius, we focus on both representation and experience. We measure engagement, encourage open dialogue, invest in mentorship and sponsorship, and create opportunities for employees to influence decisions that affect them.

We view DE&I not as a compliance exercise or a one-time initiative, but as a business enabler that strengthens innovation, collaboration, and customer outcomes. The conversation must move beyond who is in the room to whether every voice in the room has an equal opportunity to be heard and make an impact.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

The future of DE&I will be defined by belonging, accessibility, and equitable growth opportunities. Employees increasingly expect organizations to create environments where they can thrive professionally without compromising who they are personally.

I believe organizations should focus on three priorities. First, creating truly inclusive leadership pipelines to ensure diverse talent is represented at decision-making levels. Second, strengthening accessibility and accommodation practices so that workplaces are designed for everyone from the outset.

Third, leveraging technology and AI responsibly to reduce bias while ensuring human-centered decision-making remains at the core. As organizations become more global and distributed, cultural intelligence will also become increasingly important.

The most successful companies will be those that embrace diversity of thought, create opportunities for meaningful connection, and foster a strong sense of belonging regardless of geography, background, or identity.

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Start by listening—and then act on what you hear.

Many organizations invest significant effort in designing programmes, but meaningful inclusion begins with understanding the lived experiences of employees. Leaders who create opportunities for honest conversations, actively seek different perspectives, and demonstrate a willingness to learn build trust more effectively than any policy or initiative alone.

Equally important is consistency. Inclusion is not built through a single event, awareness month, or statement of intent. It is created through everyday leadership behaviours—how decisions are made, how opportunities are distributed, how feedback is received, and how people are treated when they speak up.

Employees remember actions more than intentions. When leaders visibly champion fairness, create psychological safety, and hold themselves accountable, they send a powerful message that inclusion is not optional—it is part of how the organization operates. That consistency is what ultimately transforms culture.

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INTERVIEW

“Employees remember actions more than intentions. Inclusion becomes culture when leaders consistently listen, act with fairness, and create opportunities for everyone to thrive.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ashwini K is a strategic People & Culture leader who partners with business leaders to navigate complexity and drive transformation. Her expertise spans the full spectrum of HR—from designing nextgeneration talent and reward strategies to leading large-scale technology transformation that reshapes how organizations operate.

“Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is about creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and included every day.

By making inclusion a part of hiring, leadership, teamwork, and employee engagement, the organization has built a culture where people feel comfortable being themselves. Strong leadership support, active Employee Resource Groups, and open conversations have helped create a greater sense of belonging. Looking ahead, Ashwini believes that inclusive leadership, accessibility, responsible use of AI, and treating people fairly will help build stronger and more successful workplaces.”

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Ashwini K

Recognized for her ability to translate emerging trends into actionable frameworks, she focuses on building adaptive people systems that anticipate change rather than react to it. As a trusted advisor to leadership teams, she brings clarity to ambiguity, enabling organizations to make confident workforce decisions in dynamic environments. Ashwini's vision centers on creating workplaces where intelligent design, human connection, and continuous evolution converge to unlock sustainable growth.

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BHAVYA MISHRA

CHRO - GODREJ CAPITAL

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INTERVIEW

Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The most impactful shift has been moving DEI from being a set of initiatives to becoming a business and leadership priority.

We have consciously embedded inclusion into the employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding to development, performance, and career advancement.

What has made the difference is leadership ownership. Inclusion is not driven solely by HR or the DEI team; it is championed by business leaders, managers, and employee communities. Our Employee Resource Groups, inclusive hiring programs, accessibility practices, and awareness initiatives help ensure that inclusion is experienced in everyday moments rather than only during special observances.

We have also focused on creating an environment where employees feel safe bringing their authentic selves to work.

Whether through our LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts, disability inclusion initiatives, or gender equity programs, our goal is to create a culture where people feel respected, valued, and empowered to grow. When inclusion becomes part of daily decisions and behaviours, cultural change becomes sustainable.

"Lasting inclusion begins when leadership makes belonging part of every decision, every day."

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

Our LGBTQ+ talent strategy has delivered outcomes beyond our initial expectations.

What began as a focused effort to improve representation evolved into a broader transformation in how inclusion is perceived across the organization.

"The success came from treating inclusion as a longterm commitment rather than a hiring campaign."

Through initiatives such as Pride Capital, Pride Path and BeYou, we created opportunities for LGBTQ+ talent to enter and grow within the organization. Over the last two years, LGBTQ+ representation has increased significantly, and we have also seen strong career progression outcomes, including promotions and leadership visibility for members of the community.

What surprised us most was the cultural impact. These initiatives sparked meaningful conversations, increased allyship, and encouraged employees across the organization to engage more actively in inclusion efforts.

The success came from treating inclusion as a long-term commitment rather than a hiring campaign. Strong leadership sponsorship, employee resource groups, inclusive policies such as Gender Affirmation Care support, and continuous awareness-building helped create an environment where representation could translate into belonging and growth.

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INTERVIEW

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One common misconception is that DEI is primarily about meeting representation targets. While representation is important, it is only one part of the equation.

Organizations can improve representation without necessarily creating an inclusive employee experience.

At Godrej Capital, we view DEI as a business enabler that helps unlock talent, innovation, collaboration, and performance. Our focus extends beyond hiring to creating systems, policies, and experiences that enable people from diverse backgrounds to thrive. This includes accessible workplaces, inclusive benefits, equitable career opportunities, employee resource groups, and ongoing capability-building for leaders and managers.

"DEI should not be viewed as a standalone initiative; it should be integrated into the way organizations attract, develop, engage, and retain talent."

We have found that when employees feel a genuine sense of belonging and psychological safety, they are more engaged, more innovative, and more likely to stay and grow with the organization. DEI should not be viewed as a standalone initiative; it should be integrated into the way organizations attract, develop, engage, and retain talent.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

The next phase of DEI will require organizations to focus on inclusion at the intersection of multiple identities and experiences. Areas such as mental well-being, disability inclusion, generational diversity, and equitable access to career opportunities will become increasingly important.

Technology and AI will also reshape how organizations think about inclusion. It will be critical to ensure that emerging technologies do not unintentionally reinforce bias and that access to future skills remains equitable.

Another priority will be building inclusive leadership capabilities. As workforces become more diverse and expectations around belonging continue to evolve, managers will play an even more significant role in shaping employee experiences.

Organizations that succeed will be those that move beyond compliance and representation metrics to create environments where people feel valued, supported, and able to contribute their best work regardless of their background, identity, or life stage.

"The organizations of tomorrow will be those where every individual feels valued, supported, and empowered to achieve their full potential."

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INTERVIEW

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

My advice would be to treat inclusion as a leadership responsibility rather than an HR initiative. Employees pay close attention to the behaviours, decisions, and priorities demonstrated by leaders every day.

Creating an inclusive workplace does not always require large programs or significant investments. It starts with listening, being open to different perspectives, challenging assumptions, and ensuring that opportunities are accessible to everyone. Small actions, when consistently demonstrated by leaders, can have a significant impact on culture.

Inclusion is ultimately about creating an environment where people feel respected, heard, and able to contribute fully. When leaders lead with empathy and accountability, inclusion becomes part of the organizational culture rather than a separate agenda. That is when meaningful and lasting change happens.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhavya Misra, CHRO at Godrej Capital, brings nearly 20 years of HR experience across Technology, FMCG, and Retail, with leadership roles at PepsiCo, Bharti Walmart, and Lenovo. She specializes in Talent Management, Organizational Transformation, and Business Partnering.At Godrej Capital, she champions DEI initiatives, focusing on LGBTQIA+ and PWD inclusion, and drives gender balance in the workplace. Known for her empathetic and pragmatic approach, Bhavya ensures employee well-being remains central to business decisions.An alumna of MDI Gurgaon and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, she continues to shape a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing culture.

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DIVYA‌‌ DIVYA RAJITH HEAD OF HR,INDIA, AVNET

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INTERVIEW

Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The biggest shift was when we stopped treating inclusion as an HR agenda and started treating it as a leadership responsibility.

It's easy to launch programs. It's harder to make people feel respected, heard, and valued in everyday interactions. We realized that culture is built in small moments—who gets invited into conversations, whose ideas are heard, who gets opportunities, and whether people feel safe speaking up.

At Avnet India, we've focused on creating a workplace where inclusion shows up in dayto-day decisions rather than annual celebrations. Our listening mechanisms, town halls, pulse surveys, and open forums give employees multiple ways to share feedback.

More importantly, leaders are expected to act on what they hear.

We've also worked hard to ensure that flexibility, wellbeing, and career opportunities are available fairly across the organization.

We are encouraged by external recognitions such as Great Place to Work and Best Workplace for Women, and more importantly, by consistent employee feedback indicating that they feel trusted and respected.

When inclusion becomes part of how the business operates day to day, we’ve seen stronger alignment and engagement across teams.

“Recognition, inclusion, and collaboration are the foundation of lasting workplace success.”

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One area that surprised us was the impact of connecting inclusion with purpose.

A lot of organizations separate employee experience from social impact. We've tried to bring those two things together. Our collaborations with institutions like IISc Bangalore and NITK Surathkal started as ESG and innovation initiatives, but they ended up creating something broader in impact.

Employees could see their technical expertise contributing to real-world challenges—from projects related to groundwater remediation, environmental sustainability, and AI-enabled disaster detection and biodiversity protection.

That created a deeper sense of connection and purpose than we initially anticipated.

People want to know that the work they do matters. When employees see the organization using technology and innovation to help address broader community and societal challenges, engagement becomes more meaningful and sustained.

The success came from authenticity. These weren't side projects designed for visibility.

They were aligned with our core business capabilities and values. That's probably the biggest lesson we've learned—people connect more deeply when inclusion, purpose, and business strategy reinforce one another instead of operating in separate silos.

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Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

The misconception is that DE&I is a collection of activities.

Many organizations still think inclusion is about celebrating a few days on the calendar, conducting a workshop, publishing some statistics, and moving on. Those things have value, but they don't change outcomes on their own.

