A India Inc: The case for ‘Inclusion 2.0’ in industry

India Inc: The Case for ‘Inclusion 2.0’ in Industry

India’s corporate landscape has evolved significantly over the past few decades, with diversity and inclusion (D&I) becoming an integral part of business strategies. However, as organizations move beyond traditional diversity metrics, there is a pressing need for a more evolved approach—what can be termed as ‘Inclusion 2.0.’ This next phase of inclusion goes beyond representation to focus on equity, belonging, and intersectionality, ensuring that every individual, regardless of background, has equal access to opportunities and is empowered to thrive.

Why ‘Inclusion 2.0’?

The first wave of corporate inclusion in India primarily revolved around gender diversity, with a focus on increasing female participation in the workforce. However, ‘Inclusion 2.0’ recognizes that inclusion must be holistic, intersectional, and sustainable. It emphasizes representation across multiple dimensions—caste, disability, LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, economic background, and regional diversity.

Moreover, it moves beyond compliance-based initiatives to embed inclusion deeply into organizational culture, decision-making, and business models. This is critical in an era where global markets, digital transformation, and evolving social consciousness demand more than just symbolic gestures.

Key Pillars of Inclusion 2.0 in Industry

1. Inclusive Hiring & Leadership Development

While many companies have D&I hiring policies, Inclusion 2.0 necessitates removing systemic biases in recruitment. This includes:

Skill-based hiring over credential-based hiring to enable candidates from non-elite educational backgrounds.
Neurodiverse hiring programs for individuals with autism, ADHD, and other cognitive differences.
Leadership pipelines that promote individuals from underrepresented communities into decision-making roles.

2. Accessibility & Workplace Equity

Equity means not just opening doors, but ensuring that everyone can walk through them with equal ease.

Physical and digital accessibility for people with disabilities.
Fair pay and promotions ensuring that marginalized communities are not left behind in career growth.
Mental health support as a core aspect of employee well-being, particularly for minority and marginalized employees who may experience workplace bias.

3. Intersectionality in Policy & Culture

Traditional diversity efforts often silo different groups, but Inclusion 2.0 requires acknowledging multiple, overlapping identities.

Caste inclusion—ensuring Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi representation at all levels.
LGBTQ+ policies that go beyond pride campaigns to ensure benefits, healthcare, and workplace protections.
Parental leave policies that recognize diverse family structures, including single parents and same-sex couples.

4. Supplier & Business Inclusion

Corporations must extend their inclusion efforts beyond employees to vendors, suppliers, and business partners.

Supplier diversity programs that encourage businesses owned by marginalized groups.
Ethical AI and data practices to prevent bias in technology-driven decision-making.
Financial inclusion initiatives that support MSMEs led by women and marginalized entrepreneurs.

The Business Case for Inclusion 2.0

Research consistently shows that diverse and inclusive companies outperform their peers in profitability, innovation, and employee satisfaction. According to a McKinsey report, organizations in the top quartile for diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their industry peers.

Additionally, with India’s Gen Z workforce valuing purpose-driven workplaces, companies that embed Inclusion 2.0 into their DNA will attract and retain top talent while building strong customer trust.

Conclusion

‘Inclusion 2.0’ is no longer just an HR initiative—it is a business imperative. Indian industries must move beyond tokenism and embrace true inclusivity as a core driver of growth, sustainability, and social progress. Companies that proactively adapt to this evolved paradigm will not only shape a more equitable corporate ecosystem but also gain a competitive edge in the global economy.

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How do you leap to Inclusion 2.0? Here are five recommendations

How to Leap to Inclusion 2.0: Five Key Recommendations

Transitioning to Inclusion 2.0 requires a strategic, data-driven, and culture-first approach. Organizations must go beyond compliance and symbolic gestures to embed inclusion into their DNA. Here are five key recommendations to make this leap:

1. Shift from Representation to Equity

Inclusion should not stop at hiring diverse talent—it must ensure equitable growth opportunities.
Conduct pay equity audits to identify and close wage gaps.
Build mentorship and sponsorship programs for underrepresented groups to advance into leadership roles.
Implement fair performance evaluations by mitigating biases in promotion and appraisal processes.

Actionable Step: Use blind hiring techniques and AI-driven assessments to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment and promotions.

2. Design Inclusive Work Environments

Ensure physical and digital accessibility for employees with disabilities.
Provide gender-neutral restrooms and inclusive healthcare benefits covering LGBTQ+ employees and neurodiverse individuals.
Encourage flexible work arrangements to accommodate diverse needs, such as caregivers and people with disabilities.

Actionable Step: Introduce employee resource groups (ERGs) and inclusion councils to co-create policies that cater to diverse communities.

3. Embed Intersectionality in Policies

Move beyond gender diversity to caste, economic, regional, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Recognize multiple identity layers—a woman from a marginalized caste faces different challenges than an upper-caste woman.
Tailor training programs to address intersectional bias in hiring, leadership, and team dynamics.

