Havas India launches initiative to foster gender diversity
Even as brands and their creative partners craft campaigns rallying around diversity and inclusion (D&I), some of the agencies are hoping to walk the talk by fostering gender diversity within their folds also. One such is the Havas Group India which recently announced the launch of an initiative towards promoting gender diversity and women leadership - ‘Women who Inspire’.
Walking the talk around gender diversity
Within the D&I agenda, gender-diversity is one of the most hot-button issues across the globe and especially in India, and the pandemic has made the workplace issues even more complex as increasingly people are working from home and navigating the work-life balance. This is made even more complex for women who are doing more multi-tasking than ever before, in the wake of the pandemic. This initiative is designed to bring about a cultural transformation and mindset shift within the constituent agencies and also build a diverse and strong workforce.
Diversity dilemma - getting the context right and making it locally relevant
When asked on how this launch helps in taking the Havas brand narrative forward in a world that has got extremely connected and also a tad bit intolerant, Rana Barua, CEO of Havas Group India shares with The Drum, "the group’s initiatives are driven by the cultural context and requirement of each region and country."
- Globally there have been many diversity-led initiatives and he shared the examples of bespoke employee assistance programs Havas rolled out for its Black employees, inclusive leadership and action training with DE&I experts for over 550 leaders across North America, office closures for solidarity and reflection across North America and the UK. Also, toolkits for all its employees with learning resources and guidance on tackling racism and discrimination in and outside of the business are some of the other initiatives, he adds.
- Though early days yet but for now, it is an India-specific initiative only, says Barua though the company may explore taking it to the other APAC markets at a later stage.
How exactly would the initiative bring about the change?
- As the world gets ready for the next phase of growth post-Covid, companies must adapt to newer ways of working. As per Vandana Tilwani, CHRO, Havas Group who is leading this initiative “this different way of working would involve merging of work and life, remote working and adapting to agile and flexible team structures. The future work-place would also need to look at breaking of many fixed rules and becoming a gender-diverse organization.”
- The communication group has announced a core group made of representatives from its constituent six agencies, with a mandate to discuss key issues, opportunities, and changes relevant for the group as a whole and also recognize and celebrate the great work done by the women leaders across the group. Havas Group in India operates across 3 groups - Havas Media Group, Havas Creative Group and Havas Health Group – and six specialist agencies present across three villages in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. The specialist agencies part of this initiative include Havas Media, Arena Media, Tribes (out-of-home), Havas (integrated creative), Think Design Havas (design), Langoor Havas (digital), Shobiz Havas (experiential marketing) and Havas Life Sorento (healthcare).