The real work is much less glamorous. It's examining hiring decisions, promotion patterns, leadership representation, and whether different groups are experiencing the workplace differently. Data can surface insights that require careful reflection and action.

We've tried to approach DE&I as a business discipline. We look at representation. We look at employee feedback. We look at fairness and consistency in people practices.

Then we ask difficult questions and make changes where needed.

That's also why we focus on leadership accountability. Inclusion cannot sit exclusively with HR. If leaders aren't discussing it in talent reviews, succession planning, and business conversations, progress will always be limited.

For me, the goal isn't to run a DE&I programme. The goal is to build a business environment where inclusion is part of how decisions are made.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

I think the next phase of DE&I will be less about awareness and more about access.

The conversation is moving beyond representation toward questions of opportunity. Who gets exposure? Who gets access to critical projects? Who is being prepared for future leadership roles? Those are the questions organizations need to answer.

The second priority will be wellbeing.

Employees increasingly expect workplaces that support not just performance but also mental, emotional, financial, and social wellbeing. Inclusion and wellbeing are becoming more closely linked.

The third is ensuring that technology doesn't unintentionally create new barriers. As AI becomes more integrated into business processes, organizations will need to ensure fairness, transparency, and appropriate access to opportunities enabled by technology.

Ultimately, the organizations that succeed will be the ones that continue listening. Workforce expectations will keep changing, and leaders who remain curious and adaptable will be far better positioned than those relying on yesterday's playbook.

“The future of DE&I is about creating access, not just awareness. Organizations that champion opportunity, prioritize wellbeing, embrace responsible AI, and continue listening to their people will build truly inclusive workplaces.”

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“Inclusive leadership begins with data, not assumptions. By measuring hiring, promotions, development, and retention, leaders can identify gaps, take meaningful action, and make inclusion a shared business priority—not just an HR initiative.”

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Look at your data before you look at your intentions.

Most leaders genuinely want to build inclusive workplaces. The challenge is that intentions don't always translate into outcomes. That's why data matters.

Look at hiring patterns. Look at promotions. Look at attrition. Look at who gets development opportunities.

Then ask whether the outcomes reflect the values you talk about.

The second part is being willing to act on what you find.

Sometimes the gaps are uncomfortable. Sometimes the solutions require changing processes that have existed for years. That's where leadership commitment is tested.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Divya Rajith heads Human Resources at Avnet India for business & people, known for her people-first philosophy, inclusive workplace practices, and awardwinning employee engagement strategies.

With over 20 years of experience, and over a decade with Avnet, her philosophy is not just theoretical—it has tangible results with high employee trust scores and recognitions for engagement and well-being programs.

And finally, don't let DE&I become an HR-only conversation. The moment business leaders start discussing inclusion with the same seriousness as revenue, customer satisfaction, or operational performance, it becomes part of the organization's DNA. That’s when organizations begin to see more consistent and sustainable progress.

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PRIYA TIKARE

DIRECTOR & HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCESINDIA, LENOVO

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

At Lenovo, the most impactful shift in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences has been the evolution of Women in Lenovo (WIL) from a community platform into a structured growth ecosystem that is woven into the employee lifecycle.

Through WIL, we have moved beyond awareness to enabling tangible career outcomes for women at every stage. Programs such as our Career Acceleration journeys, mentoring cohorts, and learning circles are designed not just to build capability, but to connect directly to career intent, visibility, and progression. These initiatives create ongoing touchpoints where inclusion is experienced in everyday moments—whether through mentorship conversations, leadership exposure, or peer learning environments.

A key shift has also been building a sustainable, system-driven model—with structured cohorts, defined learning loops, and alumni-to-mentor pipelines—ensuring inclusion is not episodic, but continuous.

What makes this impactful is the consistency: women can enter the ecosystem, grow with support, be seen through opportunities, and progress with confidence. This creates a culture where inclusion is not something employees participate in occasionally, but something they experience every day.

"At Lenovo, the most impactful shift has been transforming Women in Lenovo (WIL) into a structured growth ecosystem embedded across the employee lifecycle. Through mentoring, career acceleration, and leadership development, inclusion has evolved from awareness to everyday practice, enabling women to grow, gain visibility, and progress with confidence"

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One DE&I intervention that delivered impact far beyond our initial expectations is our partnership with the NASSCOM Foundation on the Women Wizards Rule Tech (W2RT) program, integrated within our Women in Lenovo (WIL) ecosystem.

Originally designed as a career acceleration initiative for a small cohort of high-potential women, W2RT evolved into a powerful catalyst for broader cultural change. The program combined advanced technical upskilling across emerging domains such as AI, Cloud, and Cybersecurity with leadership development, mentoring, and industry exposure.

While we began with a focused cohort, the impact extended well beyond participants. We saw 100% engagement across the cohort, strong ownership of learning, and significant gains in confidence, visibility, and career intent. More importantly, participants became role models within the organization, inspiring other women to actively pursue growth opportunities and increasing engagement in WIL programs.

What made this successful was the way we embedded the program into our internal ecosystem—through leadership roundtables, business connect sessions, and continuous tracking—ensuring learning translated into real workplace outcomes.

This shifted W2RT from being a development program to a scalable model for building a future-ready, inclusive talent pipeline.

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MEENAKSHI DAGAR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER & EXECUTIVE SPONSOR-LENOVO

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Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One of the biggest misconceptions about DE&I is that it is an initiative—something organizations “run” through programs, campaigns, or representation targets.

Inclusion is not an initiative; it is an operating principle that must shape how an organization works every single day.

At Lenovo, we made a conscious decision to break away from the program mindset.

Instead of asking “What more can we launch?”, we asked a more fundamental question: “How do we redesign work itself to be inclusive by default?”

This led to a shift where inclusion is engineered into our systems—from how we hire and assess talent, to how leaders take decisions and how careers are built. It is reinforced through shared behavioral frameworks and sustained through measurable accountability, ensuring it is not optional, but expected.

Importantly, we treat inclusion as a driver of performance and innovation, not just fairness.

When diverse voices are not only present but actively shape outcomes, organizations become more resilient, creative, and futureready.

Moving beyond this misconception requires courage—the courage to stop treating DE&I as an add-on and instead redefine it as how the organization fundamentally thinks, decides, and grows.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

As workplace demographics and societal expectations evolve, organizations need to move beyond traditional DE&I constructs and focus on designing inclusive ecosystems that are future-ready, not just compliant. At Lenovo, we believe three emerging priorities will define the next phase of DE&I. First, inclusion by design—embedding inclusion into products, processes, and decision-making frameworks, not layering it on later. This ensures that diversity is not only represented but meaningfully shapes innovation and business outcomes.

Second, career equity at scale. The focus will move from entry-level representation to addressing mid-career progression gaps, leadership pipelines, and access to highimpact opportunities.

Structured interventions—like targeted capabilitybuilding and sponsorship platforms—will be critical to sustain diverse leadership pipelines.

Third, and perhaps most important, is humancentric flexibility. As employees bring increasingly diverse life experiences, organizations must redesign work itself— around caregiving realities, wellbeing, and personalized growth journeys—so that inclusion is experienced in everyday work, not just policies.

What ties all of this together is accountability.

The future of DE&I will be defined by how rigorously organizations measure impact, integrate it into business strategy, and hold leaders responsible for outcomes.

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ANITA KAPOOR DIRECTOR LEGAL-INDIA & SOUTH ASIA & EXECUITVE SPONSOR- LENOVO

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Ultimately, DE&I will no longer be a standalone agenda—it will be a core driver of innovation, talent advantage, and long-term business resilience.

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

If I had to offer one piece of advice, it would be this: stop treating inclusion as an initiative— and start owning it as a leadership responsibility, every single day. Too often, DE&I is delegated to programs or HR teams, when the most meaningful shifts happen in everyday decisions leaders make—who gets opportunities, whose voices are heard, and how talent is developed. At Lenovo, we have been intentional about embedding inclusion into leadership behaviors and systems, not just interventions. Whether it is through structured frameworks that encourage inclusive decision-making or platforms like Women in Lenovo that create visibility and growth pathways, the focus is on ensuring inclusion is lived, not announced. The “why” is simple: culture is not built through intent—it is shaped through consistent actions and signals from leaders. When leader’s role-model inclusion, it cascades across teams, influencing how people collaborate, innovate, and perform.

"Inclusion is ultimately a leadership choice. And when leaders choose it consistently, it transforms not just employee experience, but the organization’s ability to thrive in a diverse and dynamic world.”

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Priya Tikare, Meenakshi Dagar & Anita Kapoor

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Priya Tikare as Director & Head of Human Resources – India, Priya Tikare stands at the helm of Lenovo’s people agenda, driving a sharp alignment between business strategy and employee experience. Based in Bangalore, she also serves as the Site HR Leader, bringing over two decades of experience in building highperforming, people-centric organizations.

A Lenovo veteran of over 20 years, Priya’s journey reflects both depth and breadth. From leading HR for the Global Support Organization across 58 countries to steering Talent Acquisition for Asia Pacific, she has consistently operated at the intersection of scale, strategy, and execution. Her early career with MetLife India laid the foundation for a deep understanding of business-linked HR. What defines Priya’s leadership today is her focus on building organizations that are agile, inclusive, and future-ready—powered by strong talent pipelines, data-driven decisions, and differentiated employee experiences. She has also played a key role in Lenovo’s mergers and acquisitions, ensuring integration goes beyond processes to truly align cultures.

A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Priya serves as Executive Sponsor for both Women in Lenovo (WIL) and PRIDE, championing inclusive hiring and empowering employee communities to lead meaningful change.

Meenakshi Dagar is the Chief Financial Officer for Lenovo India, ISO. With over 20 years of diverse experience, she has held key roles across strategic and operational finance, previously contributing her expertise at Tech Mahindra and Dell. Meenakshi is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

As Executive Sponsor for Lenovo India’s Women in Lenovo (WIL) Employee Resource Group, Meenakshi actively promotes gender equity and leadership development. She supports initiatives that empower women across the organization and fosters a culture of inclusion through mentorship and advocacy.

