IMB 921

LGBTQ + INCLUSION AT THOUGHTWORKS, INDIA

DEBOLINA DUTTA, AND VASANTHI SRINIVASAN

Debolina Dutta, Professor of Practice, OB & HR and Vasanthi Srinivasan, Professor, OB & HR, both at IIM Bangalore, prepared
this case for class discussion. The company cooperated and provided information to IIMB in connection with the preparation of
this case. No funding was received from ThoughtWorks for the development of this case. Except for Sudhir Tiwari (current
managing director of ThoughtWorks India as of October 2021) and Tina Vinod (Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,
Thoughtworks), other characters in this case study are anonymized. The case was reviewed and approved before publication by
a company designate. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or
inefficient handling of decision or business processes.

Copyright © 2022 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. No part of the publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) –
without the permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

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 LGBTQ+ Inclusion at ThoughtWorks India

The year was 2020. Tina Vinod (she/her), Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Thoughtworks, entered her
home office on a chilly December morning. She was grateful it was a Friday, and the approaching Christmas
weekend promised an opportunity to recuperate from the hectic schedule of the past few months. She anticipated
the following week to be quiet. Despite the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across industries,
Thoughtworks India had experienced a good year with minimum business slowdown. This was largely because
Thoughtworkers adapted to the new remote ways of working and meeting critical business and project needs.
Setting her cup of steaming coffee down, Vinod opened her laptop to respond to any emails and requests coming
her way.

A principal consultant of ThoughtWorks Chennai office had written about a new employee harassment case.
Rishi Krish (she/her), an employee, who had recently come out as a transwoman, had complained about the
homophobic behavior of her project manager, Vikas Mani (he/him). Mani was a new hire who had held a senior
position and led a critical client engagement. Additionally, other complaints had been raised against Mani in the
recent past. He was seen as disrespectful, displaying homophobic behavior, using slurs, and then dismiss the
incidents as jokes. The repetitive nature of these behaviors was a concern for Vinod because ThoughtWorks’
culture emphasized respect for colleagues and everyone they interacted with. The code of conduct had low
tolerance for harassment of any kind and any form of intimidation, physical or verbal threats, and other unwanted
or unwelcome actions, including demeaning statements about an individual.

Inclusivity was a critical aspect of ThoughtWorks’ culture, and non-inclusive behavior was unacceptable. Vinod had
already discussed this matter with Mani and his manager in earlier conversations. However, given the new
incident, she had to decide on an appropriate course of action.

Another email was from Sudhir Tiwari (he/him), Co-Managing Director, ThoughtWorks India. Nishit (he/him), a
trans man employee, was extremely active on social media regarding his concerns about the new Transgender Bill
2019. While none of his social media posts mentioned ThoughtWorks, the recent news coverage on activism
events by the LGBTQ+1 community had identified Nishit as representing ThoughtWorks. The news article suggested
that Nishit expressed his views as the official spokesperson for ThoughtWorks. Nishit had separately clarified to
Vinod that he had spoken to a friend in media in his personal capacity and not as a ThoughtWorks’ employee.
Although ThoughtWorks openly supported the LGBTQ+ community, it had steered clear of activism. After reading
the news article, Tiwari wanted Vinod to provide guidelines to employees who were passionately vocal about this
issue. What was ThoughtWorks’ responsibility toward creating an inclusive and equitable society? Sighing, Vinod
picked up the phone to call Tiwari. It appeared to be a hectic weekend of work for her, again.

ORGANIZATION CONTEXT

As a global technology consultancy integrating strategy, design, and software engineering for their clients, with
over 10,000 employees spread over 48 offices in 17 countries, ThoughtWorks 2 had developed a strong culture of
inclusion over the past 27 years. Amplifying the positive social change and advocating an equitable tech future
were among the company’s reasons for existence. While diversity is a societal reality, inclusion, and equity
required more deliberate action to create a sense of belongingness and authentic connection. ThoughtWorks’s
global footprint enabled cultural diversity. For instance, programs such as “Enegrecer” 3 from Brazil focused on
strengthening the company’s commitment to racial diversity. Another example was the “Vapasi” (a Hindi word
meaning “the return”) from India4 that enabled and trained women technologists who were on a career break and
wanted to return to work. The “WILD” 5 was a leadership development program for women and underrepresented

1
LGBTQ+ is a commonly used acronym to represent individuals who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning
2
https://www.thoughtworks.com/about-us last viewed on December 28, 2020.
3
https://www.thoughtworks.com/enegrecer last viewed on December 28, 2020.
4
https://www.thoughtworks.com/talktech/vapasi last viewed on December 28, 2020.
5
https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/all-women-are-leaders-wild last viewed on December 28, 2020.

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 LGBTQ+ Inclusion at ThoughtWorks India

gender minorities, and the “STEP”6 encouraged diploma students to intern, earn, and enhance their software and
soft skills capability while studying.

In 2018, the Supreme Court of India had scrapped Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalizing
“consensual unnatural sex between two consenting adults.” 7 After this landmark judgment, many organizations in
India initiated their LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion efforts. ThoughtWorks had consistently expressed solidarity
with the LGBTQ+ community even before India’s historic judgment in September 2018. The managing directors for
ThoughtWorks in India (I) published an open letter 8 in 2014 citing the rich cultural diversity and openness that
typified India and shared their concerns on Section 377. They discussed the right of every individual to express
one’s identity. In 2018, when the Supreme Court of India had repealed the Act, another open letter 9 celebrated the
historic judgment as a “true equality day.”

