Tata Steel joins the small but growing list of companies like Accenture, Capgemini which are LGBTQ+ friendly

• Tata Steel put a policy in place that will allow LGBTQ+ employees to formally come out, revealing the identity of their partners and avail of HR benefits.
  
• Under the diversity and inclusion policy, these employees will be extended financial assistance for gender reassignment surgery along with 30 days special leave.
  
• Accenture introduced medical cover for gender reassignment surgery in 2016.
  
• The tech giants also have gender neutral washrooms across its offices for trans workforce.

India companies are bringing in inclusivity into their HR policies, albeit slowly.

Addressing its employees from the LGBTQI+(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community, Tata Steel has a policy in place that will allow them to formally come out, declare their partners and avail of HR benefits.

This also includes same sex partners in live-in relationships. Under the diversity and inclusion policy, they will be extended financial assistance for gender reassignment surgery along with 30 days special leave.

"The company's vision is to be a world-class equal opportunity employer where everyone is respected and every voice is heard. It is a constant endeavour of the company to create an enabling workplace for all diverse groups, respecting and embracing the differences in the individuals," the steel conglomerate told news agency PTI.

LGBTQ employees will also be eligible for Tata Executive Holiday Plan (TEHP), honeymoon packages and travel allowances. “It has been the endeavour of the company to create an enabling workforce for all diverse groups, respecting and embracing the differences in the individuals,” the statement added.

The policy will also cover medical benefits, health check-ups, adoption leave and and inclusion in employee assistance programme (EAP) among others.

Corporate India’s inclusivity drive

Multinational technology companies have caught on to this trend early, probably as an extension of their global policies.

Accenture had introduced medical cover for gender reassignment surgery in 2016. This was before the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in India in 2018 by scrapping Section 377.

Capgemini too provides the flexibility of paid leave to employees undergoing gender assignment surgery. It also employs almost 100,000 LGBTQ people in India. The tech giants also have gender neutral washrooms across its offices for trans workforce.

IBM, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra are also among those who extended medical insurance to same-sex partners among the LGBTQ employees. Several IBM employees have ‘come out’ with their sexuality at work, ET reported citing Prachi Rastogi, IBM India’s Diversity and Inclusion Leader.

Foodtech unicorn Zomato also announced an ‘inclusive parental leave policy’ allowing 26-week paid leave to new parents — including same sex partners in case of an adoption.

India has nearly 5%-10% queer employees in its workforce. Of this, over half of them reported discrimination at work. The 2016 World Bank report suggests that India recorded a loss of $32 billion due to homophobia.

See also:
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