Anita Kapoor is the Director of Legal at Lenovo India, overseeing legal, compliance, regulatory, and government affairs. With over 20 years of experience as a technology lawyer, she has led complex global deals and built robust compliance frameworks across jurisdictions. Her career includes leadership roles at Cisco Systems, Lifetree Convergence, and Luthra & Luthra. Anita holds a law degree from Delhi University and is a qualified Company Secretary.

As Executive Sponsor for Lenovo India’s PRIDE Employee Resource Group, Anita is a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion. She actively supports initiatives that promote allyship, inclusive policies, and equitable opportunities for all employees. Her leadership helps ensure that Lenovo’s legal and cultural frameworks reflect its commitment to diversity and respect.

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RADHIKA NAIR HEAD OF PEOPLE & CULTURE VOLVO GROUP INDIA & TRUCKS TECHNOLOGY & INDUSTRIAL APAC REGION

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

One of the most impactful shifts at Volvo Group India has been transforming DEI from a set of initiatives into an integral part of our everyday culture and employee experience.

Our focus has been on creating an environment where inclusion is reflected in how people work, collaborate, lead, and make decisions every day. This has been enabled through a combination of inclusive policies, leadership commitment and sponsorship, employee-led communities, and continuous awareness interventions, making inclusion a movement rather than a program.

A defining aspect of this transformation has been fostering allyship and psychological safety. Through Employee Resource Groups such as Spark for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and V-EAGLE for LGBTQIA+ employees and allies, employees actively shape conversations around inclusion, challenge biases, and create safe spaces where individuals can bring their authentic selves to work.

Equally important has been visible leadership commitment. Leaders actively champion DEI, participate in inclusion initiatives, and reinforce inclusive behaviours, helping build trust and a strong sense of belonging across the organization.

We have also embedded inclusion into key employee touchpoints – right from onboarding and capability-building programs to inclusive hiring practices and equitable people policies.

The result has been a cultural shift marked by greater openness, stronger allyship, increased participation, and a workplace where inclusion is experienced every day.

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One DEI intervention that exceeded our expectations was the launch of the IamInclusive movement. What began as an awareness initiative evolved into a powerful cultural movement that encouraged employees to take personal ownership of inclusion in their everyday actions and interactions.

The objective was to move beyond policy awareness and create a shared understanding that inclusion is everyone’s responsibility.

Through workshops, conversations, storytelling, allyship initiatives, and leadership participation, employees were encouraged to reflect on unconscious biases, challenge stereotypes, and foster inclusive behaviours.

A key component of the movement was the Inclusion Engine - an immersive and actionoriented experience that enabled colleagues to reflect, engage, and embed inclusive behaviours in everyday moments. Through interactive engagements, real-life scenarios, and a street play that brought everyday biases to life, we blended reflection with creativity, fun with purpose, and learning with action, making inclusion tangible and relatable.

The movement continues to evolve through focused group discussions and other microinterventions

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that help uncover biases and identify practical micro-behaviours that employees and leaders can adopt.

The result has been stronger allyship, increased participation in DEI initiatives, enhanced psychological safety, and a deeper integration of inclusion into our organizational culture, demonstrating that meaningful culture change happens when every individual becomes part of the solution.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One of the biggest misconceptions about DEI is that it is primarily about representation or achieving diversity targets.

While representation is important, true inclusion goes far beyond numbers. An organization can have a diverse workforce, but if employees do not feel valued, heard, respected, or able to bring their authentic selves to work, the benefits of diversity remain untapped.

At Volvo Group India, we view DEI not as a standalone HR initiative but as a cultural and business imperative. Our focus has been on creating an environment where inclusion is embedded into everyday experiences through leadership role modelling, allyship, equitable policies, employee resource groups, and continuous dialogue. We believe that inclusion is reflected in behaviours, decisionmaking, and workplace interactions as much as it is in workforce demographics.

This approach has helped us move beyond awareness towards fostering genuine belongingness and psychological safety.

Movements such as the Iaminclusive active ERGs, inclusive leadership interventions, and employee-led forums have encouraged employees to take shared ownership of inclusion and challenge unconscious biases.

For us, success is not measured solely by who joins the organization, but by whether every individual feels empowered to contribute, grow, and thrive once they are here.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

As workplace demographics, employee expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, I believe organizations must focus on four key DEI priorities over the coming years.

First, inclusive leadership and accountability will become increasingly critical. As workplaces become more diverse and multigenerational, leaders must be equipped to foster psychological safety, embrace diverse perspectives, and create environments where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute.

Second, Organizations must ensure the inclusive use of technology and AI. As automation and AI reshape the workplace, it is important to apply an inclusion lens to recruitment, talent management, career development, and employee experience processes to minimize unintended bias and ensure equitable outcomes.

Third, there is a growing need to strengthen the STEM talent pipeline, particularly for women.

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Sustainable progress requires early interventions through school and university outreach, industry-academia partnerships, mentoring, internships, and programs such as YUKTI, organized under the larger aegis of TecHER, that inspire more girls and young women to pursue careers in engineering, technology, and manufacturing.

Finally,organizations must continue deepening inclusion for underrepresented communities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals and Persons with Disabilities (PwD), by enhancing accessibility, fostering allyship, removing barriers to opportunity, and creating workplaces where everyone can thrive as their authentic selves.

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

If there is one piece of advice I would offer leaders, it is this: make inclusion a daily leadership practice, not a periodic initiative.

Employees pay far more attention to what leaders do than what organizations say.

Inclusive cultures are built when leaders consistently demonstrate curiosity, empathy, fairness, and openness in everyday interactions-whether by inviting diverse perspectives, ensuring every voice is heard, challenging biases, or creating psychologically safe spaces where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

While policies, programs, and metrics are important enablers, lasting cultural change happens when leaders visibly role model inclusive behaviours. At Volvo Group India, we have seen that leadership commitment creates a powerful multiplier effect.

It encourages allyship, builds trust, strengthens belonging, and inspires employees to take ownership of inclusion by themselves.

Research and experience consistently show that when employees are empowered to bring their authentic selves to work, engagement, collaboration, and innovation thrive. Diverse perspectives lead to better decision-making, more creative problem-solving, and ultimately stronger business outcomes. Inclusion is therefore not just about creating a positive employee experience; it is a strategic enabler that unlocks the full potential of people and drives sustainable organizational success.Ultimately, inclusive leadership creates an environment where everyone can contribute, grow, and thrive.

“Lasting cultural change happens when inclusion moves beyond initiatives and becomes a shared responsibility embraced by every individual within the organization. It is created when leaders actively champion belonging, foster psychological safety, and model inclusive behaviors in their everyday actions. It grows stronger when employees become allies, challenge biases, celebrate diverse perspectives, and contribute to a culture of respect and trust. When inclusion is embedded into how people lead, collaborate, and make decisions, every individual feels valued, empowered, and inspired to bring their authentic self to work. Such workplaces not only enable people to grow and thrive but also unlock innovation, strengthen engagement, and drive sustainable organizational success.”

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Radhika Nair 39

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Radhika Nair With over two decades of global corporate expertise, Radhika is a dynamic Human Resources leader specializing in People & Culture strategy. She has successfully driven business growth through strategic, people-centric leadership, empowering individuals, and organizations to thrive. In her current role with Volvo Group as Head of People & Culture, she oversees the full spectrum of People & Culture functions, including Rewards, Labor & Employee Relations, Talent Strategy & Acquisition, People Operations, International Mobility, Learning & Development, DEi, Employer Branding and Health & Wellbeing.

Radhika has extensive experience across diverse industries such as R&D, Consulting, Technology, BPO, Telecom, Retail, and Banking. Her multinational exposure spans Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and India, where she has adeptly managed complex stakeholder relationships. As Head of HR, she has led business units and functions, shaping high-performance teams and implementing impactful global people strategies.

Her expertise lies in talent management, performance management, and learning & development. Passionate about human ingenuity, she is committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative, and high-performance culture that fuels growth while supporting the development, engagement, and well-being of an organization's greatest asset-its people.

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GLOBAL WORKPLACE EXCELLENCE - INSIGHTS & IMPACT Belonging as a Business Strategy Leading organizations are embedding belonging into workplace culture, recognizing that employees who feel valued and included are more engaged, innovative, and committed.

Inclusive Leadership in Action Managers are moving beyond awareness to accountability by fostering equitable opportunities, encouraging diverse perspectives, and creating psychologically safe teams.

AI With Equity Organizations are implementing responsible AI practices to reduce bias, improve transparency, and ensure fairness in hiring, talent development, and performance management.

Accessibility by Design From digital accessibility to inclusive workplace design, businesses are creating environments that enable every individual including persons with disabilities and neurodiverse talent to succeed.

Global DEI Accountability Organizations are strengthening DEI through measurable goals, transparent reporting, employee feedback, and leadership accountability to drive sustainable business outcomes.

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RUHIE PANDE

GROUP CHRO & CMO STERLITE ELECTRIC

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The most impactful shift has been decoupling DE&I from HR programming and converting it into a core line function and shared organizational responsibility. In heavy industries like power and infrastructure, where diverse representation is historically low, improving headcounts is meaningless if the workplace culture demands behavioral conformity.

We systematically embedded inclusion into hard operational milestones, from our hiring funnels and lifecycle onboarding to performance tracking and leadership pipelines. The catalyst for this transformation was operationalizing our commitment to deep, unfiltered listening.

Through frameworks like our ‘All Stars’ Employee Resource Group (ERG), we ensured employee feedback wasn't just collected but directly leveraged to rewrite our people practices. When employees see their raw insights actively altering corporate policy, the cultural needle shifts. This approach moves the organization from transactional representation to structural belonging, ensuring every employee, whether at corporate headquarters or a remote field site, is psychologically safe, respected, and empowered to execute and succeed.

"When employees see their raw insights actively altering corporate policy, the cultural needle shifts."

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

The ‘All Stars’ Employee Resource Group (ERG) exceeded all expectations because we refused to let it become an isolated networking forum or a corporate echo chamber.

