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July 13, 2023, Mumbai: The winners of the inaugural Bombay Chamber DEI Awards were announced at a glittering ceremony at Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai last night. With Ernst & Young as thought partners, the Awards saw a whopping 83 nominations from 51 companies across 5 categories: Disability Confidence and Inclusion Award, LGBTQ+ Inclusion Award, Gender Equality Champion Award, DEI Award for Program and DEI Champion Award. To encourage Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in creating inclusive workplaces, the Chamber instituted a Special MSME Award. The Chamber received a total of 12 MSME nominations across categories.

In his Welcome address, Nilesh Shah, President, Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Group President and MD, Kotak Mahindra AMC said, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DEI is important to company culture because it fosters creativity, fresh perspectives, and understanding. What’s more, Diverse and Inclusive workplaces allow employees to work together as equally valued contributors. In fact, workplaces that prioritise diversity and inclusion efforts have been statistically proven to be safer, happier and more productive work environments. From improving employee productivity and creativity to reducing turnover rates and boosting employee morale, strong DEI can be good for your bottomline. But it is prudent to remember here that the change must start with ourselves as people. When things change within you, things will change around you.”

While setting the theme for the Awards ceremony, Ritesh Tiwari, President Designate, Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and CFO, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Unilever South Asia said, “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are not just moral imperatives but essential drivers of business success. It is therefore important to understand and appreciate that driving DEI is not just an HR priority, it is a powerful business imperative. It is not a box to be checked or a token gesture; it is the very foundation on which our businesses are built. In essence for me, DEI is about two key elements – creating equal opportunities and secondly, an environment of psychology safety. As leaders of India Inc, it is important to recognise that it is really upon us to set the tone on this. The consumers we serve are diverse in gender, thoughts, ethnicity, abilities and so on and therefore our organisations catering to them cannot be any different.”

Moderating a panel discussion on Changing Dynamics of DEI in India Inc, Meenakshi Priyam, Chairperson of the Chamber’s D&I Committee and CHRO, Udaan said, “As a nation we have a rich tapestry of diversity in our heritage. The journey of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – a vast area that includes gender balance across genders but even more – is critical for the growth of our nation and industry. We still have a journey ahead as an industry in this space. These Awards brought to fore such inspiring and world leading work that companies are doing to further this agenda and we feel privileged to enable it. We hope that this continues to be a platform to engage, dialogue and celebrate DEI across large corporates and MSMEs as we move ahead.”

The panelists included Dr. Indu Shahani, Founding President & Chancellor, ATLASSkillTech University; Ravindra Kumar, CHRO, Tata Motors; Sushant aka Rani Ko-He-Nur, Performing Artiste-Singer/Actor and Equal Rights Champion and Sachin Rajan, MD, Russell Reynolds Associates.

The Winners of the Bombay Chamber DEI Awards 2023:

Category: Disability Confidence & Inclusion Award

Winner: Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited

1st Runner Up: LTIMindtree

2nd Runner Up: Deutsche Bank Group India

Category: LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Award

Winner: Godrej Properties Limited

1st Runner Up: Axis Bank

2nd Runner Up: LTIMindtree

Category: Gender Equality Champion Award

Winner: Godrej Consumer Products Limited

1st Runner Up: Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt. Ltd.

2nd Runner Up: Standard Chartered Bank, India

Category: DEI Award for Program

Winner: Tata Motors Limited

1st Runner Up: Zomato Limited

2nd Runner Up: Indian Hotels Company Limited

Category: Special Award for MSMEs

Winner: NICHEM SOLUTIONS

1st Runner Up: AIRA Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

2nd Runner Up: HTMC Group

Category: DEI Champion Award

Winner: Tech Mahindra Limited

1st Runner Up: LTIMindtree

2nd Runner Up: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited