A Synopsis

In June, when the LGBTQ+ community and allies hold Pride Marches the world over, many corporations coat their logos in Pride colors to partake in the celebrations. Social media platforms are abuzz with skepticism of this 'social progressivism,' questioning the motive behind this selective and symbolic activism. Whether this gesture is symbolic or meaningful, virtue signaling or virtuous is best answered by corporations. 

In a quest to find out the answer to the question, Is Celebrating Pride Month In June 'Virtue Signaling'?, Rainmaker invited 4 distinguished panelists (names below) for a Roundtable Discussion on the 30th of July, 2021. Founder & CEO of Rainmaker, Antony Alex moderated the hour-long meeting. Click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcojyMLsS-E for an edited version of the recording.

We posed the following hard-hitting and candid questions and are happy to share a synopsis of the panelists' personal and organizational viewpoints. We have underlined the Takeaways for ease of reference.

Antony: Is changing the logo colors to Pride colors for a month a marketing gimmick? 

"In April, Everyone Wants To Talk To Us."

Mugdha (Chief Content Strategist, Bakstage/Flyx) shared her personal story of her son, who is on the autism spectrum, and how she has built a community of people who understand and embrace her son's condition. But she admitted, "We perhaps are not telling the world outside to understand and embrace us. Come April (Autism Awareness Month, akin to LGBTQ+ Awareness/Pride Month); everyone wants to talk to us, interview us, print about us." She jumps at the opportunity because it gives them coverage. And they can build allies. She realized this works the same way for the LGBTQ+ Community. "Yes, it is marketing, and companies promote their rainbow-colored products, but it draws people's attention to Pride. Then it becomes easier to plug in meaningful change. Hence Marketing it is, but Marketing works! In Autism Awareness and Pride Awareness," Mugdha concluded.

"Don't Do It Without Intent."

Poonam (Head L&D, Corp. HR, Larsen & Toubro) shared her many fascinating analogies and likened Pride to Rakhi celebration. "Is Rakhi a marketing gimmick? It's not that brother and sister don't love each other every day, but it is on Rakhshabandhan when they express their love for each other. Their intent on this day decides whether they are doing it to celebrate their shared love or get presents. Similarly, celebrating Pride is symbolic, but it's wonderful if the intent is clean; otherwise, don't do it", she emphatically stated.

"Companies Are For Profit, But Consumer Is Smart."

Urvi (Sr. V.P., H.R., ICICI Prudential) also shared a thought-provoking analogy. She related how "if the child doesn't cry, the mother also will not give milk. If you want to mobilize something, it is essential to talk about it. Companies have good intentions, but they are here for business and profit at the end of it. If there is a substantial buying power out there, they are going to leverage it. But if their actions to celebrate Pride are only superficial, the consumer is smart enough to recognize it and call it out." "Putting on the Pride colors on the one hand and supporting a politician who has anti-gay beliefs on the other is hypocritical," Antony agreed with her.

Mugdha reminded everyone of a Nike campaign where they stopped a woman athlete's sponsorship because she was pregnant, and they received so much flak. She emphasized how "every action of an organization is put to accountability."

Antony shared how Marks & Spencers also found out the same the hard way when they released their 'infamous' LGBT (Lettuce, Guacamole, Bacon & Tomato) Sandwich in rainbow-colored package.

"Pride Is A Time To Take Stock."

Maithili (Asst. Manager, Inclusion & Diversity, Wipro) shared how at Wipro, Pride is a time for celebrations, conversations, and taking stock of everything they have done over the last year in the D,E&I space. She also shared an interesting anecdote when a girl came up to her during a Pride campaign and mentioned that her best friend could not come out to her family. The girl felt proud that Wipro was open and welcoming about Pride. Maithili wisely commented that celebrating Pride and doing something meaningful was an act that required a delicate balance.

Antony: Is a month sufficient to celebrate the Pride movement? 

"Change Has To Be Sustained Over Several years."

Poonam elaborated on the Larsen & Toubro D,E&I journey on how they reviewed research from Mackenzie, Forbes, Gartner, which shows immense data as evidence that a diverse workforce is critical to success, thereby making business sense. "It's all about change management. The work has to happen over several years," was her sage advice. "Change has to be sustained, meaningful and across initiatives. You are going to see very few results, but you have to be patient. If you can sustain your efforts, finally, you will see some beautiful sprigs that will ultimately become a forest," she finished with another riveting analogy. 

"Policy or Awareness; Chicken or the Egg?"

Antony posed an interesting question: Is awareness the first step or the policy? Do you first create a policy then create awareness around it or the other way, or is it a chicken and egg thing no one knows?

Urvi recounted that often workplaces grapple with this dilemma. "Should we shake up everyone with a new policy? But it is easier said than done. Have the organisations prepared employees to address the questions that will come up?" she quipped. "And when you do try to prepare the employees first, they challenge you with, "Where is the policy?" It's very contextualized to the ecosystem you are in. Nothing right or wrong, but you have to balance both," she opined.