Originally designed for dialogue and peer support, it quickly matured into a powerful corporate governance mechanism. Direct intelligence from the ERG drove the rapid architecture and rollout of industryprogressive mandates, including our ‘Safe Cabs’ transit policy, a dedicated Menstrual Leave framework, localized Caregiver Support, and the ‘Nurture’ maternity pipeline.

The strategy behind its success is radical cocreation.

We stopped treating our diverse talent as passive recipients of HR policy and positioned them as active architects of our culture. When professionals observe their personal vulnerabilities turning into legitimacy and concrete corporate action, trust spikes. By treating our workforce as coowners of our ecosystem, the ERG's impact scaled far beyond a standard diversity mandate, fundamentally upgrading our organizational velocity, retention metrics, and execution certainty on the ground.

"True inclusion begins when every voice has the power to shape change."

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Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

The most persistent corporate blind spot is treating DE&I as a spreadsheet exercise measured solely by demographic headcounts.

Representation numbers are simply an entrylevel metric; true inclusion is an operational climate. Focusing exclusively on diversity data without engineering psychological safety and equitable growth pipelines results in an expensive talent drain.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?.

Organizations must master three critical frontiers over the next execution horizon.

First, institutionalizing inclusive leadership capabilities.

As workforces become aggressively multi-generational and diverse, empathy and active listening must be treated as core operational competencies, not soft behavioral options.

Our strategy is deliberately balanced.

While we actively push to open our recruitment funnels, we focus heavily on onground retention. We rigorously audit not just who enters our group, but who thrives, who stays, and who is promoted into high-stakes decision-making roles. We backed this up by installing robust corporate listening loops, inclusive benefits, and targeted leadership interventions.

A workplace achieves genuine inclusivity only when professionals can shed their corporate masks and bring their unedited, authentic selves to work without facing an aesthetic or cultural penalty. Inclusion is ultimately about building a high-performance ecosystem where distinct voices are leveraged as strategic execution levers.

"Representation opens the door. Inclusion helps people thrive."

Second, democratizing equitable career velocity. Getting underrepresented talent through the front door is no longer enough; companies must fortify their midmanagement succession plans and build clear, merit-driven pathways for diverse professionals to enter boardrooms and operational command roles.

Third, engineering life-stage and humancentric infrastructure. The modern workforce demands that employers recognize the fluid realities of parental care, mental health, and complex caregiving responsibilities.

Progressive organizations must stop benchmarking against rigid, legacy workplace archetypes and instead design operational policies around real human needs. The future of DE&I belongs to enterprises that move past symbolic, isolated interventions and build cohesive ecosystems where sustainability, growth, and authentic belonging are guaranteed.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Listen with absolute business intent and execute your cultural promises with uncompromised consistency.

Inclusion is never built through glossy corporate manifestos or public-facing statements; it is forged in the trenches of your daily decisions, resource allocations, and behavioral tolerances. Your teams can spot the gap between performative metrics and genuine cultural intent immediately.

As leaders, we don't need to carry a monopoly on all the answers. What we must provide is the unwavering commitment to protect safe spaces for radical candor, challenge statusquo biases within our own leadership styles, and pivot based on what the ground reality tells us. Small, predictable, and fair actions generate far more sustainable trust capital than grand symbolic gestures.

When your workforce feels genuinely heard, legally protected, and systematically supported, you build deep organizational trust. That trust is the absolute foundation for high-performing, resilient, and future-ready enterprises.

"Inclusion is not a destination—it is a commitment to ensure every voice is heard, every person is valued, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive."

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Ruhie Pande

Ruhie Pande is the Group Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for Serentica, Resonia, and Sterlite Electric.

Across the three companies, she is responsible for leading HR, including talent, strategy, media & communications, and culture priorities for the group. A seasoned professional with two decades of experience, Ruhie has a proven track record of building and harnessing people power across a diverse range of industries. She is known for her empathy-driven approach, enabling her to drive effective strategies in the HR realm.

In her journey, she has contributed to establishing a high-performance culture across sectors like financial services, real estate, fashion retail, information technology and FMCG. During her last stint at Godrej Capital, Ruhie was instrumental in handpicking and onboarding key personnels, furthering the organization’s presence as a best-in-class financial institution.

As an accomplished leader and domain expert, Ruhie is associated with many domestic and international HR and leadership forums. She has been a part of different women forums and has been mentoring young women leaders. Ruhie also serves as the Chairperson of the HRM Committee at BCCI (Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industries). Her groundbreaking contributions have been recognized with several industry awards, such as 100 most influential HR leaders in India by CHRO Asia, 25 most talented HR professionals in Retail by Asia Retail Congress, BW’s Most Influential Women 2025 & 2024 (two times in a row), 25 of 2025 Trailblazing Women by HRAI and Leading Woman in HR by IIGBI in the 4th Women Leaders awards in India.

She holds a M.Sc. degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the prestigious Birkbeck College in London.

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RENU JETHANI GLOBAL HR LEADER-SUTHERLAND

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Q: What are your organization’s top 3 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives?

Q: Could you share some of the challenges you've encountered while implementing DE&I initiatives, and how you've overcome them?

At Sutherland, we’ve embedded DE&I into our organizational DNA from hire to retire through multiple programs. Three intentional initiatives that have made a difference are

One of the major challenge has been addressing resistance to change specially when Inclusion & Belonging efforts are perceived as optional or performative.

1. Diverse Mentorship & Leadership Acceleration: Targeted programs for Women, PWDs (Persons with Disabilities), LGBTQIA+ and other diverse employees to bridge gaps in representation, retention, and advancement.

Our Fix? Since DEI is a leadership priority, we tied DEI metrics to bonuses, promotions, and KPIs. Suddenly, everyone cared. Funny how that works but it did help.

Result: Increased women diversity from 29% to 43% since 2019, with >50% mentees have been promoted/elevated right after the mentorship programs.

2. Accessibility-First Ecosystem: Built physical and digital infrastructure (assistive tech, inclusive washrooms, JAWS software, flexible workspaces, inclusive hiring practices) to empower PWDs. § Result: 250+ PWDs across the disability spectrum, who continue to thrive and grow with us.

3. Allyship & Cultural Advocacy: Expanded 700+ LGBTQ+ ally network, ERGs (Employee Resource Groups), and biasawareness training to foster belonging.

Result: 2 points Higher experience scores for Women (Ex score 86), Pride and PWD cohorts, low attrition rates and stronger crosscultural collaboration.

“Meaningful inclusion is built through opportunity, accessibility, and belonging.”

Another challenge was how do we sustain the momentum as interests can wane after initial enthusiasm. To address this, we have designed long-term strategies, weekly calendars, monthly ERG check-ins and milestones. By embedding DE&I into hiring, promotions, diversity day celebrations, day ot day engagement and daily operations, we shifted mindsets from compliance to commitment.

Q: DE&I efforts often involve addressing unconscious biases. How do you promote awareness and combat biases within your organization?

At Sutherland, a multi layered approach has been designed to address unconscious bias.

Training That Doesn’t bore you: No deathby-PowerPoint. Instead, real stories, roleplaying, and "Wait, did I really just say that?" moments. and we onboard 100% of employees into our inclusive culture Hiring Hacks: Blind resumes, structured interviews, and diverse panels. We have a special module (hiring only the Best) for our hiring managers to recognize biases while screening candidates to ensure decisions are based on merit, not assumptions.

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Call-Out Culture: We encourage "Hey, that didn’t land right" convos. No shame—just growth.

Safe Zone: ERGs, Ally Groups, Diversity advocates, feedback channels to create psychological safety and a strong support system.

DEI Lens in all people processes: from rewards, promotions to consequence management frameworks.

Measuring it: We also measure the inclusion score in our experience surveys - 91% of our employees feel included and respected at workplace and we focus on getting it right for the remaining 9%.

Result? Fewer "Oops, I didn’t mean it like that" moments and more "Wow, our team is crushing it."

Q: What brings you the most fulfillment in your role as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leader?

What fulfills me most is seeing the tangible impact of our DE&I initiatives on individuals and the organization. That "aha" moments— when someone realizes their potential because the system finally sees and supports them.

When a woman in our mentoring program secures her first leadership role, when a colleague from the LGBTQ+ community shares that they finally feel safe to bring their whole self to work, or when we onboard a person with a disability who thrives because we’ve built an accessible workplace—those moments reaffirm why this work matters.

What fulfills me most is seeing the tangible impact of our DE&I initiatives on individuals and the organization. That "aha" moments— when someone realizes their potential because the system finally sees and supports them.

When a woman in our mentoring program secures her first leadership role, when a colleague from the LGBTQ+ community shares that they finally feel safe to bring their whole self to work, or when we onboard a person with a disability who thrives because we’ve built an accessible workplace—those moments reaffirm why this work matters.

Beyond individual stories, I’m energized by the cultural shift we’re driving. Metrics like increasing our women representation from 29% to 41% since 2019, hiring 300+ PWDs across the disability spectrum, and growing our 700+ LGBTQ+ ally network prove that systemic change is possible. DE&I isn’t just about fairness; it’s about unlocking potential.

When diverse voices are heard, innovation follows, retention improves, and the business grows stronger. That’s the ultimate fulfillment —knowing we’re not just checking boxes but transforming lives and the future of work.

Q: Lastly, what message would you like to share with our readers?

"Inclusion is a verb." It demands action—not just policies, but daily choices to listen, advocate, and challenge the status quo.

To Leaders: Stop patting yourselves on the back for one diversity hire. Build systems that lift everyone. Embed DE&I in business strategy, not HR checklists. Your balance sheet and goodwill will thank

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To Allies: Speak up, even if your voice shakes. (And if you’re privileged, pass the mic.)

To those not thinking about DE&I yet: Wake up. Your blind spots are costing you talent, innovation, and relevance.

At Sutherland, we’ve seen firsthand how intentional DE&I efforts create a workplace where people don’t just survive but thrive. Today we are thriving on each DEI metric, are a GPTW certified top workplaces for women, IWEI gold employer, Global Pride Ally challenge winner (2024) and have swept awards across categories in forums like DivHERsity.

