Panelists at the Kolkata Queer-Trans Rojgaar Mela 2024 (left to right) – Aritra Chatterjee (moderator), Anubhuti Banerjee (Senior Manager, Tata Steel), Shaman Gupta (Co-founder, Misfyt), Aritra Kanjilal (Director of Product Management, NielsonIQ) | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
Kolkata hosted a Trans-Queer Rojgaar Mela (Employment Fair) to help create a more gender-inclusive workforce. It brought together a diverse community of stakeholders committed to advancing Trans-Queer inclusion in the workforce. Discussions were held on government policies supporting Trans-Queer employment, inclusive hiring practices, and strategies to overcome workplace challenges.
The event was organised by Sappho for Equality (activisit forum for lesbian, bisexual woman, and transman rights), and Misfyt (Trans Youth Foundation) to help bridge the gap between livelihood concerns of queer and transgender people and advocating for their inclusion in the mainstream workforce. Notable companies like Zomato, EY, CINI, Concentrix, Delhivery, and others were present at the event and participated in mentoring and hiring the candidates present at the fair.
Delhivery company representatives at the Kolkata Queer-Trans Rojgaar Mela speaking to various candidates and discussing job prospects at their company. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
Sumit Agarwal, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advisor to Fortune 500 companies and Niti Aayog (MOC) said in his keynote address, “We are such a diverse country with diverse cultures, why can’t we accept that some people are a little different from us emotionally or physically?” He motivated the 100+ candidates and adviced them, “Don’t let people tell you what you can and can’t do. No one else can decide your journey.”
He also highlighted that it is time that Fortune 500 companies stopped speaking about which bathrooms trans people should use and make the discussion about what value these people bring to the table when they are hired in a company. He said, “Hire queer-trans people not just for the diversity quotient. Hire them because it is morally right and believe in the diversity.”
Chief Guest, Hugh Boylan – Australian Consul-General in Kolkata, in his address said that there can be no justification for excluding queer people from the workspace for their gender identity. He said, “Human rights belong to everyone, no matter who they are and who they love. Inclusion is important to help queer people reach their full economic potential. It is good business and good for the job overall market.”
Community Speaks
Koyel Ghosh, Managing Trustee, Sappho for Equality mentioned how they themselves have worked in six different schools and had to leave each job because they were expected to dress a certain way and follow binary societal rules to be included in the system. They said that even after trans-queer people are hired by companies, they face regular problems at the workplace. Some of the problems they highlighted were, microaggressions, lack of inclusive infrastructure, transphobic-homophobic behavioural advances/remarks, lack of safeguarding policies, sexual and physical harassment, lack of awareness, and more.
Queer couple and prospective job seekers at the fair, Debanjali Dutta and Saheb Mallick, said how both faced backlash from their families because of their relationship and gender identity. They had to leave home due to a hostile situation and took refuge at the Sappho for Equality’s temporary shelter for five months. They are now looking for jobs to be economically independent, so they do not have to go back to their ancestral homes and face more hostility.
Debanjali said, “My English and computer skills are not great due to lack of access to training. That has been a disadvantage in the job market. But Sappho’s support has helped me overcome many barriers and I got hired to work for the Vande Bharat Express.”
Aritra Kanjilal, Director of Product Management, NielsonIQ, a non-binary person, part of the panel discussion pointed out that gender inclusive workspaces do not happen overnight, it’s a process where all stakeholders should be equally involved in bringing about change. He said, “Companies can’t be perfect with their policies, but they need to have the intention to fix it.”
Shaman Gupta, Co-founder of Misfyt said, “Employers should build a culture of inclusivity, so candidates feel less anxious about applying. Queer-trans candidates don’t apply to many jobs because they don’t know if the company will be accepting of their identity.”
Policies of inclusivity
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 have created provisions to address livelihood concerns of transgender individuals by foregrounding scopes to access safe and secure workplaces. However, there is a severe lack in onground implementation of DE&I policies and networking with the larger community folks with prospective employers/companies.
Dharna Gulati and Gulshan Jha, team leads at Zomato present at the event told The Hindu, “Our current hiring practices are already inclusive, but we are trying to make things even better. People are now more accepting of facts and open to conversation about gender.” They also highlighted that they only choose candidates based on qualification and abilities and do not discriminate based on any other factors.
In a positive move in July, the Calcutta High Court had also ordered a 1% quota for transgenders in public employment. But there remains a social barrier between job quotas and people from the community making it to the job. Lack of accessibility to the basics has also been a major roadblock for the community.
Anubhuti Banerjee, Senior Manager (IT), Tata Steel pointed out that when she joined the company 12 years back there was not much policy around inclusivity. When she got the chance, she pioneered the change in her workspace, and it was welcomed by her colleagues even if they were new to the idea. She encouraged the candidates to make policy changes in their companies if they ever found the opportunity.
The Kolkata Trans-Queer Employment Fair marked a significant step towards fostering gender inclusion in the workplace by facilitating dialogue and action among diverse stakeholders. It underscored that genuine inclusivity begins when the hiring of trans-queer individuals is met with respect and acceptance, rather than prejudice or discrimination.
