India @75: Diversity & Inclusion 

“Diversity is being invited to the party; Inclusion is being asked to dance”- Verna Myers

2021 has been nothing short of a blockbuster year for Unicorns in India. The country currently has 105 unicorns in total, with 44 just being minted in 2021 with a total valuation of $93 Bn. And that makes India the country with the 3rd  largest number of unicorns after the United Kingdom. While this certainly calls for celebration as India completed 75 years of Independence, it is also necessary to highlight some of the blind spots.

According to the latest census, India is home to 2.68 crore people with some form of disability or other. However, a different picture emerges when it comes to hiring differently-abled workers by Indian startups and organisations. The United Nations asserts that 80-90% of disabled people in the working class are unemployed in developing countries. According to the studies, persons with disability constitute only 1% of the workforce in India.

Although India is the third-largest startup hub in the world, women represent only 14% of entrepreneurs in India. The majority of such startups are microenterprises and self-financed. INC42 latest report also shows that 85% of startups have no women founders. However, women entrepreneurs seem to be on a better wicket when it comes to venture capital funding. A recent study showed that 22% of women participated in Series A, Series B and growth stages of funding across Indian startups. 

If the Indian startup ecosystem wants to truly be a place where innovation and ingenuity thrive, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have to take the centre stage. 

Diversity is the presence of differences within a given setting or environment. Equity is the process of ensuring that processes and programs are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every individual. And Inclusion is the practice of ensuring that people feel a sense of belonging in the workplace.

Many organizations are recognizing that focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is simply the right thing to do, and research also finds out that prioritizing it is good for business. A recent study suggests that improving the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance. Indian startups are on the cusp of this realization and are showcasing their commitment to promoting diversity by employing people who may not be a part of the ‘mainstream’ workforce. 

Since, Inclusion includes caste, gender, religion, communities and age- we restrict our article to only one type of inclusion that is-person with disabilities.

Startup online travel aggregators are championing the cause of people with disabilities by training and hiring them in various roles. An NGO which focuses on skilling and livelihoods of youth with a disability has already skilled over 11,500 disabled people in its 21 training centres in twelve states of India. Another international NGO is committed to the rehabilitation of people with a disablity. They have assisted more than 2M physically disabled persons in India over the past 4 decades.

But, is that enough? A big fat no!

There is a lot of ground that still needs to be covered by the Indian startup sector to keep the DEI ball rolling across the larger ecosystem. 

To begin, startups should invest in setting up a comfortable work environment attuned to the needs of persons with disabilities. For instance, wheelchair ramps should be built to access the office building or canteen, inclusive washrooms must be there and flexible work options should be offered to such employees. Designing workspaces based on ergonomic principles.

Educating co-employees in sign language. The attitudes of coworkers are one of the biggest challenges when hiring individuals with a range of talents. People who have a physical or mental disability at work are either shunned or treated with patronising behaviour. Hence,  organizations need to run awareness programs that focus on appropriate behaviour with differently-abled people.

Education and skill gaps among persons with disabilities usually prevent them from getting hired. To address the paucity of talent, organizations should provide vocational training and upskilling for them. Recruiters should take cognisance of the immense untapped talent pool from persons with disabilities and renounce the hitherto narrow approach to hiring.

However, simply launching programmes and initiatives to hire a diverse workforce won’t fetch results. There should be a strong focus on implementation, just as they would do for any other business priority. If organisations fail to prioritise diversity goals, they cannot drive innovation that aligns with business goals. Looking forward, it is then evident that only companies who embrace Diversity, Inclusion and Equity can hope to survive in the long run.

India has completed 75 years of independence recently. The next year’s ‘Call to Action’ should be making diversity, inclusion and equity strategic, proactive, impactful and sustainable business priority and not just a one-time affair to meet compliance requirements out of political correctness or “the right thing to do” or just because it’s a “current business trend”.