We still have miles to go. My urge to all of us - Keep pushing forward.

The future isn’t going to be just "diverse" – it’s going to be unapologetically inclusive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renu Jethani is a seasoned HR leader with 20+ years of experience at the intersection of people, culture, and business performance. Having shaped HR at iconic organizations like Infosys BPO, Times Group, Godrej Group, Edelweiss and Sutherland, she brings in expertise across breadth and depth of HR spectrum.

A SHRM SCP professional, Certified Coach, and MBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management and HRD, Renu currently leads HR for India, South Africa, and 5 global verticals spanning 12+ countries at Sutherland. In this role, she has been a driving force behind building an engaged, high performing and inclusive workforce — one that doesn't just win Great Place to Work recognition but meaningfully moves the needle on client excellence and business outcomes.

"Inclusion is not defined by intentions alone—it is reflected in the choices organizations make every day. Truly inclusive workplaces are built when leaders move beyond policies to create systems that empower people, remove barriers, and ensure every individual has the opportunity to contribute, grow, and succeed.

Meaningful change begins with accountability. It requires the courage to challenge bias, amplify diverse voices, and foster environments where differences are respected as strengths rather than obstacles. When inclusion becomes a shared responsibility, it transforms workplace culture into one where belonging, innovation, and high performance naturally coexist.

The future of work will be shaped by organizations that choose action over aspiration—creating cultures where every person feels seen, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential."

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Renu Jethani

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RISHIKESH RAVAL PRESIDENT GROUP HUMAN RESOURCES & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS, ZYDUS LIFESCIENCES LTD

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

At Zydus, the most impactful shift has been moving DE&I from being a standalone agenda to making it an integral part of everyday employee experiences and leadership accountability. We believe inclusion is not created through policies alone; it is built through daily interactions, opportunities, and access.

Over the years, we have embedded DE&I goals into leadership KRAs, ensuring that inclusivity becomes a measurable business priority rather than a voluntary effort. At the same time, we have strengthened mechanisms that encourage open dialogue and psychological safety, such as our Open Door Policy and the “Reach Out to CHRO” platform, where employees can directly share concerns, ideas, or feedback.

We have also focused on creating equitable opportunities through initiatives such as WINGS for women leaders, the I Am Back program for women returning from career breaks, and structured pathways for persons with disabilities. These initiatives help ensure that every employee feels seen, heard, and supported.

The result is a culture where inclusion is not an event or campaign—it is reflected in how people are hired, developed, recognized, and empowered every day.

Q:Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One initiative that exceeded our expectations was our effort to create meaningful employment opportunities for persons with disabilities within our manufacturing operations. In partnership with the Blind People’s Association, Ahmedabad, we conducted a detailed role-mapping exercise to identify functions where individuals with different abilities could contribute effectively and safely.

What began as an inclusion initiative soon demonstrated significant business value.

Employees with hearing, speech, and locomotive disabilities were successfully integrated into areas such as packaging, inspection, quality control, and material handling. Beyond improving representation, the initiative challenged existing assumptions about capability and productivity. Teams became more collaborative, managers became more conscious of inclusive practices, and workplace empathy increased significantly.

The success of the intervention stemmed from thoughtful job design, leadership commitment, infrastructure readiness, and a focus on ability rather than limitation. We invested time in sensitization, training, and creating an enabling environment, which ensured long-term sustainability.

The initiative reinforced an important lesson for us: when organizations intentionally remove barriers and create equitable opportunities, inclusion not only benefits individuals but also strengthens culture, innovation, and overall organizational performance.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently? .

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A common misconception is that DE&I is primarily about representation numbers or meeting diversity targets.

While representation is important, true inclusion goes much deeper. Organizations can improve diversity metrics, but unless employees feel respected, valued, and empowered, meaningful change remains limited.

At Zydus, we view DE&I as a culturebuilding and business-enabling strategy rather than a compliance exercise. Our focus extends beyond hiring to creating equitable opportunities for growth, leadership development, well-being, and participation.

Programs such as WINGS, SHE Club, VOICE surveys, and the I Am Back initiative are designed to understand employee experiences and address barriers that may prevent individuals from reaching their full potential.

We also place significant emphasis on psychological safety. Platforms such as Speak Up and Reach Out to CHRO encourage employees to voice concerns and ideas openly, irrespective of hierarchy.

For us, success is not measured only by who joins the organization but also by who thrives, advances, and feels a genuine sense of belonging. That shift in perspective is what helps create sustainable and meaningful DE&I outcomes.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

First, creating truly inclusive career pathways for underrepresented talent, ensuring that opportunities for growth and leadership are equitable across gender, ability, age, and background.

Second, psychological well-being and belonging will become increasingly important.

Employees today seek workplaces where they can bring their authentic selves to work, feel respected, and have access to support systems that promote overall well-being.

Third, organizations must broaden their understanding of diversity. Inclusion should encompass persons with disabilities, multigenerational workforces, return-to-work talent, and individuals from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As technology and AI reshape workplaces, ensuring equitable access to learning and future-ready skills will also be critical.

At Zydus, we see DE&I as an evolving journey. The organizations that succeed will be those that continuously listen to employees, adapt to changing expectations, and embed inclusion into every aspect of the employee lifecycle. In the future, belonging and equitable opportunity will be as important as representation itself.

"The organizations that succeed will be those that continuously listen to employees, adapt to changing expectations, and embed inclusion into every aspect of the employee lifecycle."

I believe organizations will need to focus on three key priorities.

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Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

My advice would be simple: make inclusion a leadership behavior, not just an organizational initiative.

Employees take their cues from leaders. When leaders actively listen, encourage diverse perspectives, challenge biases, and create opportunities for others to succeed, inclusion becomes part of the organizational culture.

Conversely, even the best policies have limited impact if leadership behaviors do not reinforce them.

Inclusive leadership begins with curiosity and empathy—understanding that different individuals may have different experiences, challenges, and aspirations. It also requires the courage to address barriers and create equitable opportunities for growth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rishikesh Raval is the President – Group Human Resources & Corporate Communications, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. With over two decades of experience, Rishikesh has made a remarkable impact in human behavior, organizational development, and cultural transformation across leading MNCs and Indian enterprises.

Known for his expertise in Programmed Change Management, he has successfully built scalable, performance-driven organizational architectures. His journey spans roles at Sarabhai Group, Glaxo, and Pfizer, and he is acclaimed for leading largescale transformations, building cross-cultural leadership teams, and turning HR capabilities into strategic business advantages.

His strengths include managing complex global workforces, driving turnarounds, shaping high-performance cultures, and nurturing leadership talent for the future.

At Zydus, we have learned that sustainable change happens when leaders are accountable for fostering inclusion and when employees feel safe to express themselves without fear of judgment. Building an inclusive workplace is not about having all the answers; it is about creating an environment where every voice matters and every individual has the opportunity to contribute and succeed.

When leaders model these behaviors consistently, inclusion moves beyond strategy and becomes part of the organization’s DNA.

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SARIKA ARORA ARORA‌

SENIOR DIRECTOR HR & DEI LEADER, BIRLASOFT

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

One of the most impactful shifts has been moving DE\&I from a “program” to an “everyday practice embedded in how work happens.”

At Birlasoft, we realized that lasting cultural change doesn’t come from standalone initiatives —it comes from integrating inclusion into decisions, behaviors, and systems across the employee lifecycle.

Three shifts made the biggest difference: From initiatives to everyday decisionsInclusion is now reflected in who we hire, how we lead, whose voice is heard, and who gets opportunities to grow. This shift ensures inclusion is experienced daily—not episodically.

From policy to lived culture- We anchored inclusion in four cultural dimensions—Care, Consideration, Collaboration, and Coexistence—which guide leadership behaviors and team interactions.

This makes inclusion tangible and relatable for every employee, not just a leadership agenda.

From intent to embedded systems-DE\&I is now woven into people practices end-to-end —from hiring to career growth and employee experience, ensuring equity is built into processes, not left to chance.

In essence: The real shift has been transforming inclusion from an initiative into an instinct—where it becomes part of how decisions are made and how people experience the organization every day.

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

“BEmpowered – Women Development Program”

Leadership

One DE\&I intervention that significantly exceeded expectations was our BEmpowered – Women Leadership Development Program at Birlasoft.

What we set out to do: The original objective was to build confidence, leadership capability, and career readiness among mid-career women and improve retention.

What went beyond expectations: Higher-thanexpected retention and promotion outcomes among participants Strong increase in internal mobility and leadership pipeline readiness Creation of a visible community of confident women leaders who began mentoring others, Ripple effect—improved manager sensitivity and team inclusiveness, not just individual growth What made it successful: Integrated approach (not just training)- It combined mentoring, leadership workshops, real business exposure, and peer learning— not a standalone L\&D intervention.

Leadership sponsorship & visibility- Active involvement of senior leaders created credibility and ensured participants were seen, not just trained.

Linkage to real career outcomes- The program was tied to career progression, stretch roles, and deployment, avoiding the “training without impact” trap.

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Safe, high-trust environment- Women could openly discuss challenges (confidence, bias, career breaks), which built psychological safety and authenticity.

Ecosystem thinking-Parallel interventions— like Returning Mothers Program, mentoring, allyship initiatives—reinforced outcomes rather than working in silos.

What started as a capability-building program evolved into a strong leadership pipeline engine and culture shaper for women at Birlasoft.”

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

“One Misconception: “DE&I compromises meritocracy” A common misconception organizations need to move beyond is that DE&I is about quotas or lowering standards, and therefore comes at the cost of meritocracy.

Our belief and approach is very different: At Birlasoft, we position DE&I as expanding access to talent, not diluting standards.

How we approached it differently Focus on equal opportunity, not forced outcomes.

