Challenges in managing workplace diversity in India

Workplace diversity has come a long way in India since its independence in 1947. Initially, it targeted caste and religion, eventually giving way to promoting marginalised groups. Today workplace diversity has mutated exponentially to include a range of factors such as gender, sexual orientation, and disabilities. This article discusses relevant workplace diversity laws in India, followed by a review of recent developments such as the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Code and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) data in creating their implementation and monitoring.

Workplace diversity and inclusivity laws in India

Workplace diversity and inclusivity laws refer to the legal measures in place to make an inclusive and fair work environment where equal values and opportunities are provided to all individuals and members related to the workplace, regardless of their caste, religion, and disability status (Smith, 2020). The Indian government and businesses change their policies and culture from time to time because of the growing demand for equality, diversity, and inclusivity in the workplace.

The Constitution of India’s DEI principles are a part of a person’s fundamental rights. Under Article 14, “equality before the law and equal protections before statutes”, under Article 15, “prohibition of the discrimination of any citizen due to their religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth”, and under Article 16, “the equality of opportunity for every citizen in the matter of employment is granted” are relevant to the cause (Haq et al., 2020).

Creating a diverse workplace helps organizations improve innovation capacity and employee engagement. Strong workplace diversity and inclusion also ensure fairness and respectfulness in the workplace (Haq et al., 2020). Diversity encompasses a wide range of distinctions among all individuals in any work environment such as differences in race, gender, sexual identity, ethnicity, nationality, disability, and more. On the other hand, inclusion develops a diverse work environment where all members of an organization genuinely feel accepted, secure, and embraced. A workplace without embracing its true spirit of inclusion may be run by discrimination from a legal standpoint (Jaiswal & Dyaram, 2020).

Diversity and inclusivity laws maintain mandates for non-discrimination and equal opportunity in the workplace, such as:

1. Rights of Persons The Disabilities Act, 2016, the outline of equal opportunity must take steps to accommodate individuals with disabilities and also ensure their infrastructure according to the accessibility to disabled individuals.
2. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 addresses sexual harassment issues faced by women in the workplace. The aim of enacting this act is to provide a conducive and safe work environment.
3. According to the Equal Remuneration Act 1976, without any kind of discrimination during the procedure of requirement and retention, employers must provide equal payment for women and men who perform equal work (Jaiswal & Dyaram, 2020).
4. The aim of creating The Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 is to stop discrimination against transgender persons.

The Equal Remuneration Act, of 1976

It is one of the earliest Acts about workplace diversity in India. It came into force in February 1976 as an important legislation which aims to provide equal pay to women and men workers. It aimed to prevent gender-based discrimination related to employment. It not only provides women workers with the right to demand equal remuneration but also any inequality related to the requirement procedure, job training, transfer process and promotions within the organization can also be changed under this Act (Bailey et al., 2024).

The salient features of the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 are as follows.

• Under Section 2(e), if the nature of employment is not different, a female worker must not be paid a rate less than a male worker of a corresponding grade employed.
• If employment is not based on skills, performance, and capacity or the nature of the employment is essentially different then payment should be varied.
• Under Section 3(1) of “The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976”, no employer shall discriminate between women and men in favour of paying them lower wages for equal work or employment (Bailey et al., 2024).

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

This disabilities law was enacted by the Parliament in April 2017 to fulfil the obligations under the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, ratified by India in 2007. This Act is a replacement for the “Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995”. This Act is to ensure that all persons with disabilities can lead their lives with dignity, with equal opportunity, and without any kind of discrimination (Sharma & Gupta, 2020). It enacts specific provisions to endorse such rights.

There are 21 disabilities related to blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured persons, hearing impaired (deaf and hard of hearing), locomotor disability, dwarfism, intellectual disability, mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological condition, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, speech and language disability, thalassemia, haemophilia, sickle cell disease, multiple disabilities including deaf – blindness, acid attack victim and Parkinson’s disease (Sharma & Gupta, 2020).

The sexual harassment of Women in the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 also popularly called the POSH Act, was formed to protect women from sexual harassment in the workplace. The Act states that sexual harassment is:

• any unwelcome sexual behaviour, whether implied or directly expressed, with the cases of physical contact and advantages,
• any sexual favour demanded or requested,
• making any kind of remarks with sexual overtones,
• showing pornography or any other offensive material,
• acting through physical, verbal, or non-verbal means (Gupta& Garg, 2020).

There are several numbers of circumstances that can constitute sexual behaviour at the workplace such as:

• an explicit or implied threat related to someone’s employment status, present or future,
• interference with work offensive or hostile work environment or creating an intimidating working culture,
• any kind of humiliating treatment of a lady employee’s safety or health (Gupta& Garg, 2020).

Under Section 2(f), The POSH Act broadly defines employees as either regular, temporary, or ad hoc workers (Gupta& Garg, 2020). It states that an employee is an individual who is engaged in a daily wage position, a co-worker, a probationer, an apprentice, or a trainee, either directly or through an agent, whether remunerated or not, voluntarily or otherwise, whether or not impressed or implied in terms of employment. It is seen as a pathbreaking step in employee safety as it not only ensures protection against harassment but also creates guidelines for redressal mechanisms. On a large scale, this Act aims to make workplaces safer.

The transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019

The Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 came into force in January 2020 to protect the rights of transgender people and their welfare (Turban et al., 2021). It has had a significant impact on the lives of all transgender people in India. It is a landmark Act which brought them to par with other citizens of India. Under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, “the right to freedom of association” is guaranteed. The Act also clarifies that this freedom is not to be misled and protected from discrimination. It provides “the right, to privacy” and “the right to Movement” to the transgender people of India (Turban et al., 2021). This Act has been instrumental in reducing discrimination against transgenders and improving their living conditions and healthcare access.

Proposed Code of Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions (2020).

The Proposed Code of Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions (OSH) was enacted in September 2020 to protect the rights of workers engaged in factories, plantations, mines, bidi and cigar workers, the motor transport sector, contract, and migrant workers (Tamers et al., 2020). It lays conditions for health and safety conditions at dangerous workplaces by enforcing companies to set uniform safety standards, regulate work hours, ensure hygienic working environments, and provide health and safety training. It mandates the creation of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Boards at national and state levels to oversee and enforce compliance. The full extent of the impact is yet to be documented and assessed.

Inclusivity has a long way to go in Indian workplaces

Workplace diversity and inclusivity have a long way to go in India. Many companies, especially large-scale Indian companies and multinational giants have reported the adoption of diversity and inclusivity laws in their policy frameworks which has reduced discrimination against such persons to an extent. However, the major challenge for the marginalised population in India is social stigma and lack of awareness regarding their rights. Therefore the extent of success of laws introduced in the last ten years to reduce discrimination against marginalised populations and increase diversity is yet to be ascertained.

References

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• Tamers, S. L., Streit, J., Pana?Cryan, R., Ray, T., Syron, L., Flynn, M. A., . & Howard, J. (2020). Envisioning the future of work to safeguard the safety, health, and well-being of the workforce: A perspective from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. American journal of industrial medicine, 63(12), 1065-1084.
• Turban, J. L., Kraschel, K. L., & Cohen, I. G. (2021). Legislation to criminalize gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. JAMA, 325(22), 2251-2252.