Harshitha S Kumar, COO, Radiance Renewables
Why Is Inclusion Critical for Businesses?
Diversity, equity and inclusion is very important for any organisation to ensure growth as well as profitability. In five areas, DEI can significantly impact the performance of the organisation, mainly winning talent, improving the quality of decision making since we get multiple perspectives, increase customer insight and innovation, driving employee motivation & satisfaction and finally better image of the company.
What steps can be taken to inspire inclusion in the MSME sector?
To support inclusion in the workplace, companies need to invest deeply in all aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion. More efforts to be put to ensure such as
- Promotion is equitable,
- Tracking of representation, hiring and promotion
- Senior leaders to be held accountable to ensure DEI goals
- Continuous training of employees on DEI including various biases both conscious and unconscious bias
- More role models for the youngsters to look up to
National surveys peg women entrepreneurship at 20% in the MSME sector and hence creating a robust ecosystem (regulatory, cultural, and economic) of support for women entrepreneurs is critical to bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Six critical needs of the ecosystem for entrepreneurs are mentoring & networking, access to finance, entrepreneurship promotion, training or skilling, market linkages and business support services. The government can develop schemes for ensuring access to all the above five critical areas for women entrepreneurs in an integrated approach rather than fragmented. These steps can collectively cultivate a more inclusive Indian startup landscape.
What’s your message for womenfolk across India, on International Women’s Day?
On International Women's Day, I'd encourage my fellow women across India to embrace their strengths, celebrate their achievements, and continue to break barriers in every walk of life. Empowerment starts within, so let's support one another, uplift each other's aspirations, and strive for equality not just today, but every day. Let’s try to get over all the conscious and unconscious bias through performance and achieving our goals. Let's strive to be the role model through our achievements and motivate the young girls to aim higher. Keep shining, growing, and advocating for a world where every woman's contribution is acknowledged and valued.
