Workplace

Getting India Inc. ready for an ever growing and diverse LGBT+ workforce is at the centre of our business.

Our consulting work begins with the belief that inclusion is not a given, but that the best employers understand inclusion drives better individual, business, and organisational outcomes.

We operate at 3 stages:

Advisory: We know the same shoe doesn’t fit everyone, we work with you on your charter of inclusion which fits you, your culture, your goal and your vision.

Audits: We study the culture of the workplace to assess the intangible, unwritten codes of conduct which are either welcoming or silencing. That leads to a comprehensive understanding of the gaps and how we can collaborate on solutions and better results.

Action Plan: Irrespective of where you are in the journey on LGBT+ inclusion, we will provide you with a customized action plan to monitor the progress.

All our Corporate consulting is bolstered by our Training and Thought Leadership initiatives.

Some Out of the Box methodologies and Pride Circle Thought Leadership properties:

Apart from providing resources for coming out and support to ERGs on inclusive policies and benefits, mental health et al, we also assist them on more affirmative action.

We work with them across the life cycle of Skill Building and Employment; hiring best practices gender neutrality in job description, to sensitive background checks (particularly for transgender employees who may have different names on their educational certificates compared to government ids because of gender transition).

Given that the cost of accessing and hiring from this talent pool can be daunting, Pride Circle can help connect corporate clients with them in seamless ways.

To understand more, you can visit: (link to testimonials etc)

RISE is one of our strategic annual flagship programs, which began as Asia’s First ever LGBT+ Conference, Job Fair & Marketplace on 12 July 2019 in Bangalore, had 45 companies participate along with many NGOs supporting this unique initiative. The event had over 350 job applicants from diverse industries, educational background, and experience. The outcome: 50 job offers.

The success inspired us to organize the 2nd edition of RISE in February 2020 at Delhi which drew over 1200 job applicants. The outcome: 20 job offers, before we were faced with COVID-19 situation and hiring was put on hold.

RISE has become a synonym for affirmative action for LGBT+ inclusion. The 3rd edition - RISE 2021 will be held virtual in May!

Acting as a ‘big tent’ RISE provides opportunities for knowledge sharing, collaboration, collective impact, LGBT+ employment, employability, entrepreneurship, and new marketplaces. It is organised across 3 tracks:

RISE Conference: A brain-spa for the LGBT+ community, workplace champions of Inclusion, civil society, government, legal fraternity, policy makers, business leaders. Through keynotes, panel discussions, breakouts, masterclasses and presentations, International & National speakers, deep dive on specific areas of Law, Policy, Culture etc. The speakers share knowledge, collaborate and work towards leadership, insight, action planning and collective impact.

RISE Job Fair: An exclusive and one-of-its-kind platform for the companies to set up booths and to get an opportunity to interact, interview and extend job offers to the LGBT+ talent. From IT/ITES, BFSI, Hospitality, Manufacturing, FMCG sectors, the goal is to affirmatively hire from the pool of job seekers who attend. The roles can be across the spectrum, Executive Manager, Pantry Supervisor, Graphics Designer, Full Stack Developer, Talent Acquisition Lead among the many.

RISE Marketplace: Employment is one route to sustenance, another is entrepreneurship. A platform for the LGBT+ owned micro & small businesses from across India to showcase & sell their products/ services.

Additionally, we encourage corporate clients to onboard these businesses as part of their Supplier Diversity program. Building a support network for LGBT+ entrepreneurs and provide workshops and seminars on Financial Literacy, Design Thinking, Customer Delight, Mentoring, etc. to help them grow and scale.

We bring together global experts to share their journey of LGBT+ inclusion and learnings and pair them with local examples of action.

Through the OUTReach: 6 Steps to LGBT+ inclusion, series of 6 webinars we provide organizations with an implementable toolkit.

Learn more: www.thepridecircle.com/webinar

We conduct sessions for business leaders (Directors & above) to get up close and personal with the LGBT+ community.

You can choose from our entirely exclusive and extensive pool of experts and evangelists, who understand both the sensitivities and benefits of a LGBT+ workforce.

The objective is to build a better understanding of challenges, aspirations, and motivations.

These programs are really effective and improve a business understanding of the issues and solidify a commitment to action at leadership levels.

This is India’s First LGBT+ Mentoring Program meant for the workforce.

Here mentors and their mentees from the LGBT+ community work closely on resolving issues of having to choose between career and identity. That is, if they come out at work, will they deal with the consequences like being devalued at work, loss of opportunities for growth etc.

We carefully select mentors who have not only excelled in their chosen field of work but are also out, authentic leaders. This has proven to be a gamechanger.

