Date- 04/10/2023 || Time- 4:30 PM- 8 PM || Location- Room No- 351, IC building
Workshop Facilitators
Harish Iyer is the DEI head at Axis bank, a motivational speaker and equal rights activist. A member of the LGBTQ+ community himself, Harish challenges stereotypes and promotes empathy.
Ms. Vaijayanti Naik is a Senior Vice President and Head HR, Axis bank- In her present role at the bank she leads the change and culture agenda and champions the DEI initiatives for the bank.
Workshop Summary & Key Highlights
The students of School of Human Resource Management attended an interesting and interactive workshop on DEI on 10 October 2023 from 4:30-8:00 PM. The workshop facilitators, being stalwarts in their area, brought rich insights to students in a simple manner using real time examples and experience sharing.
The facilitators started with a brief introduction on DEI and stressed on the interconnectedness between the three dimensions. Further, they highlighted the fact that equity is a mind-set where individuals are ready to acknowledge their biases and explore the processes to be more inclusive. Force-fitting could actually be anti-inclusive and the responsibility of inclusion lies within the one who is included. In a unique experience sharing journey, the workshop surfaced the impact of attitudes, languages and conduct on cohorts such as Persons with Disability (PWD), transgender and women. Though organizations do support an inclusive culture, at times, the infrastructure is not enough. Organizations must pay heed to creating that ecosystem that boosts inclusivity. The facilitators spoke about the innovative programs at Axis Bank such as “HouseWorkIsWork” that aim to promote the inclusive culture. Basic etiquettes such as how to address gender fluid individuals was nice depicted through an animated video. The idea is to see the “person” the “human being” first, keeping aside any kind of identity. A series of hands-on activities that followed sensitized the audience on DEI. Lastly, the workshop ended on a positive note where audience realised the importance of diversity and disruption in innovation and growth.