We emphasize diverse candidate slates (e.g., gender-balanced pipelines) rather than fixed hiring quotas Final decisions remain merit-based and capability-driven Shift from “who you hire” to “how you hire”

•We worked on sensitizing hiring managers to reduce unconscious bias •Introduced simple, enforceable hiring charters to ensure diversity is considered consistently Broaden the definition of diversity •Moved beyond gender to include PwDs, neurodiversity, veterans, and generational diversity •Focused on role-fit and strengths, especially for underrepresented talent Enable, don’t just mandate •Invested in infrastructure, accessibility, and manager capability building •Reinforced that DE&I success depends on manager willingness and business ownership, not HR mandates Impact of this shift •Reduced resistance from business leaders (because meritocracy remained intact) •Higher acceptance of diverse hiring across teams •Stronger alignment of DE&I with business performance and productivity rather than compliance

“DE&I is not about lowering the bar—it’s about widening the gate so the best talent, in all its diversity, can compete fairly.”

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Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

As workplace demographics and societal expectations evolve, DE&I must move from representation to systemic inclusion and impact. Based on current direction and future needs, organizations should focus on five key priorities: Expanding the Definition of Diversity (Beyond Gender) While gender diversity remains important, the next wave of DE&I must broaden to include persons with disabilities (PwDs), neurodiversity, veterans, and generational diversity.

Inclusion needs to address visible and invisible diversity dimensions Organizations must actively identify untapped talent pools and integrate them into mainstream roles Accessibility & Infrastructure Readiness Inclusion cannot scale without enabling environments.

Organizations must invest in accessible workplaces, technology, and processes Facility readiness, assistive tech, and universal design will become nonnegotiable enablers This shifts DE&I from a “policy discussion” to a capital and design priority.

Manager Mindset & Inclusive Leadership The success of DE&I will increasingly depend on manager behavior, not just policy frameworks.

Inclusion must be embedded into daily leadership decisions Managers need tools, awareness, and accountability to build inclusive teams Psychological safety and allyship will be key differentiators Embedding Equity into Systems & Decisions Future-ready DE&I will focus on systemic equity, not standalone programs.

Integration of equity into hiring, performance, mobility, rewards Stronger governance through metrics, dashboards, and accountability frameworks Ensuring fairness is consistent and databacked Inclusion Experience & Retention Focus Retention and experience of diverse talent will be as critical as hiring.

Focus on career pathways, mentoring, sponsorship Address structural barriers during key life/career moments Continuous listening and action on employee experience gaps From Awareness to Action-Oriented Culture There is a shift from sensitization alone to behavioral change and culture activation Moving from campaigns everyday inclusive behaviors Leveraging DEI councils, ambassadors, and storytelling Scaling bottom-up engagement rather than top-down mandates

→

Strategic Integration with Business & ESG

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DE&I will increasingly align with business outcomes and ESG priorities Driving innovation through diverse perspectives Strengthening employer brand and stakeholder trust Linking DE&I outcomes to business performance

“The future of DE&I lies in moving from intent to infrastructure, from representation to belonging, and from policy to everyday leadership behavior.”

Q If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

“Lead with conscious inclusion—because culture is shaped more by everyday behaviors than by intent.”

Why this matters: Inclusive workplaces are not built through policies alone, but through consistent leadership behavior—how leaders hire, communicate, make decisions, and create space for others. Your own DEI materials emphasize that inclusion comes alive when leaders challenge biases, foster psychological safety, and ensure equitable opportunities.

When leaders: • Pause and reflect on their biases • Actively involve diverse voices in decisionmaking

• Create psychological safety and open communication •Ensure fairness in opportunities, development, and rewardsthey enable employees to feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute fully.

Ultimately, inclusion drives better outcomes —stronger engagement, innovation, and performance—because people do their best work when they feel they truly belong.

“Practice inclusion daily— because the small, consistent choices leaders make define whether people feel valued or excluded.”

“Inclusion is not an initiative—it is the everyday practice of ensuring every individual feels valued, heard, and empowered to thrive.”

— Inspired by the learning philosophy of Sarika Saini

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“Lasting inclusion is achieved when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion evolve beyond standalone initiatives and become an integral part of an organization's culture and everyday way of working. True transformation happens when inclusion is embedded into every stage of the employee lifecycle—from hiring and onboarding to leadership development, career progression, performance management, and employee engagement. By creating equitable opportunities and ensuring that every voice is heard, organizations build environments where diverse perspectives are respected, innovation flourishes, and collaboration becomes stronger.

Inclusive workplaces are shaped by leaders who consciously challenge biases, foster psychological safety, encourage open dialogue, and lead with empathy and fairness. When employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute authentically, they are more engaged, motivated, and committed to organizational success.

Expanding the definition of diversity to include different backgrounds, abilities, experiences, generations, and perspectives further strengthens organizational resilience and prepares businesses for the future of work.

The future of DE&I lies not only in increasing representation but in creating a genuine sense of belonging where every individual has equal access to opportunities, growth, and leadership.

Organizations that invest in accessible workplaces, inclusive leadership, equitable systems, and a culture of trust will be better positioned to attract diverse talent, inspire innovation, enhance business performance, and create sustainable impact.

Ultimately, inclusion becomes truly meaningful when it is reflected in everyday decisions, behaviors, and experiences—making belonging a lived reality for every employee, every day.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sarika Saini, Global Head – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Birlasoft, a part of the CKA Birla Group, has played a pivotal role in shaping and institutionalizing the organization’s DEI vision over the past eight years. In a company that values enduring relationships and a family-like culture rooted in care for stakeholders, Sarika has translated intent into structured action. She led the creation of Birlasoft’s DEI Charter, establishing clear goals, governance frameworks, and measurable outcomes across the employee lifecycle from the first interaction with prospective talent to meaningful exit conversations. Her work has embedded inclusion into everyday business processes, ensuring DEI is not a parallel initiative but an integrated organizational priority. In the recent years, Birlasoft has witnessed a notable acceleration in the scale and depth of its DEI efforts under Sarika’s leadership. Her strategy is anchored in three foundational pillars of the DEI Charter : Affirmative Hiring, Sensitization, and Development of Diverse Talent - interconnected levers designed to influence representation, experience, progression, and retention in a sustained and measurable manner.

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SUBHADEEP KHAN

CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER,VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

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INTERVIEW Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

Initially designed to support career development, mentorship, and retention of women employees, the program evolved into a powerful platform for building confidence, visibility, and leadership readiness.

The most impactful shift at Cairn has been moving from viewing DE&I as a set of programs to embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences and leadership behaviors. We recognized that sustainable change happens when inclusion becomes part of how decisions are made, how leaders lead, and how employees interact with one another.

Through structured mentoring, leadership interactions, learning interventions, and networking opportunities, participants gained greater access to role models, career guidance, and growth opportunities. Beyond improving engagement among women employees, the initiative sparked broader organizational conversations around allyship, inclusive leadership, and equitable career progression.

Over the past few years, we have integrated inclusion across the employee lifecycle—from hiring and onboarding to development, leadership progression, well-being, and employee engagement. Initiatives such as our Women’s Retention and Advancement Program, EMBRACE DE&I learning series, inclusive leadership workshops, mentorship opportunities, and flexible work policies have helped create an environment where employees feel respected, heard, and empowered.

What has made the difference is leadership ownership. Inclusion is no longer seen as an HR agenda; it is a shared organizational responsibility. As a result, employees experience inclusion not only through policies but through everyday actions, conversations, opportunities, and a stronger sense of belonging across the organization.

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

One initiative that exceeded expectations was our Women’s Retention and Advancement Program.

The program's success can be attributed to three factors: strong leadership sponsorship, targeted interventions aligned to employee needs, and a supportive ecosystem of mentors and champions. It also complemented our efforts to strengthen the women leadership pipeline and contributed to positive outcomes in attraction, engagement, and retention.

Today, women represent 24.09% of our workforce and 47% of campus hires, reflecting the impact of sustained investments in gender diversity and advancement.

“When organizations invest in empowering women through mentorship, opportunity, and leadership development, they don’t just build careers—they build the leaders who shape the future.”

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PARUL VERMA

DEPUTY CHRO-VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

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INTERVIEW Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

One of the biggest misconceptions about DE&I is that it is solely about meeting diversity targets or improving representation numbers. While representation is important, true inclusion goes much deeper. A diverse workforce can only thrive when individuals feel valued, respected, and able to contribute authentically.

At Cairn, we view DE&I as a business and cultural imperative rather than a compliance requirement. Our focus extends beyond hiring diverse talent to creating an environment where employees have equitable access to opportunities, development, leadership exposure, and support systems.

This approach is reflected in our inclusive policies, flexible work arrangements, mentoring programs, well-being initiatives, leadership development interventions, and awareness programs around unconscious bias and inclusive behaviors. We have also expanded the conversation beyond gender to include diversity of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, generations, and identities.

By focusing on belonging alongside representation, we have been able to create more meaningful and sustainable impact across the organization.

“True inclusion is not measured by the diversity we count, but by the belonging we create—where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their authentic self.”

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

The future of DE&I will require organizations to focus on building cultures of belonging, inclusive leadership, and equitable growth opportunities for an increasingly diverse workforce.

One key priority will be ensuring that diversity extends beyond representation to meaningful participation and advancement.

Organizations will need to invest in leadership pipelines, mentorship, sponsorship, and development opportunities that enable diverse talent to thrive.

Another important area will be creating inclusive workplaces that support multiple dimensions of diversity—including gender, generation, disability, cultural background, and identity. As workforce expectations evolve, flexibility, well-being, psychological safety, and accessibility will become increasingly important.

Additionally, organizations must leverage data and employee insights to continuously measure progress and drive accountability.

Technology and AI will also play a growing role, making it essential to ensure fairness and inclusivity in talent decisions.

Ultimately, organizations that succeed will be those that create environments where every individual feels a genuine sense of belonging and purpose.

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BHAWNA CHOUDHARY

CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER, VEDANTA OIL & GAS LIMITED

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SHWETA SINGH ASSISTANT MANAGER-HR VEDANTA OIL & GAS LTD

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INTERVIEW Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Our advice would be simple: make inclusion personal and visible.