The program is helping many individuals not just in their professional but also personal life. They gain confidence, become less inhibited, collaborate better and become future leaders.

First-ever LGBT+ exclusive Hackathon in India, a unique and a virtual safe space to Ideate, Collaborate, and find Solutions to Technical, Non-Technical, Social Good tracks, to secure internships, jobs and WIN exciting prizes.

Learn more: www.hackerearth.com/pride-hackathon-2020

Through our rich resource bank of art, theatre, painting, movie screenings, performances we curate immersive experiences for corporates.

Our LGBT+ Art bank is also available as material for trainers, resource folks and other D&I experts, so that they can design workshops, offsites and cultural events to engage with issues of unconscious bias, unique LGBT+ perspectives to further greater diversity and inclusion.

India’s First comprehensive benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT+) inclusion in the workplace. Stonewall (UK), Pride Circle and Keshav Suri Foundation (KSF), have partnered to create the tool to assess workplaces.

Learn more: www.workplaceequalityindex.in

The roundtables provide India Inc the opportunity to come together, to co-create strategies around a series of themes that will create best practices.

The platform has become an industry touchpoint for D&I leaders across different companies to gather and discuss common challenges, collaboration and solutions to pressing problems.

We cover different topics which include: Policies & Benefits, Affirmative Action, Visible Allyship and more

Given the growing opportunities for jobs for the LGBT+ community, we organize skill building & coaching sessions through series of free workshops on Resume Writing, Interview Skills, Career Guidance, Technical Skills and much more.

To ensure quality and employability, we invite facilitators from organizations like - Atlassian, Adobe, BNY Mellon, Capgemini, Cummins, Goldman Sachs, HGS, HSBC, KPMG, Macquarie, Mastercard, Microsoft, Natwest, Nielsen, Novartis, ThoughtWorks, SAP to name a few.

Our endeavour is to continue enabling LGBT+ talent to enhance their skills or learn new skills, so that they have access to jobs at workplaces that gives them the space to be their authentic selves.

Get in touch with us in case you are interested in facilitating the sessions. Learn more: www.thepridecircle.com/workshops

We create opportunities for colleagues, competitors, mentors to meet and hear the Coming Out stories of LGBT+ community co-workers and allies.

It does not get more real than listening to their stories, they move audiences from concepts to greater understanding.

To add weightage to those narratives we also have access to a Speaker Bureau of stars from the community and their allies to inspire your workforce.

A unique Virtual Gamification of Allyship based on the science that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. We challenge existing and prospective allies through a global online competition to engage in a series of 21 mini-challenges starting June 1 or Pride Month.

The 2020 challenge impacted 13,000 allies; individuals and influencers from 58 nations and 108 organisations and also respected academic institutions such as IIMs, IITs, NMIMS, MICA, Tagore International School.

The aim is to build a global community of LGBT+ champions for the next generation.

Learn more: www.thepridecircle.com/21daysallychallenge

The LGBT+ experience is more than just a rainbow flag, it’s a movement. The PRIDE podcast celebrates every person under the queer umbrella and the allies with engaging interviews. Ever wondered about the queer history in India? How about the origins of the expression "coming out"? How does Section 377 impact the workplace?

Join us as we provide a platform to LGBT+ people and allies with stories to tell — stories about sexuality, gender, love, laughter or anything that unleashes your curiosity.

The podcast is guaranteed to let your mind run wild in a safe space full of wonderment. So come along, we’re proud to have you. Interested?

The most influential network of CXOs to demonstrate authentic leadership, role modelling and drive business impact.

This has been designed as a LGBT+ specific service. We realise that changes at the workplace and even home, especially, in the time of COVID-19 and lockdown can sometimes impact us in different ways, leading to stress, depression and a sense of loneliness. You can reach out to our network of counsellors and mental health practitioners. Browse through webinars & guide on Mental Health: www.thepridecircle.com/outforce

Pride Month, IDAHOBIT, Coming Out Day, TDOR, etc

Pride Circle is also the business voice of the LGBT+ community, dedicated to creating & expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBT+ people, and the exclusive platform for the LGBT+ owned micro & small businesses.

Whether your company's goals are to utilize top LGBT+ suppliers, develop new clients, bring parity to your diversity practices, benchmark with other corporate partners and top firms, influence public policy, recruit top LGBT+ talent, or all of the above, a partnership with Pride Circle is the key. Partnering with us to expand your existing supplier diversity program to include LGBT+ owned companies would not only create true parity for LGBT-owned businesses, but ensures your company amplifies prosperity of Rainbow businesses.