Actionable Step: Implement anonymous feedback channels to track workplace experiences across different identity groups and take corrective action.

4. Extend Inclusion to Business Strategy

Prioritize supplier diversity by engaging MSMEs led by women, Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi entrepreneurs.
Ensure ethical AI and data practices to eliminate bias in hiring, performance tracking, and decision-making.
Invest in upskilling and reskilling programs for marginalized communities to create a future-ready, diverse workforce.

Actionable Step: Set inclusion KPIs linked to business performance—hold leaders accountable for real progress, not just policies.

5. Foster an Inclusive Culture through Leadership Accountability

Leaders must model inclusive behavior—not just endorse it.
Implement mandatory inclusive leadership training for CXOs and managers.
Tie executive bonuses to tangible D&I outcomes, ensuring leadership commitment beyond statements.

Actionable Step: Appoint a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (CDIO) with direct access to the CEO, ensuring inclusion remains a top-down priority.

Final Thoughts

Inclusion 2.0 is not just about what companies do—it’s about how they think and operate. By making inclusion a business priority, Indian industries can foster a more equitable, innovative, and high-performing workforce. The time to act is now.

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2) Leverage DEI Teams and Internal Interest

To successfully transition to Inclusion 2.0, organizations must empower their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) teams while harnessing the enthusiasm of employees who are passionate about inclusion. DEI cannot be the sole responsibility of HR—it must be embedded into the company’s business strategy, leadership priorities, and workplace culture.

How to Leverage DEI Teams and Internal Interest:

🔹 Empower DEI Teams with Decision-Making Authority

Move DEI from a compliance-based function to a core business enabler.
Ensure DEI teams report directly to top leadership (e.g., CEO, CHRO) for stronger influence.
Allocate dedicated budgets for DEI initiatives, rather than treating them as side projects.

🔹 Engage Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Support volunteer-driven ERGs for diverse groups (e.g., women, LGBTQ+, PwD, caste-inclusion networks).
Provide ERGs with executive sponsors to ensure their insights are translated into policy changes.
Recognize and reward employees who actively contribute to DEI efforts.

🔹 Integrate DEI into Business Functions

Embed DEI metrics into hiring, performance reviews, and leadership KPIs.
Train managers to be DEI advocates by giving them the tools to drive inclusive team cultures.
Include DEI considerations in product development, marketing, and supply chain strategies to ensure inclusivity extends beyond the workforce.

3) Provide product managers with training and resources

3) Provide Product Managers with Training and Resources

Inclusion 2.0 isn’t just about workplace diversity—it must also be reflected in the products and services that companies create. Product managers (PMs) play a crucial role in shaping user experiences, and equipping them with the right training and resources ensures that products are accessible, unbiased, and inclusive from the start.

How to Equip Product Managers for Inclusion 2.0:

🔹 1. Train PMs on Inclusive Design & Accessibility

Conduct DEI workshops focused on bias-free product development.
Introduce Universal Design principles to ensure products are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
Develop regional and multilingual strategies to make digital products more accessible across India’s diverse linguistic landscape.

🔹 2. Ensure Diversity in User Research & Testing

Expand user personas and test groups to include diverse demographics, genders, caste backgrounds, and abilities.
Implement inclusive UX research to understand how marginalized communities interact with products.
Encourage co-creation with diverse users to build more representative and practical solutions.

🔹 3. Embed Ethical AI & Bias Prevention

Train PMs on AI ethics to identify and mitigate algorithmic bias in AI-driven products.
Conduct regular bias audits in data collection and decision-making models.
Ensure transparency in AI-based hiring tools, recommendation engines, and automated decision-making systems.

🔹 4. Provide Accessibility-Focused Development Resources

Require compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for all digital products.
Offer design toolkits for neurodiverse-friendly interfaces and assistive tech integration.
Collaborate with DEI experts, accessibility consultants, and employee resource groups (ERGs) to refine products.

🔹 5. Make Inclusion a Product KPI

Set measurable inclusion goals for every product launch.
Include DEI-related OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) in the product development roadmap.
Reward PMs who demonstrate inclusive product innovation through leadership recognition and performance incentives.

Final Thoughts

By providing PMs with the right training and tools, companies can ensure that their products don’t just cater to the majority—but truly serve diverse and historically marginalized communities. This isn’t just an ethical priority—it’s a competitive advantage in India’s diverse market.

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4) Develop product and inclusion metrics

4) Develop Product and Inclusion Metrics

To move toward Inclusion 2.0, companies must go beyond intent and measure progress through data-driven product and inclusion metrics. Without tracking key indicators, inclusion efforts risk becoming performative rather than impactful.

