We recently concluded our ‘Conversation Over Cocktails – Shaping the Workforce of Tomorrow’ at Dextrus, Mumbai, where LadiesWho Lead and Dextrus came together to power the conversation on Diversity at the Workplace.

Joining the conversation and contributing valuable insights, our esteemed panellists included:

• Rakhee Lalvani, Consultant – Indian Hotels Company Limited and Founder – RLA
• Sujatha Shivsankar, Associate Partner, KPMG India
• Anu Aggarwal, President & Business Head – Conglomerates, Large Corporates & Multinationals, Kotak Mahindra Bank. 
• Shilpi Kapoor, Founder, BarrierBreak // Digital Accessibility at Scale | Serial Entrepreneur, 247 Accessible Documents &Newz Hook

The event was moderated by Anushka Shah, Founder, Civic Studios&Researcher MIT Media Lab.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:

1.Inclusion Needs Work:While many companies practice diversity, and there is a belief that those companies may even be more profitable, it is critical to put the spotlight on inclusion, and creating a sense of belonging to employees. Merely having them around is not the same as creating confident participation and a sense of worthiness.

2.Deconstruct It: Create awareness and share more is the mantra. Diversity and Inclusion are looked at as highly strategic and heavy terminology – while the idea is to break down and explain it to people at a human level. Culturally speaking as well, the onus does not lie on a group of individuals, but it rests on the entire organization to take a step in the right direction, once there is a plethora of understanding and knowledge with regards to positive acceptance.

3.Beyond Numbers: Creating positions for women rather than finding women for positions is the need of the hour. We not only need to look at the equality angle but also the equity angle. Diversity is not only about inclusion, but it is against exclusion as well. The banking sector has filled the void from a numbers perspective but it now needs to seep through at a role, responsibility and reward level.

4.Tap the Talent: We should look at job candidates for who they are, which is a shift in the way we view job applications. The trust, balance and belief in employees from a D & I perspective should not come from their educational qualifications, but rather from what they can bring to the table in their own orientation capacity.

5.Humanity First: It is not easy to practice good D & I. One needs to push new practices and policy in a sensitive and sustainable manner. However, the hard work must be done, since it will not only benefit the organization and the workforce but moreoverit is also what is required at a humane level. It is something we owe each other and we must have the intent and the vision to make the world and the workplace a better space.

Packed with engaging conversation and strategies on how we can together shape the workforce of tomorrow, the evening offered great insight, interaction and a burst of fresh thinking.

At Ladies Who Lead, it is our endeavor to curate many more such intimate experiences, and along with our members, co-create the future! Join in on our next Conversation over Cocktails.