CHENNAI : The gathered crowd falls silent as the roar of a passing train fills the room. The air shakes ever-so-slightly and a gust of air rushes into the room. Once it subsides, the conversation continues. An interactive session was held at the shelter for transpersons run by Thozhi at Chetpet. Around 20 employees from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch took part in the event, which was held in association with PeriFerry on Friday.
The session was a conversation between employees and residents of the shelter, who spoke on issues such as transitioning, family and acceptance of different sexualities. “Money is everything,” said Sayeeda Saera Ali Fathima, programme manager, Thozhi. “Transitioning is expensive, but many here suffer from other issues like wheezing and some require dialysis. We get `22.50 each for dinner from the government, and `5 for tea and biscuits. In this economy, that’s not enough. And what about the other meals?” The shelter hosts around 50 transwomen, who either work in a company, as domestic help, or beg to support themselves financially.
Economic loss
The estimated economic loss that India faces due to the exclusion of LGBTQ community from work force is around 0.1 to 1.7 per cent of the GDP, which can amount to around $26 billion a year. This was the preliminary result recorded in a study conducted by MV Lee Badgett, professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst for the World Bank.
Calling for more companies to direct CSR funds to worthy LGBTQIA organisations, Sayeeda added that employment in the formal sector will provide members from the community a regular income to supplement their daily lifestyles. Both Sayeeda and Neelam Jain, founder of PeriFerry, said that sensitisation workshops for other employees and skill training workshops for trans employees must be held.
“Gender neutral-policies on discrimination and benefits will help maintain a diverse workspace. Making these policies not specific to women is a basic step for inclusion. The trans community also needs training for the soft skills required in a corporate set-up,” said Neelam. In a study PeriFerry conducted with 500 transwomen, only 30 per cent were job ready and had the skillsets to be employed. Neelam added that job retention for transwomen in the informal sector was at 60 per cent while in formal sector it was 100 per cent. The main cause for poor retention is the lack of employee benefits and good salaries.
Jobs with benefits
A paper titled A Manifesto for Trans Inclusion in the Indian Workplace by Nayanika Nambiar with Parmesh Shahani conducted in association with Godrej India Culture Lab also suggests that diverse workplaces helps improve PR and keep up with millennials. “India’s new generation is slowly developing into an ethical consumer base.
Millennials want their purchases and the brands they endorse to reflect their politics — which is inseparable from their identity… Consumer tastes and needs are rapidly evolving, and companies need to align themselves with their diverse customer base. They can do this by beginning with their corporate culture. In a competitive marketplace, inclusive companies have a wider client base and well as more markets to access,” said the paper.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch also conducts several educational and interactive programmes for their employees through their India LGBTQ Chapter. “We want to look at diversity and inclusion in a holistic sense, which includes gender, sexuality and disability, from all angles. Through discussion, we can find the similarities in each other, and realise that we are all equal,” said Sudhir Jain, course sponsor and chief risk officer, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The bank offers equal employee benefits, gender-neutral bathrooms and conduct seminars and talks to create a diverse workplace.
Twenty-five-year-old resident Janani sums up her thoughts with a simple request. “I don’t want you to make what we go through into a big deal. Just look at me as your friend or as a sister. I am a normal human being who deserves happiness, and a job will greatly help us towards that,” she said.