How to Develop Effective Product & Inclusion Metrics:

🔹 1. Define Inclusive Product Metrics

To ensure products serve a diverse and representative user base, companies should track:

User Diversity → Measure how different demographics interact with the product (e.g., gender, caste, region, accessibility needs).
Accessibility Compliance → Track adherence to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and other inclusive design standards.
Bias in AI/ML Systems → Regularly audit algorithms for racial, gender, caste, and economic biases.
Localization & Regional Reach → Measure how well the product adapts to India’s linguistic and regional diversity (e.g., availability in local languages, usability in rural areas).

📌 Example: A fintech company could measure whether loan approval algorithms disproportionately reject applicants from marginalized communities.

🔹 2. Set Workplace Inclusion Metrics

Diverse Hiring & Promotion Rates → Track representation across gender, caste, disability, LGBTQ+, and economic backgrounds at all levels.
Pay Equity Analysis → Ensure fair compensation across identities and job levels.
Employee Experience Scores → Use anonymous sentiment surveys to measure belonging, psychological safety, and discrimination incidents.
Retention & Advancement of Underrepresented Groups → Assess how long diverse employees stay and how frequently they’re promoted.

📌 Example: A company could track promotion rates of employees from Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) backgrounds compared to other groups.

🔹 3. Embed Inclusion Metrics in Business Goals

Tie leadership bonuses to DEI progress.
Require DEI impact assessments for product launches.
Make supplier diversity a measurable KPI → Ensure a percentage of procurement goes to women, Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi-owned businesses.

📌 Example: A retail brand could commit to sourcing 30% of its materials from small businesses owned by marginalized entrepreneurs.

🔹 4. Publish Transparent Reports

Regularly share diversity and inclusion data internally and externally.
Provide quarterly updates on progress, gaps, and future action plans.
Allow third-party audits to validate inclusion efforts.

📌 Example: Companies like Infosys and TCS have started releasing DEI reports outlining gender diversity, accessibility, and inclusive hiring initiatives.

Final Thoughts

“What gets measured gets improved.” By developing clear product and inclusion metrics, companies can track real progress, hold leaders accountable, and drive meaningful change in India’s corporate landscape.

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5) Learn from, but don’t be afraid of making mistakes

5) Learn from, but Don’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes

One of the biggest barriers to meaningful Inclusion 2.0 is the fear of getting it wrong. Many companies hesitate to take bold steps in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) because they worry about backlash or making mistakes. However, true progress comes from learning, adapting, and taking accountability rather than striving for perfection.

How to Embrace Learning & Growth in DEI Initiatives:

🔹 1. Shift from a “Perfection Mindset” to a “Progress Mindset”

Understand that inclusion is a journey, not a checklist.
Accept that mistakes will happen—what matters is how organizations respond and improve.
Encourage open discussions where employees and leaders can acknowledge biases without fear of judgment.

📌 Example: A company that unintentionally launches a campaign with gender stereotypes should acknowledge the misstep, engage diverse voices, and refine its messaging rather than staying silent.

🔹 2. Normalize Feedback & Course Correction

Create safe spaces for employees to share concerns about workplace bias and exclusion.
Conduct DEI retrospectives after major product launches or policy rollouts to evaluate what worked and what didn’t.
Encourage constructive feedback loops between leadership, DEI teams, and employees.

📌 Example: If an AI-driven hiring tool shows bias against certain communities, rather than scrapping it, a company can adjust its dataset, seek expert input, and make improvements.

🔹 3. Build Psychological Safety for Leaders & Employees

Train managers to respond to DEI challenges with humility rather than defensiveness.
Encourage leaders to model vulnerability—admitting when they don’t have all the answers but committing to learning.
Support employee-led initiatives without controlling their narratives.

📌 Example: A senior executive publicly acknowledging their own learning curve on caste inclusion can set the tone for the organization to take the issue seriously.

🔹 4. Engage with Experts & Impacted Communities

Partner with social organizations, activists, and grassroots leaders to better understand diverse perspectives.
Avoid top-down DEI policies—instead, co-create solutions with marginalized employees and stakeholders.
Seek regular third-party assessments to evaluate progress objectively.

📌 Example: Before launching a new financial product, a bank could consult with rural entrepreneurs, disability advocates, and LGBTQ+ groups to ensure it truly meets diverse needs.

🔹 5. Respond to Mistakes with Accountability, Not Just Apologies

If a company faces backlash for a DEI misstep, respond with actionable steps for improvement.
Avoid defensive PR statements—instead, focus on listening, learning, and implementing changes.
Follow up to show long-term commitment beyond a one-time fix.

📌 Example: A tech company that misgenders employees in internal systems shouldn’t just apologize—it should update databases, retrain teams, and ensure inclusive practices moving forward.

Final Thoughts

The fear of making mistakes shouldn’t paralyze action. Companies that embrace learning, iteration, and accountability will build truly inclusive workplaces and products. Progress matters more than perfection—as long as organizations are willing to listen, adapt, and do better.

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