WHY ARE WE DOING THIS

Exclusion of minority communities not only has a social cost but also an economic cost to organisations. According to a report by the World Bank, the discriminatory treatment and harassment in the workplace can reduce productivity and lead to under-utilization of human capital. This means reduced access to employment that fully utilizes the individual’s existing productive capacity, increased unemployment of minority people, and conditions within places of employment that reduce their productivity. Some evidence suggests that positive connections exist between less discrimination and higher productivity in the context of the Indian workforce. Eliminating stigma and discrimination would increase worker wages or income and thus would increase productivity and output as human capital is better utilized. 

The aim of the track is to broaden the discourse of diversity and inclusion to include various stakeholders that are underrepresented in social organisations on the basis of their gender, location, disability and so on. It is important to create a convening of organisations, experts, funders and practitioners to come together and build dialogue on diversity and inclusion, linked to specific outcomes and create a space for actionable steps, leading to the strengthening of organisations and the sector as a whole.

SESSIONS

• 1.30 pm - 2.15 pm 
  Introduction & Launch of the ‘Women’s Leadership in the Development Sector’ report
  In collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation, Arthan has been working on a multi-stakeholder study to chronicle the journeys of women leaders in the development sector. These journeys are meant to serve as a guide to understanding the challenges and opportunities pertaining to Women’s Leadership in the Development Sector (WLiDS), which will help set up industry benchmarks by identifying the challenges to leadership and showcasing the learnings. It will help organisations, donors and policymakers to plan the gender pathways within organisations in order for them to emerge as a gender transformative workplace and help the women in the development sector, to negotiate for equality in roles and power. Initial results of the study can be found here.

• 2.20 pm - 2.50 pm
  Announcement of Shakti Incubation Program for Women Entrepreneurs

  Speaker: Renu Shah, Shakti - The Empathy Project

• 3 pm - 3.30 pm 

  Keynote Address by Archana Chandra, Jai Vakeel Foundation & Research Centre

• 3.30 pm - 4.45 pm
  Intergenerational Insights from Women in Development 
  Speakers: Deepak Dogra, Room to Read; Nisha Dhawan, EMpower; Ranu Bhogal, Oxfam India; Sharon Buteau, LEAD at Krea University

  This panel will bring together women in development with varying years of experience who can shed light on how the gender dynamics and women's empowerment and development has evolved over the years and what can still be done to reach the level playing field. 

• 5 pm - 6.15 pm 
  Diversity and Inclusion 
  Speakers: Aparna Uppaluri, Ford Foundation; Darshan Mundada, TBL Consultancy Services; Katie Pyle, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy; Nandita Baruah, The Asia Foundation; Mahamaya Navlakha, Arthan

  Diversity and Inclusion panel (D&I) will bring together experts in the field of D&I as well as organisations that have put D&I policies in place to share their experiences. The discussions will be directed at understanding what has been done in the space of D&I in the development sector and what steps need to be taken further to make the development sector truly inclusive. 

IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES

• Developing an understanding of factors that have changed over the last few years to promote inclusive organisations and development of women leaders in the sector 

• Identifying evidence-based factors that promote the participation of minority communities in the workplace

• Providing guidance to 500+ professionals, who aspire to become leaders in the impact sector so that they can learn and support each other

• Encouraging an ecosystem level transformation in the HR policies, culture and mindset of the organisations to be able to become gender-responsive and support women’s growth through manuals and guides