Kolkata : Procter & Gamble India (P&G India) makers of brands like Vicks, Ariel, Gillette, Pampers etc. today announced that it will partner with 50+ educational institutes across the country to foster safe spaces and visible allies for the LGBTQ+ community to ‘ShareThePride’. With ‘ShareThePride’, the Company will drive awareness and sensitize students, faculty, and staff in these educational institutes on conscious and sub-conscious biases, bust barriers and myths and spotlight challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in a heteronormative environment.
As part of 'ShareThePride’, P&G India will conduct workshops, dedicated sensitization sessions and awareness campaigns to educate the educational ecosystem about LGBTQ+ issues and challenges. The program aims to educate various stakeholders in understanding how to create a supportive and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ community. This reinforces the Company's commitment towards promoting inclusivity and diversity beyond the workplace.
The Company also announced a new ‘Infertility Treatment’ policy to support employees and their partners with more inclusive opportunities for family planning. Under this policy, the Company will cover the expenses borne by employees and their partners for availing infertility treatments including Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) among others. The new policy supports employees of diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, and family structures, in line with the Company’s continued commitment of fostering and reinforcing an equal and inclusive workplace for its people through inclusive policies, with genuine care being at the core of everything it does. The policy has a significant impact on the LGBTQ+ community, as for many in the community, infertility treatments become the primary means of family planning. This opens out never-before options for employees who belong to the community and their partners.
Commenting on the initiative, Ankur Bhagat, Vice President – Product Supply & Executive Sponsor for LGBTQ+ Inclusion, P&G India said, “At P&G, Equality and Inclusion (E&I)has always been the cornerstone of our culture; where equal access and opportunity to learn, grow, succeed, and thrive are available to everyone. In line with this, we focus on creating an equal and inclusive world both inside and outside P&G. Within the company, we bring this to life through our inclusive policies which enable all our people to bring their true authentic selves to the workplace every day. Outside the Company, we continue to drive efforts in the communities we serve to advance inclusion for everyone. Educational institutes witness formative years when opinions are shaped, and ideologies are strengthened. We believe that this is the right stage to sensitize students, as well as other stakeholders around them, aiming to create safe spaces to foster and equal and inclusive society. Educational institutes thereby become a catalyst to fight bias, create dialogue and raise visibility for the LGBTQ+ community.”
He further added, “There is no better time to expand our efforts, find new ways to reach the LGBTQ+ community, and reaffirm our commitment to creating a world that sees equal. Our policy upgrades are yet another endeavour in the effort towards recognizing evolving needs of our diverse workforce and support inclusive opportunities of family planning.”
With a mission to support the community within and beyond the workplace, the company has driven several partnerships and activations. These include:
P&G India and Vannam - IIT Madras hosted the first-ever ‘Vanavil: P&G IIT Madras Equality Summit’ – Marking its first-ever engagement with one of its campus partners – IIT-M and their student-run LGBTQIA+ support and sensitisation group –Vannam, the summit brought together a host of distinguished speakers who shared thought inducing insights and personal stories with the students at the campus, to spark meaningful conversations around various issues of contemporary as well as historical relevance to the queer community.
P&G India at Sydney WorldPride and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – The event took place in Sydney, Australia from February 24th to March 5th, marking the second year of P&G’s three-year partnership as a major sponsor of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Moreover, two of the senior out-leaders from P&G India also travelled to Australia for the Parade as the Indian representatives, thereby, championing the LGBTQIA+ visibility.
P&G Hyderabad organised first-of-its-kind equality and inclusion roadshow – The company hosted its first-ever roadshow at its largest manufacturing site in India at Hyderabad, with an aim to drive sensitisation and awareness. Bringing together every employee at P&G Hyderabad – from senior managers with decades of experience to new hires - the event specifically intended to drive sensitisation for the entire workforce.
Further, P&G India has led the way for LGTBQ+ inclusion within the Company with several dedicated initiatives including:
Sensitization and ‘GABLE at Work’ trainings for employees including new hires, managers, and plant technicians, to create and nurture a companywide ally network, and encourage employees from the community to bring their true authentic selves to the workplace.
The Company also transformed its comprehensive financial and medical benefits for employees into a fully inclusive and equality-based program, which extends to partners of our LGBTQ+ employees.
The Company partnered with Pride Circle for ‘RISE 2022’, India’s premier LGBTQ+ job fair and conference, where LGBTQ+ job seekers can meet companies, interact with the recruiters, learn about job opportunities, and get interviewed from the comfort of their home.
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