Employees pay close attention to what leaders do, not just what they say. Inclusive cultures are built when leaders consistently demonstrate curiosity, empathy, fairness, and openness in their daily interactions and decision-making.

Creating an inclusive workplace does not always require large-scale initiatives.

Sometimes the greatest impact comes from ensuring every voice is heard in meetings, providing equitable access to opportunities, encouraging diverse perspectives, and creating safe spaces for dialogue.

Leaders must also be willing to challenge biases, sponsor diverse talent, and hold themselves accountable for creating opportunities for others to succeed.

When employees see leaders actively championing inclusion, it builds trust, engagement, and belonging. Ultimately, inclusive leadership is not only the right thing to do—it drives stronger collaboration, innovation, and business performance.

“The strongest cultures are not created by policies alone—they are shaped by leaders who make people feel seen, valued, and empowered every day.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Subhadeep Khan is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Vedanta Oil & Gas Limited, where he leads the organization’s people strategy with a focus on talent development, leadership capability building, employee experience, and organizational transformation. He has been instrumental in fostering a culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, learning, and wellbeing. Recognizing that DE&I is a collective effort, he works closely with leaders across the organization, including Parul Verma, Deputy CHRO; Bhawna Choudhary, Chief Learning Officer; and Shweta Singh, Assistant Manager -HR, along with business leaders and employees, to drive meaningful and sustainable inclusion initiatives. Together, they are strengthening Cairn’s culture of belonging, enabling diverse talent to thrive and contribute to organizational success.

“Inclusion is most powerful when it becomes part of everyday life—not just a policy, a program, or a conversation. It is reflected in the way leaders listen, how teams collaborate, and how opportunities are created for every individual to succeed. When people feel respected, valued, and empowered to contribute their authentic selves, workplaces become stronger, more innovative, and more resilient. True progress happens when belonging is woven into the culture, diverse perspectives are embraced, and every voice has the opportunity to be heard. Organizations that foster inclusion as a shared responsibility create environments where trust grows, potential is unlocked, and people are inspired to learn, grow, and thrive together.”

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Suhadeep Khan 66

DEI EXCELLENCE — RECOGNIZING CHANGE MAKERS Celebrating Inclusive Leadership DEI Awards honor leaders who foster workplaces where diversity is embraced, equity is prioritized, and inclusion becomes a catalyst for innovation and growth.

Driving Measurable Impact Organizations are being recognized for embedding DEI into business strategy through measurable outcomes in hiring, leadership representation, employee engagement, and workplace culture.

Creating Lasting Belonging Award-winning workplaces move beyond policies to cultivate environments where every individual feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute authentically.

Innovation Through Diversity Organizations that embrace diverse perspectives strengthen decisionmaking, accelerate innovation, and build resilient teams prepared for the future of work.

Inspiring the Next Generation DEI Awards celebrate organizations and leaders who set new benchmarks for inclusive excellence, inspiring others to build workplaces where opportunity, fairness, and belonging thrive.

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DR. SUSHIL KUMAR CHATURVEDI GROUP CEO, ASCEND TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE

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Q: Many organizations have DEI initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The most impactful shift has been moving inclusion from a periodic initiative to an everyday practice — built into how we hire, onboard, listen, and grow talent. One tangible example is our ABC (Ascend Buddy Connect program). Every new joiner, regardless of background, is paired with an experienced colleague from Day 1.

For employees from underrepresented groups or those rejoining after a career break, that human connection in the first few weeks can determine whether they stay or leave. Our data reflects this — onboarding satisfaction has improved year-on-year, and buddysupported employees report significantly higher engagement at both the 30-day and 90day marks. Equally important has been creating multiple feedback channels — from our Ease of Doing Business platform to physical suggestion boxes — ensuring every employee, regardless of comfort with technology or proximity to leadership, has a voice that is heard and acted upon. Inclusion, we have learned, is not an event. It is the sum of small, consistent actions that tell every person: you belong here, and your voice matters.

Q: Can you share a DEI initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

SHErizon, our structured women's mentorship program, has exceeded every expectation we set for it. We launched it with a focused goal: pair talented women employees with senior mentors to build confidence and career clarity. What we did not fully anticipate was the cultural ripple effect it would create.

By Month 3 of the inaugural cohort, every mentee had taken on at least one stretch assignment — many for the first time in their careers. Women who had previously stayed quiet in senior forums began actively contributing. And perhaps most powerfully, a peer support community formed organically among mentees — extending inclusion well beyond the formal program boundaries.

What made it successful was intentionality at every level. Executive sponsorship ensured it was treated as a business priority, not an HR side project.

The 1:1 structured format over six months created genuine relationships, not transactional mentoring. And the co-created development plans gave each mentee ownership of her own growth journey.

SHERizon taught us that when you invest in people with structure and sincerity, the returns are always greater than you expect.

"True inclusion is not an event—it is an everyday commitment."

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Q: What is one misconception about DEI that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

The most damaging misconception is that DE&I is a compliance function - something to be managed, reported on, and checked off annually. This framing reduces inclusion to paperwork and initiatives to optics.

Real DE&I is a leadership philosophy, not a department. At Ascend Telecom, we have deliberately approached it differently. Our menstrual leave policy, for instance, was not driven by external pressure or regulatory requirement. It was driven by a leadership conviction that we must see the whole person, not just the employee. That decision required courage in a sector that rarely names — let alone accommodates — women's health realities. But it sent an unmistakable cultural signal: inclusion here is genuine, not performative.

We have also learned that accountability must be built in from the start. We track participation, representation, and progression outcomes across every DEI program. When we find a gap, we fix it. When something works, we expand it. The organizations that will build truly inclusive cultures are those that stop treating DEI as a risk to manage and start treating it as a value to lead with.

"DE&I is not a compliance task—it is a leadership commitment."

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DEI priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

Three priorities stand out as essential for the next phase of DEI. First, intersectionality must move from concept to practice. Employees do not experience identity in silos - a woman returning from a career break who is also a first-generation professional faces compounding barriers. Organizations must design programs that address layered disadvantage, not just single dimensions of diversity.

Second, wellbeing and inclusion must be treated as inseparable. Our PACE walkathon program showed us that when you invest in the physical and emotional wellbeing of every employee equally, you create belonging at the most fundamental level. Inclusion that does not extend to health is incomplete.

Third, organizations must address the inclusion of employees across geographies, not just headquarters. At Ascend Telecom, we operate across various locations in India.

Ensuring that an employee in a remote circle feels as included as one at corporate has required deliberate effort - from HR Helpdesk hour to ensuring programs like SHERizon reach every location. Inclusion is only as strong as its least-reached employee. That is the standard organizations should hold themselves to.

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Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Own it personally - do not delegate inclusion.

The single greatest predictor of a truly inclusive culture is whether the leader at the top treats DEI as their personal responsibility, not a function they sponsor from a distance.

At Ascend Telecom, our most meaningful initiatives — SHERizon, menstrual leave, our commitment to hiring women returning from career breaks were born from leadership conviction, that a great company can only be built on a truly inclusive foundation. When leaders personally champion inclusion, they change the cultural temperature of the entire organization. People watch what leaders do far more closely than what they say. If leaders attend the mentorship program launch, advocate for the returning woman candidate in a hiring discussion, and speak openly about wellbeing, inclusion becomes the norm, not the exception. My advice is simple: do not wait for the culture to change before you act.

Act, and the culture will follow. The most inclusive workplaces are not built by policy alone. They are built by leaders who believe, visibly and consistently, that every person deserves to belong.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi is the Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Telecom Infrastructure, one of India's leading telecommunications infrastructure companies. With a distinguished career spanning operations, technology, and organizational leadership, Dr. Chaturvedi has been instrumental in building Ascend Telecom into an organization recognized for both business excellence and people-first culture. Under his leadership, Ascend Telecom has pioneered progressive DEI initiatives including SHERizon, a structured women's mentorship program, and a sector-first wellbeing leave policy. A firm believer that inclusion drives performance, Dr. Chaturvedi champions diversity as a core business imperative and a personal leadership commitment.

"The most inclusive workplaces are built by leaders who believe that every person deserves to belong."

— Inspired by the leadership philosophy of Dr. Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi

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JYOSMITA CHINTEY CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER BOAT

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

The most meaningful shift we made was moving DE&I from a policy document into the actual rhythms of people’s working lives.

It began with an honest internal audit. The policy existed; the lived experience did not match it. That gap forced us to ask a harder question — not ‘what programmes have we built?’ but ‘what does an employee actually experience on their most difficult days?’ From that point, we stopped customising policies and started customising our approach — going well beyond what any policy could prescribe.

For us, the answer centred on the return from maternity leave. It is one of the most vulnerable professional moments a woman navigates, and most organisations either ignore it or handle it with a single conversation. We built a structured threephase mentorship programme around it — beginning a month before the return, running through the first two months back — led by senior women who had been through it themselves.

The results speak for themselves: 100% of the women who have returned from maternity have undergone this program, with positive feedback. One of our female employee returned through it and was subsequently trusted with one of our fastest-growing category portfolios in New Product Initiatives. That outcome — a woman returning from leave and being given more responsibility, not less — is the cultural signal we wanted to send. It is the kind of moment employees remember and talk about, and it does more for inclusion than any policy ever could.

Q: Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

Our supplier diversity policy exceeded what we originally imagined possible. We began embedding women's representation as a preference criterion when evaluating manufacturing and logistics partners — not as a hard requirement, but as a meaningful signal about the kind of ecosystem we wanted to build.

One of our key manufacturing joint ventures has since reached approximately 92% women associates on their factory floor. We did not mandate that number. We created the conditions — through consistent partnership conversations and our own supplier preference policy — and the partner responded. That is 92% women in a factory environment where gender diversity has historically been almost non-existent.

