This document discusses strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion in organizations. It notes that while many organizations have initiatives to promote women, questions remain about how to foster a culture of inclusion. The organization Anekataa offers diagnostics and interventions like workshops to help companies improve in these areas. Their goals are to enhance women's self-confidence, enable more informed choices, promote a culture of inclusion, and increase leadership at work. Anekataa believes collaboration with organizational leadership is important to effectively promote diversity and inclusion.

1.
Organisations
Grow
Dynamically
When
Individuals
and
Teams
Engage,
Affirm
and
Celebrate
Diversity
Current
Organizational
Imperatives
An
overarching
question
that
challenges
organizations
today
is
how
to
increase
the
effectiveness
of
existing
initiatives
for
inclusion
and
diversity.
Despite
significant
investments
in
terms
of
“skill
building”
programs
for
women,
some
questions
remain,
such
as:
How
do
workplaces..
a. foster
a
culture
of
greater
inclusion,
as
a
mindset
and
as
a
value,
in
men
and
women,
that
is
more
far
reaching
than
policies
&
practices
such
as
flexi
work,
work
share,
crèche
facilities
that
exist?
b. ensure
a
greater
number
of
women
are
identified
and
readied
for
promotion,
so
they
have
the
confidence
and
support
to
sign
up
for
bigger
roles
and
responsibilities?
c. appreciate
the
socio-­‐cultural
factors
such
as
rural
or
urban
backgrounds,
regional
roots,
castes
and
religious
identities
that
influence
women’s
aspirations
and
opportunities?
d. deepen
understanding
of
familial
contexts-­‐
marriage,
motherhood,
care
of
elders
etc.
that
impact
women’s
career
goals
and
trajectories?
e. approach
the
design
of
career
paths
for
women
that
acknowledges
socio-­‐cultural
diversity,
social
norms
and
ways
in
which
they
intersect
with
formal
institutional
policies
and
formal
as
well
as
informal
practices?
Anekataa
Offerings
-­‐
From
Diagnostics
to
Interventions
for
Inclusion
Anekataa’s
focus
is
on
creating
spaces
for
dialogue
and
action
that
leverage
existing
organizational
efforts
to
build
diversity
and
inclusion.
We
begin
with
a
diagnostics
of
the
current
context
by
interfacing
with
key
stakeholders.
Based
on
this,
a
customized
proposal
is
presented
outlining
interventions,
time
frames,
the
role
of
the
Anekataa
team
and
the
role
of
an
organisational
internal
steering
group.
Interventions
offered
by
Anekataa
could
include
● Diagnostics
-­‐
through
data
and
exploratory
dialogues
● Customized
workshops
for
women
and
men
(as
distinct
groups
and
together),
for
management
teams
and
for
personnel
responsible
for
diversity
● Mentoring/Coaching
for
individual
women
through
a
pool
of
experienced
and
skilled
professionals
committed
to
enhancing
women’s
leadership
The Larger Picture
With
a
rapidly
growing
economy
we
hope
and
presume
that
a
greater
proportion
of
women
are
entering
the
workforce
across
metros
and
small
towns
in
India.
Yet
data
indicates
that
only
29%
of
women
over
the
age
of
15
are
working.
India
has
one
of
the
lowest
workforce
participation
rates
when
compared
to
other
emerging
economies.
1
Though
women’s
educational
attainment
has
improved
over
the
years,
organizations
where
women
work
continue
to
be
challenged
with
retention
and
growth
of
women
at
mid
and
senior
levels.
The
Gender
Diversity
Benchmark
(
2011)
highlights
India’s
leaking
pipeline
by
revealing
that
women
are
28.7%
of
the
workforce
at
the
junior/lower
levels,
14.9%
of
those
at
the
middle
level,
and
9.3%
of
those
at
the
senior
level.
More
importantly,
despite
their
low
representation
in
leadership
positions,
97.2%
of
women,
as
compared
to
95.6%
of
men,
do
aspire
for
jobs
with
increased
responsibility.
