Business school students, faculty interact with LGBTQ community

CHANDIGARH: Joining the national and international movement for LGBTQ education and sensitisation during the ongoing Pride Month, the Indian School of Business (ISB),

Mohali

organised an interaction with Parmesh Shahani, from Godrej Culture Labs and Nitisha Biswas, India’s first transgender beauty queen and model here on Saturday.

The interaction was followed by an

LGBT

Pride Parade with the students and faculty members of ISB.

Shahani, a proud gay man, is widely recognised among the first LGBTQ activists from the country and has also authored a book titled ‘Gay Bombay: Globalisation, Love and Belonging in Contemporary India’ back in 2008. Speaking to TOI, Shahani, who is a TED senior fellow, Yale World Fellow, World Economic Forum young global leader and academy member for the Global Teach Prize said, “We need role models in our everyday lives. Without examples in the society, most of us find it difficult to relate with the world and I am glad to say that the LGBT discourse is changing nowadays. More people are coming out and many heterosexual people are stepping forth for LGBT support.”

However, recounting the time when being gay was perceived a ‘singular and isolated’ experience in this country, Shahani said, “We did not see examples of gay people in our society. All the gay people were in American Sitcoms and it was a very difficult time. But things have changed for the better,” he remarked.

On becoming an inclusive workspace, Shahani said, “Policies should be amended to create equal opportunities, while creating an environment for LGBTQ inclusiveness through talks, festivals, performances etc.”

Another study points out that exclusiveness of the LGBTQ people directly impacts the countries economy and GDP and has resulted in the potential loss of $3.2billion.

Nitisha Biswas, Miss India at Miss International Queen, won the first-ever transgender beauty contest in 2018 and believes in equal opportunity. She told TOI, “We keep talking about equality, but forget equality of opportunity is the basics. I am waiting for a time when firms like Converges will appoint transgender CEOs,” she added.

Biswas also highlighted the “silent discrimination” towards transgenders in the form of ‘longer working hours, denial of promotions and increments among others at workplaces.