Jagriti Kumar, Chief Financial Officer, NLB Services

“Being a woman in leadership, I have witnessed all the odds in my journey. Thus, this day clearly is very near to my heart. However, today, I would not like to talk about commemorating the efforts of women from all walks of life. I would rather want to highlight a pressing issue—paying equity to women in the workplace.

Equity in the workplace is not just a choice, but it’s a social imperative that we can’t turn away from. This year’s theme, #EmbraceEquity, sheds light on why and how equality is not enough. Coming from different social backgrounds, everyone needs equitable opportunities issued from the required source to achieve the same output. I personally feel that equity requires a big hug in the workplace where we often ignore the idea of fair play.

From job applications to employee policies, we somehow inject discrimination in the name of giving equal opportunities. We think our DEI efforts are enough to give women the footing they need. But are they really? One fair example of exhibiting equity in the workplace includes installing inclusive training programs that are flexible in nature to accommodate every individual’s need because, let’s agree, not everybody has the privilege to get the same level of education. Therefore, this should not be a roadblock in somebody’s growth journey. We are entering an era of digital transformation where creating an equitable organization is not just a duty, but a mandate to deliver desired results.”