1
Women
also
bring
a
unique
set
of
skills,
experiences,
and
styles
in
their
interactions
and
add
value
through
a
collaborative
approach
to
decision
making.
They
intuitively
understand
nuances,
provide
a
different
perspective
and
create
a
balanced
workplace
ethos.
Developing
women’s
leadership
abilities
is
therefore
necessary,
not
just
to
address
these
aspirations,
but
also
to
create
more
inclusive
organisations.
In
such
a
context,
creating
awareness
of
the
merits
of
gender
diversity,
and
fostering
inclusion,
can
help
individuals
and
organizations
to
leverage
and
appreciate
plurality
at
the
workplace.

2.
Our
Unique
Workshops
and
Their
Objectives
We
offer
workshops
for
women
at
different
levels
in
the
organization,
for
different
age
groups,
diverse
organizational
roles
and
at
varying
phases
of
their
careers.
These
help
women
reflect
deeply
on
experiences,
aspirations,
dilemmas,
and
facilitate
in
creating
new
road
maps
for
the
future.
The
workshops
provide
an
opportunity
to
examine
what
beliefs
are
internalized
and
what
behavioral
patterns
may
be
frozen
and
unquestioned.
They
also
help
to
challenge
existing
beliefs,
build
self-­‐awareness
and
encourage
participants
to
discover
new
ways
to
relate
to
the
world
around
them.
Specifically,
the
workshops
aim
at:
Enhanced
Self-­‐confidence
and
Expression
so
that
women
can
aspire
for
higher
leadership
opportunities.
Enabling
more
informed
choices
at
work
and
personal
life
to
craft
a
more
authentic
leadership
identity.
Greater
ownership
in
shaping
and
co-­‐creating
a
culture
of
inclusion
in
the
workplace
and
personal
spaces.
Increased
leadership,
vigor
and
dynamism
at
the
workplace.
The
Collaboration
with
Organizational
leadership
Anekataa
believes
that
organizations
are
living
systems
and
we
see
our
work
with
individuals
as
an
integral
part
of
the
larger
organizational
process.
Therefore
steering
groups
are
created
to
enable
continuous
dialogue,
feedback
and
collaborative
reviews
of
the
developmental
process.
Joint
tracking
of
results
and
outcomes
at
the
individual,
team
and
business
unit
levels
could
also
be
designed
keeping
the
macro
objective
of
helping
organizations
build
more
inclusive
and
gender
sensitive
work
cultures.
About
Anekataa
Anekataa
is
anchored
by
a
group
of
experienced
and
passionate
professionals
committed
to
enabling
women
to
bring
out
their
full
potential
in
their
respective
lives.
Each
partner
has
considerable
experience
in
working
with
professionals
across
various
sectors
and
industries.
Anekataa
offers
a
range
of
learning
products
for
organizations
to
navigate
the
various
challenges
they
encounter
building
inclusive
workplaces
and
in
enabling
men
and
women
to
examine
their
gender
influences
to
create
new
perspectives,
discover
their
voice
and
to
celebrate
their
world,
every
moment
and
every
day.
Anekataa
Partners
are
Shabari
Madappa,
Swasthika
Ramamurthy,
Anita
Ratnam
and
Faustina
Sharma.
Email:
anekataa@anekataa.org
Some
of
Our
Fundamental
Beliefs
Men
&
women
internalize
gender
values
differently.
These
largely
unconscious
influences
significantly
impact
the
way
we
work
.
Hence,
it
is
critical
for
men
and
women
to
surface
and
reflect
on
these
values
to
co-­‐create
more
inclusive
workplaces.
Diverse
teams
are
not
necessarily
more
inclusive
–
teams
have
to
be
sensitized,
made
more
aware
and
trained
on
how
to
be
more
inclusive
to
move
to
a
high
performing
culture.