India’s Tata Steel has announced that it is rolling out new inclusion policies to ensure its LGBTQ+ employees have access to equal rights and equal benefits.
In a bid to become a ‘world-class equal opportunity employer where everyone is respected and every voice is heard’, it has introduced equal benefits for same sex partners who are ‘living like a married couple’.
Under its expanded Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) policy, Tata Steel employees and their partners will be able to take advantage of several benefits, which used to be limited to spouses of the opposite gender, confirmed Tata Steel. These include health check-ups, medical benefits, joint house points, adoption leave, new-born parent leave, child care leave and inclusion in the company’s employee assistance programme. They will also be eligible for Tata Executive Holiday Plan, honeymoon package, domestic travel coverage for new employees, temporary transfer policy, as well as transfer and relocation packages.
The new policy will entitle same-sex partners to be equally included in any event, big or small (from official gatherings to off-shore corporate event). All partners will also now be eligible to take part in the company’s ‘Take-2 Initiative’ – a career returner programme for spouses. Now any partner on a career break will be eligible to apply, confirms Tata Steel. To reinforce the culture of inclusion for its LGBTQ+ community, employees will be entitled to financial assistance for gender reassignment surgery, including 30 days of special leave to recuperate, said the company.
REINFORCING INCLUSION
“Providing equitable policies and benefits creates a level playing field for all employees and sets common standards across locations. Research shows that people are more engaged with and committed to an organisation that has policies protecting LGBTQ+ employees,” stated Suresh Dutt Tripathi, Vice President, Human Resource Management of Tata Steel. “In fact, enacting LGBTQ+ inclusive policies have been shown to decrease the instances of LGBTQ+ discrimination at work.”
Over the last few years, Tata Steel has made significant progress in the field of gender equality. Its D&I programme started taking shape with the launch of a diversity group called ‘MOSAIC’ in June 2015. MOSAIC facilitates diversity of gender, hiring and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, LGBTQ+ and more. In line with its vision of ‘creating an enabling workplace for all diverse groups’, Tata Steel launched WINGS, a LGBTQ+ employee resource group, back in May 2018. It has also since introduced several ‘ground-breaking’ policies, practices and initiatives for various segments of the workforce, such as menstrual leave and adoption leave (which single male & transgender staff are able to apply to), according to the company.
“Tata Steel has been a pioneer in the field of Diversity and Inclusion in the country. The company’s vision is to be a world-class equal opportunity employer where everyone is respected and every voice is heard,” added Atrayee S Sanyal, Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Group HR and Chief HRM at Tata Steel. “It is a constant endeavour of the company to create an enabling workplace for all diverse groups, respecting and embracing the differences in the individuals. We have rolled out these LGBTQ+ inclusive policies, in line with this ideology.”
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