For private circulation only

Issue 18

ExpertSpeak@RQBE
Nirmala Menon is the Founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting
(www.interweave.in). A consulting service focussed exclusively in the area of Diversity
and Inclusion solutions for organisations.
She is a HR professional with wide and varied global experience of over 30 years in
Diversity and Multi-cultural management. Nirmala has facilitated interventions across
ASEAN, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Mexico and the US. She is listed as a
subject matter expert by SHRM India and has been an active member of Nasscom's
D&I Steering Committee.
Nirmala was also a representative in the informal international advisory group of the UN
Global Compact & the UNIFEM (now UN Women) to finalise Women's Empowerment
Principles. She is an alumnus of XLRI India and holds an additional masters in HR from
Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.

Q: Do you believe the Companies Act 2013 is a catalyst for the cause of Diversity & Inclusion?
A: Not really. Unlike in the West, where D&I initiatives began as a compliance requirement, in India it has been
primarily a market driven need. The sheer need for talent has made organizations look at non-traditional talent pools
and that has brought women, people with disabilities and other diverse talent into mainstream business roles. The
Company's Act is, however, certainly going to push the fast forwarding of talented women into leadership roles.

Q: SEBI (our stock market regulator) has begun to push listed companies to ensure they meet the
criterion for atleast one woman board member, effective April 1st. Do you see any supply side and
quality issues?
A: Not that we don't have smart women but at this point, we certainly don't have enough women who are Board ready.
Organisations are struggling to have the requirement met. Some are appointing family members, while others are
trying to fast-forward some of their high potential women with the right training, exposure and experiences as a way
to bring them up to some level of readiness. The rest will be on-the-job training for many of them. However, this
requirement is certainly going to boost the morale and aspirations of women and we will see some very capable
women rising to the top!

Q: Is it true that the IT/ITES companies are generally ahead of the rest in terms of Diversity &
Inclusion practice?
A: IT/ITES surely have far more women than in the old economy companies. Being a young industry and knowledge

based work, IT/ITES has certainly been a far more equitable workplace for women. It was also the first industry that
was open to experimenting with new-age employee practices lie flexibility, on-site creches, sabbaticals, and other
creative policies and benefits. Yet, they too have not been able to crack the code on what can be done to keep the
balance at the top. Women are almost equal in numbers more in the lower levels of the organization and tend to thin
out as we get to senior roles and hardly a trickle at the C-suite level.

Q: Do you see superior balance sheet performance emanating from greater focus on D&I?
A: The fact that women on the boards of companies means better business results has been proven over and over
again. However, diversity is a lot more than gender and the challenge is to ensure an inclusive environment for all
people. When that is achieved, organizations are more innovative, productive and employers of choice. Another way
to look at this is to consider the cost of not being inclusive - the poor attractiveness to talent, higher chances of
conflicts from lack of collaboration, legal entanglements for discriminatory charges etc etc are certainly costs that
organizations can avoid if they focus on building an inclusive workplace.

Q: Any sector or geography specific trends in the way we practice D&I in India?
A: This is a relatively new area of work in India and there is no identifiable trend at this point. The focus is primarily on
gender for most organizations. The other dimensions that are being discussed are issues around generational
diversity and inclusion of people with disabilities. While these are the primary areas of focus, India is a land of
tremendous diversity and other areas of religion, caste, language, place of origin, schools graduated from etc also
play subtle roles in how trust and support is extended and received.

Q: Where would you rate India vis-a-vis the best in class countries?
A: India has a long way to go. We continue to hover in the lower end of most global indices on gender equality. We
are also known as the country of contradictions. It is equally true that some women have the education and freedom
like anyone else in the world and yet at the same time is also a country that deals with female feticide and harassment.
It has the some of the richest people in the world while also being the home of some of the largest groups of people
that live in poverty. In the same vein, we do have organizations that practice some of the best-in-class policies while
there are several others that are at various points from nothing to the best. Yet, having said that, it is my belief that
things are changing faster than ever before. India is a country in a hurry and a lot more is going to happen sooner than
later!

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