MNC employees go on Pride walk

American multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE) organised Pride walks across 10 of its campuses in India, including Bengaluru, on Thursday. June is observed as Pride Month in many countries to highlight the struggles faced by the LGBTQIA+ community and pledge support to them.

Around 400 employees turned up for the Pride walk at its John F Welch Technology Centre in Whitefield and marched for about 20 minutes inside the campus.

After the walk, Alok Nanda, CTO GE South Asia & CEO GE India Technology Centre, spoke to Metrolife about their vision for building an inclusive work culture.

He says GE provides insurance coverage and relocation packages to same-sex partners. They extend insurance coverage for gender reassignment surgeries. They have a strong allyship programme to support the queer community. They also hold events like ‘Inclusion Dialogues’ to foster an environment of inclusivity.

As part of their Transgender Equality Policy, they have gender-neutral restrooms on every floor of the Whitefield campus. Their policy is in sync with the Indian law, he informed.

Neerja Bhardwaj, head of HR, GE India Technology Centres, said that GE is a meritocracy based organisation and there are no biases in the pay scale with respect to somebody’s gender.

“We are looking at equity as a way to create equal outcomes for all diverse communities,” Alok said and informed that GE plans to launch more programmes for the welfare of the LGBTQIA+ community in the coming months.