How can a culture of DEI be built in a company? Soumyajit Pradhan, Deputy General Manager (Human Resources) at GIL Chemicals, speaks to Poonam Burman, CHRO at Godrej Industries Limited (Chemicals) on DEI in field roles like sales and manufacturing, owning goals, and starting conversations that lead to collective responsibility. (Editor’s Note: The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Soumyajit: What is your definition of diversity and inclusion? What does it mean to you?
Poonam: For me diversity is when each human being irrespective of caste, creed, economic or social background, sexual orientation, disability – i.e., any human being feels supported in achieving the highest human potential. Creating that environment, that culture which is enabling goes a long way. I also understand that we can’t do everything in one go. So, we need to take focused steps to enhance workplace diversity and here at GIL Chemicals we are starting with gender. We are also taking baby steps towards building a workplace with more PWD & diverse gender and sexual identities. I firmly believe that “diversity is a fact – inclusion is an act.”
Soumyajit: What has influenced your thinking around DEI and motivated you to get involved in being an advocate for change?
Poonam: My personal purpose or philosophy of life is challenging the status quo for a better future for humanity. Firstly, I do that by bringing diverse human beings from different backgrounds to create a better future together. I firmly believe that a single individual alone cannot gain all possible perspectives on their own. They need diverse individuals in and around them for diverse perspectives. And further, this is the only way of doing business, with sustainable growth. Because a business should be consistently connected with customers of different perspectives, and co-create products which are of value for a diverse set of customers. This links back to a key pillar of the Godrej business strategy – people and the planet alongside profit. And DEI is reflected consistently across GIL Chemicals’ Purpose, Vision, Strategy and Action plan.
Soumyajit: How far along the DEI journey do you feel GIL Chemicals is at?
Poonam: We are somewhere mid-way in our DEI journey at GIL Chemicals. Having said that, the biggest unlock that has happened is the alignment that each one of us is responsible for enhancing diversity and being inclusive. It’s not just the DEI metrics of which we’re mindful. It’s our collective role in creating a culture where all of us believe that DEI is integral to doing business sustainably over the long term. What I see is that some inertia has been taken care of through consistent efforts across the organisation. Now it’s a matter of replicating our best practices and taking it everywhere while being mindful of the challenges and course correcting as and when required.
Soumyajit: What success/outcomes has GIL Chemicals realised from diversity initiatives or best practices?
Poonam: Externally, we have leveraged the industry-academia collaboration to build a strong partnership that ensures we have a good talent pool. Internally we have created a robust mechanism of ongoing deep-stay connects with women, done monthly by leadership and the HR team. Further we have created a customised onboarding program to bring them up to speed with the intricacies of the chemicals business.
The biggest win for us has been the creation of the mindset of owning the DEI agenda. So, DEI is not something that is driven only by HR but owned by the whole business. Now that we have tested the waters through pilot initiatives, everyone is confident that this is an imperative for sustainable business. The second big win is the acceptance of DEI interventions by the traditional workforce of our manufacturing setup, and how welcoming and supportive they have been for the newer workforce primarily comprising women. Together they have helped create a culture which is more inclusive. And the third big win is we have moved the needle significantly in gender diversity representation from 13% a year ago to 18% in December 2024 and we will be close to 20% in March 2025. For the first time, all functions and all levels have gender diversity representation.
Soumyajit: How have you gotten the entire organisation on board the DEI journey at GIL Chemicals?
Poonam: Culture building starts from the top with senior leadership buy-in. The best and most effective way of onboarding the entire organisation on DEI is by communicating the ‘Why’ clearly and consistently. Why and then how will it help the business, how does it contribute to building a sustainable business.
Also, what has helped us is demonstrated success through excellent execution. When we started the pilot at Ambernath, we went from 4 to 40 but that’s not the whole story. The real deal lies in the minutest of the details that we took care of. Everyone clearly saw the benefits when all the business metrics in the respective functions remained the same instead of any adverse impact. Further what has kept the ball rolling is the camaraderie that has been built across all the locations with the coming together for events and celebrations and positive interactions. We felt that this should be replicated. Hence, we doubled down on this at Valia and plan to do the same at our two recently acquired sites.
Soumyajit: What would you consider to be the most challenging thing about implementing and translating the DEI vision into reality?
Poonam: The first is building the infrastructure and ecosystem within and beyond our factories, because when done at scale it requires significant investments and that takes time and effort. We have overcome this by designing and implementing customised and nuanced support systems & policies and we have taken a phased approach for that.
Next, although not a challenge but an ask that I have from the diversity talent we hire is that of mindset. They should be prepared to be evaluated on the same high standards of performance and job role expectations as the traditional or regular workforce. There are no shortcuts. And they should be ready to take on challenging & different assignments. And that’s how there will be better acceptability in the organisation, be it field roles in sales or manufacturing. We can ensure equity by allocating resources and opportunities. However, when it comes to performance then we view it from the lens of equality. Hence continuous communication is important with this cohort.
Soumyajit: What is the best piece of advice for getting started with the DEI journey in the chemicals sector?
Poonam: I understand that the diversity representation in chemicals and manufacturing is low and somewhere between 8% to 11%. However, enhancing it is definitely doable. To begin with, industry leaders who are invested in DEI should start with why when it comes to communicating their DEI vision. Next, they need to build a robust talent pool by actively partnering with academia, because readymade talent pools will not be available due to historical reasons. Also, they need to create a supportive system which is inclusive and create a customised learning and development plan specific to the women cohort. And there is no reason why women cannot be deployed in any role. Having done all this, it is just a matter of taking it forward with confidence and being consistent about it.
Text and Image from GIL Chemicals' DEI team.