COVID-19 had a positive impact in Indian workplace

As businesses across markets and sectors reflect on the rapid global transformation, companies need to hear a first-person point of view on the state of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) in India.

In India, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for businesses to rework the workplace model and adapt to the newer hybrid ones. About 81% of the business leaders surveyed in India said that these workplace disruptions caused by the pandemic had a positive impact on DE&I in their organization, Intel’s recent survey found out.

It has also shown how remote workspaces and hybrid work models have been successful for achieving DE&I goals. Furthermore, 71% of business leaders said that their organization has significantly adapted DE&I initiatives for a hybrid workforce, Intel added.

Organizations are at an inflection point in how they use DE&I into their systems, culture, and leadership expectations. About 69% of survey participants who have set DE&I goals said they want to achieve them in the next two years, and 77% of those are confident in the company’s ability to do so, the survey discovered.

Technology plays a key role in achieving DE&I goals as 94% of respondents with a hybrid workforce in India agreed that technology will make it easier to achieve their DE&I goals.

Meanwhile, over half of respondents said that exploring how technology might help them improve their DE&I commitments is one of their top three priorities by next year.

The impact of COVID-19 on inclusivity showed that remote work and digitalization has made it “easier” to hire from underrepresented groups. On the other hand, 55% of the respondents said COVID-driven negative impact on DE&I said that working remotely has made inclusivity more challenging.

More wiggle room for stakeholder, financial and industrywide investment as business leaders believe companies to invest more in systems and initiatives that promote DE&I, Intel said.

A skilled employee is the key to a successful business and it wants to equip them with training, development, and support as it is critical for the company’s own use.

Finally, 48% said their organization has introduced new DE&I training for senior leadership over the past year and accepted the shift to remote work in 2020. In addition, 46% of leaders surveyed said they would welcome global benchmarks and industry standards for DE&I and want more collaboration across the industry as it relates to inclusion.