Axis Bank diversity charter to empower staff, clients – Times of India
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Mumbai: Axis Bank has taken several HR measures to bring equality to employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ community as part of its strategy to promote diversity and inclusion.
The private lender on Monday announced a ‘ComeAsYouAre’ charter of policies and practices that will apply to those within the organisation and customers. The bank said that this charter is in keeping with the spirit of the Supreme Court verdict on September 6, 2018 on Section 377, which ruled that all sexual relationships between consenting adults in private should be decriminalised.
While multinational banks have already in place a diversity charter in keeping with their global practices, Axis Bank is the first among domestic lenders to publicly announce a charter. Under this charter, employees can list their partners for mediclaim benefits irrespective of gender, sex or marital status. Employees can dress following their gender or gender expression.
“We recognise that employees could have gender or gender expression that’s different from their sex assigned at birth. They can choose to dress in accordance with their gender/gender expression,” the bank said. Employees can also choose to use the restroom of their choice following their gender expression/gender identity.
For customers, the bank has allowed the opening of savings accounts with their same-sex partners and choose them as their nominees. Customers who are gender non-binary, gender fluid or transgender persons will have the option of choosing their title from the option of ‘Mx’ in their savings or term deposit account.
“This for us is as much about the invisible markers as it is about the visible ones. We believe that it fosters a culture of innovation and leverages the multiple talent pools that exist in a rich demography like ours,” Axis Bank ED Rajesh Dahiya said. “Among our bank’s wider ESG-aligned commitments, the ‘diversity & inclusion’ agenda has been a strategic focus. Towards that, our work internally focuses on creating equitable processes and policies that allow us to create space for everyone to thrive,” he added.
The private lender on Monday announced a ‘ComeAsYouAre’ charter of policies and practices that will apply to those within the organisation and customers. The bank said that this charter is in keeping with the spirit of the Supreme Court verdict on September 6, 2018 on Section 377, which ruled that all sexual relationships between consenting adults in private should be decriminalised.
While multinational banks have already in place a diversity charter in keeping with their global practices, Axis Bank is the first among domestic lenders to publicly announce a charter. Under this charter, employees can list their partners for mediclaim benefits irrespective of gender, sex or marital status. Employees can dress following their gender or gender expression.
“We recognise that employees could have gender or gender expression that’s different from their sex assigned at birth. They can choose to dress in accordance with their gender/gender expression,” the bank said. Employees can also choose to use the restroom of their choice following their gender expression/gender identity.
For customers, the bank has allowed the opening of savings accounts with their same-sex partners and choose them as their nominees. Customers who are gender non-binary, gender fluid or transgender persons will have the option of choosing their title from the option of ‘Mx’ in their savings or term deposit account.
“This for us is as much about the invisible markers as it is about the visible ones. We believe that it fosters a culture of innovation and leverages the multiple talent pools that exist in a rich demography like ours,” Axis Bank ED Rajesh Dahiya said. “Among our bank’s wider ESG-aligned commitments, the ‘diversity & inclusion’ agenda has been a strategic focus. Towards that, our work internally focuses on creating equitable processes and policies that allow us to create space for everyone to thrive,” he added.
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