What made it work was not enforcement, but alignment of values. When a supplier understands that being a boAt partner means being held to a certain standard, they often exceed the expectation because it becomes a point of pride. The lesson for us was that DE&I commitments, when genuinely held, ripple outward — into supply chains, into warehouses, into ecosystems you do not directly control.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

The misconception we encounter most often is that DE&I and merit are in tension — that creating

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a more diverse or inclusive workplace requires compromising on the quality of decisions. We do not believe that, and our leadership bench is the clearest rebuttal we have. What we would also push back on is the assumption that diversity means gender alone. At boAt, we think about diversity across three distinct dimensions — gender, age, and region — and each carries its own merit, its own business case, and its own implementation logic.

Women lead our Customer Experience function, our Small Audio category, our Legal function, our HR function, and our New Product Initiatives team for Wearables and New Categories. These are not symbolic appointments. Each of these leaders owns outcomes that have direct commercial consequence. They were not placed there to hit a number. They were placed there because they were the strongest candidates, operating in an organisation that had done the work to make sure the pipeline existed and the culture was ready to receive them.

The reframe we would offer is this: DE&I done well is not about lowering the bar. It is about widening the field from which you select. When you hire from more geographies, consider candidates from non-linear career paths, and build policies that do not penalise people for the shape of their lives, you find talent you were previously missing. That is not a trade-off. It is an upgrade. At boAt, this plays out concretely: 22% of our workforce is aged 27 and below by design, employees from 75% of India’s states represent our geographic diversity, and women lead five of our most consequential functions. Gender, age, and regional diversity each have their own merits — and all three have been actively built and implemented, not simply aspired to.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

Three areas stand out to us. The first is career continuity for women at mid-level — not just getting women into organisations, but keeping them through the decade in which life often interrupts careers most significantly.

Maternity, relocation, caregiving — these are moments where women disproportionately exit, and the organisations that build deliberate infrastructure around them will retain talent that others lose.

The second is geographic, generational, and age-based inclusion — particularly in India, where the workforce is extraordinarily diverse across state, language, background, and life stage. At boAt, employees from 75% of India’s states work across our three offices.

We continue to build on age-band inclusion as a deliberate priority, recognising that teams spanning different career stages bring a breadth of perspective that no single generation can offer on its own. That diversity of context is one of our genuine strengths, and we think most organisations are yet to treat geographic and age diversity as seriously as gender.

The third is supply chain and ecosystem inclusion — recognising that a company's DE&I impact does not stop at its own headcount. Who you partner with, who you source from, and what standards you require of your ecosystem are emerging as critical measures of a genuinely inclusive organisation.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Measure what matters, and then be honest about what you find.

The organisations that struggle with DE&I are often not struggling because they lack intention — they struggle because they have no mechanism for knowing whether anything is actually working. When you do not track gender ratios by level, you do not know where women are exiting. When you do not monitor the diversity of your hiring funnel at every stage, you cannot tell whether the problem is sourcing, interviewing, or offer conversion.

At boAt, our leadership team reviews a live DE&I dashboard every quarter. Not as a compliance exercise — as a genuine business conversation. When a number is off, we want to know why and what we are going to do about it. That accountability culture — where data is shared honestly and acted on — is what converts good intentions into actual change.

The advice is simple, but the discipline it requires is not: know your numbers, share them openly, and hold yourself accountable to improving them. Everything else follows from that.

“Meaningful DE&I progress begins with measuring what matters. Organizations that use data to track outcomes, identify gaps, and hold themselves accountable are better equipped to turn good intentions into lasting, measurable change.”

Jyosmita Chintey is the Chief Human Resources Officer at boAt Lifestyle, with close to two decades of HR leadership spanning consulting, manufacturing, and technology. Before boAt, she spent several years at EY in People Advisory Services, growing from Manager to Senior Manager and eventually to Director. During her time there, she advised organizations on people strategy and large-scale transformation. Her earlier career was built at Honeywell, where she led HR for the Environment & Energy Solutions business in India and partnered with Corporate Functions — work that gave her a grounding in talent management and business partnering .

Across these roles, Jyosmita has built a specialization in DE&I strategy, organizational culture, and talent management. Her view on DE&I is a considered one: that it earns its place not through the programmes an organization runs, but through what those programmes change in how people actually experience work. She is a strong advocate for treating inclusion as a measured, accountable discipline rather than an act of good intention — one where organizations track what matters, are honest about what the numbers show, and let that honesty shape real decisions.

An alumna of the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, where she completed her MBA in Human Resources.

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SHAVETA KAPOOR GLOBAL ADS HEAD OF MEDIA PRODUCTS, DUNNHUMBY

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Q: Many organizations have DE&I initiatives, but few create lasting cultural change. What has been the most impactful shift your organization has made in embedding inclusion into everyday employee experiences?

At dunnhumby India, the most impactful shift has been moving the conversation from diversity to belonging — and treating inclusion as something that lives in everyday experiences, not in standalone events.

Representation matters, but lasting change happens only when people feel they genuinely belong and can bring their authentic selves to work.

A defining moment in that journey was the launch of dhHarmony, our India Diversity Network, which gave colleagues here a dedicated platform to shape our culture themselves rather than have it handed down to them. Alongside it, practical, livedexperience support — flexible and hybrid working, strong family and carer policies, and a deliberate focus on helping people through career transitions — has made inclusion tangible in the daily routine.

Q:Can you share a DE&I initiative or intervention that delivered results beyond what was originally expected? What made it successful?

Our standout initiative has been Back to Her Future, dunnhumby India's women returners programme. Building on the success of our UK returners programme and delivered in partnership with JobsForHer (now HerKey), it supports talented women who have taken an extended career break — often a year or more — and reintroduces them into the workforce through real, internal roles in data science and data engineering.

What made it work was that we designed it around the actual barriers returners face, not assumptions. Participants join live client projects, are paired with experienced dunnhumby mentors, and are offered flexible working so they can rebuild confidence while balancing personal commitments. We also prepared the organisation to receive them — equipping hiring managers and interview panels with a best-practice guide so returners are assessed on potential, not on the gap in their CV. The results went well beyond a hiring number.

We have welcomed [insert number] women back into careers across multiple verticals, and the programme has reshaped how our managers think about non-linear career paths.

For many of us it is also deeply personal — having returned to work after my own health sabbatical and as a working mother, I know first-hand how much the right support at the right moment can change a career. That authenticity, combined with committed leadership and engaged hiring teams, is what made it succeed.

The clearest expression of this is our Back to Her Future women returners programme, which reopens the door for talented women re-entering the workforce after a career break.

When inclusion shows up in real decisions — who we hire, how we onboard, how we support people through life's transitions — it builds trust and belonging that no single campaign ever could.

Q: What is one misconception about DE&I that you believe organizations need to move beyond, and how has your organization approached it differently?

The biggest misconception is that DE&I is primarily about hitting representation targets.

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Numbers tell you who is in the room; they say nothing about whether those people feel heard, supported, or able to grow.

At dunnhumby India, we treat DE&I as a people and business imperative centred on belonging. A good example is how we think about women returners: it would be easy to count hires and declare success. Instead, with Back to Her Future we focus on what happens after someone joins — the mentoring, the flexibility, the manager readiness, and whether returners go on to thrive and progress. That is the real measure of inclusion.

We complement representation data with employee-experience listening, and we hold ourselves accountable through our India diversity goals and the work of dhHarmony.

Success, for us, is not simply attracting diverse talent — it is creating an environment where people stay, grow, and lead.

Q: As workplace demographics, expectations, and societal conversations continue to evolve, what emerging DE&I priorities do you believe organizations should focus on over the next few years?

As workplaces become more global, multigenerational and AI-driven, the priority will be ensuring opportunity stays equitable as the nature of work changes.

First, building inclusive pathways into emerging fields like AI and data — making sure women and other underrepresented groups have equal access to future-ready skills. In a country like India, with enormous untapped talent, programmes that re-skill and reintegrate people, such as our returners initiative, will only grow in importance.

Second, intersectionality — recognising that people carry multiple dimensions of identity that shape their experience of work. Third, psychological safety and wellbeing, so people feel safe to speak up and contribute authentically. And finally, accountability — using data, listening, and transparent reporting to turn good intentions into measurable action.

The most successful organisations will treat DE&I not as a destination, but as an ongoing commitment to building workplaces where everyone can belong and succeed.

Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to leaders looking to build more inclusive and equitable workplaces, what would it be and why?

Start by listening — consistently, intentionally, and with genuine openness — and then design for the real barriers people face, not the ones you assume.

When we built Back to Her Future, the insights that mattered most came directly from women who had lived the experience of stepping away and trying to come back.

Listening to them shaped everything: the flexibility we offered, the mentoring we built in, and the way we prepared our hiring managers. That is what turned a wellintentioned idea into something that genuinely changed lives.

Inclusive cultures are not created through policies alone; they are built through everyday leadership behaviours. Leaders who listen, learn, and act — and who are willing to make space for non-linear journeys — create environments where people feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. That is where lasting inclusion begins.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"At dunnhumby India, DE&I is driven by a simple belief: lasting inclusion begins with belonging. By moving beyond representation and embedding inclusion into everyday experiences, the organization has created a culture where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to be their authentic selves.

Initiatives such as dhHarmony and Back to Her Future demonstrate how listening to employees, supporting non-linear career journeys, and removing real barriers can create meaningful and lasting impact. As the future of work evolves, the focus remains on equitable opportunities, future-ready skills, psychological safety, and accountability.

Above all, inclusive workplaces are built when leaders listen with empathy, act with intention, and create environments where every individual has the opportunity to grow, thrive, and truly belong."

Shaveta Kapoor, Global ADS Head of Media Products A seasoned data science professional with rich experience of leveraging data driven insights, data science & AI at scale to drive transformation and delivering Business impact across multiple clients globally over years. One of the fastest grown data science leaders and a business transformation champion within dh. Proven track record of setting-up and scaling data science solutions and teams across developed and emerging markets.

Leads the Media Analytics hub of 100+ data scientists within dh which is responsible for continuously delivery media science to our clients along with developing new solutions, embedded with latest data, analytics, and AI in order to drive innovation for our clients globally.

Passionate about solving complex business problems at the intersection of data, technology, and people leveraging a growth mindset and multi-disciplinary teams. An ideator, thinker and learner, I enjoy new experiences and challenges.

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