India Workplace Equality Index

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Country’s first LGBT+ India Workplace Equality Index launched

About India Workplace Equality Index

It is India’s First comprehensive benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on lesbian, gay, bi, and trans (LGBT+) inclusion in the workplace
The IWEI empowers organizations to navigate the challenges of embedding LGBT+ inclusion and provides them with a clear roadmap to follow
The IWEI comes two years after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Section 377.
This year, Keshav Suri Foundation (KSF), Pride Circle and Stonewall have partnered to create the India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI)
The IWEI follows in the footsteps of Stonewall’s UK WEI. This benchmarking tool has been used by employers over the last 15 years to assess their achievements and progress on LGBT+ workplace equality in the UK.
This index measures nine areas, such as policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group, allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement and additional work.

Background

In September 2018, the Apex Court ruled unanimously in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India that Section 377 was unconstitutional “in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex”.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that consensual sexual acts between adults cannot be a crime, deeming the prior law “irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible.”
The judgment was given by a five judges bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra
Section 377 states that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.