India set to get first dedicated LGBT hiring consultancy


By Rohit Vaid

Mumbai, Jul 21 (IANS): Almost a year after the landmark Supreme Court judgement decriminalising homosexuality, India is set to get its first dedicated hiring consultancy firm for the members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community.

At present, even after the change in law, members of India's LGBTIQ community lag behind their western counterparts in attaining equal pay, corporate representation and other benefits.

Accordingly, the Bengaluru-based Diversity & Inclusion firm -- Pride Circle -- plans to shatter some of these stereotypes via a dedicated wing which will look at the job consultancy market for the LGBTIQ candidates.

"There is a lot of systemic bias and roadblock for LGBTI job seekers, these becomes even more challenging for visibly LGBTI individuals," Pride Circle's Co-Founder Ramkrishna Sinha told IANS.

"Our goal is to work with companies to eliminate such conscious or unconscious biases in the recruitment process and also work with candidates to enable them for facing interviews. A lot of LGBTI candidates face issues of self-esteem, due to the series of discrimination they have faced."

Not just unemployment of LGBTIQ candidates, even the lack of sensitisation and unfriendly policies towards businesses that cater to this internationally significant segment of consumers has led to an estimated loss of around $30 billion to India's GDP as per a World Bank report.

The 2014 World Bank report -- Economic Cost of Homophobia and the exclusion of LGBTIQ people: A case of India -- estimated the country to have lost 0.1-1.7 per cent of the GDP due to homophobia.

"Companies have been hesitant in engaging and at times are unaware of the method to that engagement. The siloes leads to stereotypes and misinformation on both ends, leading to a growing chasm, our aim to build platforms of engagement for the community and corporation to meet," Sinha said.

"We are encouraging corporations to have avenues of dialogue, look at opportunities to engage besides a full time job, and these could be fellowship, internship, skill building programs etc."

Globally, this segment known generically as -- Pink Dollar Economy -- has become a financially significant sub-section of the consumer market for various industries like travel, insurance and even white goods.

Recently, the firm organised India's first LGBTIQ job fair -- RISE (Reimagining Inclusion for Social Equity) -- in Bengaluru. Over 40 companies participated in the event including the likes of Uber and Intel.

Besides, the job fair saw a participation of more than 300 LGBTIQ candidates for various sectors in IT, banking and administration.

"We have over 50 companies, who are very interested in hiring from the LGBTI talent pool," Sinha said.

"The companies which participated in the job fair were delighted by the candidates they met, five candidates already got confirmed job offers from the fair."

Additionally, the firm aims to organise the job fair in 10 cities over the next 18-24 months. The firm is hopeful to place at least 1,000 LGBTIQ candidates within a year.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Dan M, Dubai / Mangalore

    Sun, Jul 21 2019

    Our Lady's message to Valentina, Sydney.
    5 April 2019

    VALENTINA: During my morning prayers, our Blessed Mother appeared. She said:

    OUR LADY: “I come to give you a warning message. Soon, there will be a Sign on the horizon. Just as the sun rises from the east, so too will the Sign appear on the horizon for everyone to see. The Sign that will appear will pierce each soul deeply. Everyone will know that God exists.”

    “All over the world, humanity is led by the devil. People live in terrible sin and darkness, in danger of losing their soul. How I cry to see my poor children be slaves of the devil. He deceives them by telling them lies to justify their sins. Governments and society introduce all kinds of laws and tell people it is good to have changes. Slowly people accept these changes and the false promises, that will lead them to be stripped of all their freedoms. Now, everyone is controlled by these false laws, where there is no God. It is a very dangerous time in which you live. Do not believe in the false promises.”

    “You must return to God. He is the only One to give life in abundance. He suffers for all of you to redeem you because He loves you unconditionally.”

    VALENTINA: Our Blessed Mother was crying as she gave me this message. We must listen to [the] Blessed Mother’s warnings and pray for conversion.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • HENRY MISQUITH, Bahrain/Burkina Faso

    Sun, Jul 21 2019

    Law alone cannot give freedom to those belong LGBT community.
    People must change their mindset and accept them as normal human beings and treat them equal.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Shankar, Mangaluru

    Sun, Jul 21 2019

    Henry saab,
    How about changing the mindset towards pedophile and zoophiles? These are too some un-natural alternative sexual orientation!

    DisAgree [2] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse


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