Antony: Are we influenced by the West in celebrating Pride Month in June? (Why not in Sept., when S.C. decriminalized part of Sec.377 in India?)

How can we give a 'desi flavor' to the Pride celebrations?

Poonam set forth some stats to reveal that about 10% of India's population is from the LGBTQ+ community. "This sizable portion of the people cannot bring their whole selves to work, unlike you and me. That's startling stats showing it is not about East or West. Yes, we may have followed the West in celebrating Pride in June but no harm because it is more about best practices. There is a reason we follow them, just like they follow us for yoga etc." But she believes that Indians are definitely going to adopt Pride and make it our own. "Hum dil hai hindustani, banake hi chodenge. We are proud of our desipan", Poonam laughed, and everyone joined her.

"Celebrate the Milestone of Sept. to Honour the Fight for Equality."

Maithili expressed how important it was to celebrate in June with the West as well as acknowledge the importance of Sept. in India, which signifies so many people's fight for equal rights. She suggested the idea of using Sept. to lobby with the government to talk about what we should be doing next. "Celebrate where we have reached and keep moving forward," was her parting Mantra. 

"Lobby For Same-Sex Partnerships."

Antony endorsed Maithili's suggestion of using Sept. month to lobby the government for changes in the laws to benefit same-sex partners, for Ex. the right to a civil union or a partnership, since marriage is between a man and a woman. "Organizations struggle to give benefits to same-sex partners as our legal framework doesn't allow them," Antony averred.

Urvi wholeheartedly agreed to celebrate June with the world and set aside Sept. to celebrate the milestone when Section 377 was repealed. "The celebrations must not stop in June because so much work needs to be done. As humans, we are all equal, so how can we ensure that what the dominant group is getting, the other groups also get equally. So it's about humanity, not about East or West," was Urvi's empathy-filled parting quote.

"The World Is Watching Us Too."

Mugdha reinforced the importance of celebrating in June for its solidarity with the world, but she warned that the world is watching India too. India must push a host of measures in Sept., for Ex. Networking, awareness drives, getting funding, being on panels, and giving a stage to people representing the Indian LGBTQ+ community. Once June is over, organizations forget that they need to continue to support the community; "hence, har teen mahine pe logon ko yaad dilana chahiye," she quipped.

Antony sought to know, are LGBTQ+ challenges the same the world over or unique for the Indian workplaces?

Mugdha gave a societal perspective that organizations perhaps don't have. "The challenges the Indian LGBTQ+ community faces are humongous & the laws are not supportive, nor is the execution of the scanty laws we have." She related an incident faced by her two gay friends, who were walking down Marine Drive and kissed in a moment of luck. The cops swooped on them like hawks, dragged them to the ATM, forcing them to withdraw money, and harassed them to no end. Would this have happened in the West?" Mugdha questioned earnestly.

"Divide within the LGBTQ+ Community"

"Over and above this grim scenario, there is rampant divide and casteism within the LGBTQ+ community. The privileged can come out easily, but the folks from lower castes and low-economic backgrounds are dissed. Then there is the geographical divide where people from the North East are entrepreneurs who get respect, and those from the rest of the country beg, dance & solicit," Mugdha's words were powerful and hard-hitting. 

"Double Whammy for Lesbians"

"Furthermore, are Indian lesbians confident coming out? No, a woman, and on top of that, a lesbian? It's a double whammy!" Mugdha's voice reverberated in the room figuratively, since we were in a virtual meeting room. 

"Hear this," Mugdha continued, "Manipur has less than 30 certified practitioners for the entire state's population, let alone a queer, affirmative practitioner. Conversion is widespread, and body shaming is rife throughout our country. So yes, our challenges are different from the world over!" She closed after her compelling statement.

"Diversity is a Number; Inclusion is Culture"

Antony ended the captivating and inspirational conversation with an apt quote; Diversity is a Number, whereas Inclusion is Culture. "Bringing about a change in the organizational culture is a challenge but essential for building a better world that cares for everyone," Antony ended the Roundtable with this call to action.

Panelists in alphabetical order:

Maithili Patil, Asst. Manager, Inclusion & Diversity, Wipro Ltd

Mugdha Kalra, Chief Content Strategist, Bakstage/Flyx

Poonam Chandok, Head Learning & Development, Corporate HR, Larsen & Toubro

Urvi Chhaya, Sr.V.P., Human Resource, ICICI Prudential 

Acknowledgements:  The Rainmaker Team appreciates the knowledge-based answers and experience-based insights that the 4 esteemed panelists provided. To keep this synopsis short and readable, the author has had to paraphrase some of the answers while retaining most of the flavor. 

Author: Sumali Nagarajan

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