SUPPORTIVE POLICIES THAT ENABLED DIVERSITY

ThoughtWorks had pioneered “Women in Tech” from its founding date and worked with many partners to offer
scholarships and training programs to support women in a technology role. It aimed to hire 40% women and
underrepresented gender minorities (UGMs) in all technology roles by the end of 2022. The organization was
justifiably proud of its progress but felt it still had room for improvement in terms of building a truly inclusive
workforce.

Its progressive policies, benefits, and practices were tied to the culture of belonging and inclusion. 10 The
organization had developed initiatives that focused on finding and nurturing diverse talent to ensure that diversity,
equity, and inclusion (DEI) permeated the organization’s cultural fabric. The organization had consciously focused
on building a transparent culture and ensuring equitable advancement opportunities for all employees. Finally,
progressive and flexible thinking in the area of retention and people policies ensured that all ThoughtWorkers
perceived, lived, and breathed inclusivity as core belief.

Many policies adopted by ThoughtWorks were ahead of its time. For instance, the Maternity Benefit Act of April
201711 enacted in India required organizations to extend paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
However, ThoughtWorks had introduced this policy as early as August 15, 2015. The policy was also applicable to
instances of adoption and surrogacy .

ThoughtWorks supported overall inclusivity through multiple initiatives, including gender-neutral policies
supporting working parents with benefits such as bringing your child to work. Other supportive policies included
higher referral bonus payouts for women referrals, maintaining pay parity across grades, a free cab facility for
women employees after 8 pm, and gender-neutral Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Harassment at
the Workplace policy.12 Additionally, medical insurance coverage included both same-sex and domestic partners.

6
https://www.thoughtworks.com/STEP last viewed on December 28, 2020.
7
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sc-delivers-historic-verdict-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-
section-377/articleshow/65698429.cms?from=mdr last accessed on September 15, 2021
8
https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/open-letter-section-377 last viewed on December 28, 2020.
9
https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/open-letter-celebrating-supreme-courts-ruling-sec-377 last viewed on December 28, 2020.
10
https://www.thoughtworks.com/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion last viewed on January 20, 2021.
11
https://paycheck.in/labour-law-india/maternity-and-
work#:~:text=The%20Maternity%20Benefit%20(Amendment)%20Act,from%20six%20to%20eight%20weeks last viewed on December 28,
2020.
12
https://www.thoughtworks.com/content/dam/thoughtworks/documents/guide/tw_guide_policy_of%20_equal_opportunity_non_discrimina
tion_anti_harassment_india.pdf last viewed on September 16, 2021.

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 LGBTQ+ Inclusion at ThoughtWorks India

SUPPORTING LGBTQ+ DIVERSITY

Mitra Collective was ThoughtWorks, India regional LGBTQ+ affinity group and comprised members of the LGBTQ+
community and allies at ThoughtWorks, India. It aimed to drive safe and inclusive conversations and practices and
community engagement, which included several educational and community-based events including sharing
LGBTQ+ issues, stories, and celebrations. ThoughtWorks included gender-neutral washrooms, provision for
preferred name and their pronoun in the human resource management system (HRMS), employee assistance
programs with trained counselors/professionals to support the LGBTQ+ employees, gender affirmation, and
transition in the workplace policy, and LGBTQ+ focused hiring initiatives. Gender affirmation and transition in the
workplace policy covered 13 details of medical insurance coverage, guidelines for changing the legal name, and
gender in employment records.

Interning with Pride was another initiative to support LGBTQ+ at ThoughtWorks, India. It was designed as a
technical training and internship program that leveled the playing field for people from the LGBTQ+ community. It
enhanced their technical skills through live industry experience and training. A paid internship followed the
training program, and ThoughtWorks then hired the shortlisted interns. This initiative was extremely popular and
attracted numerous applicants every year.

Vinod and her team conducted ongoing awareness and sensitization programs. The “Genderbread Person” (Exhibit
1) was a commonly used training method to explain the differences between biological sex, gender identity,
gender expression, and sexual orientation. The recruitment process at ThoughtWorks included separate rounds of
culture/social change interviews. These meaningful conversations with applicants were to help them understand
what ThoughtWorks cared about and, in turn, understand what applicants thought about positive social change,
diversity, equity, and inclusion. It also highlighted the intersecting identities of fellow Thoughtworkers and aimed
to ensure that ThoughtWorks continued to hire people who would contribute positively to their culture. The goal
was to keep ThoughtWorks as a safe, inclusive space, irrespective of one’s identity, and one where everybody
could bring their whole selves to work.

Often, applicants who were ignorant about the differences but open to acceptance were considered suitable for
the culture. Applicants who demonstrated visible bias and a rigid mindset were provided feedback on their
misinformation.

Building a culture of inclusivity was part of ThoughtWorks’ fabric. Consequently, the leadership team regularly
conducted a 3-hour unconscious bias workshop titled “Being Inclusive.” The workshop’s philosophy was to
enhance the awareness of their own biases, that is, conscious and unconscious, choosing to have an open mind,
being responsible for their actions, and working toward meaningful inclusion among the participants. Another
popular intervention was the “Circle of Trust” event, which brought together short, powerful stories from
colleagues and friends of employees at ThoughtWorks. The topics ranged from dealing with mental health issues
to coming out of the closet, from running away to falling in love for the first time in a not-so-heteronormative way.
The stories celebrated their vulnerability and how each individual transformed that vulnerability into strength. The
company provided strong support for mental health, wellness, and counseling. ThoughtWorks also collaborated
with Aravani Art Project14 to create inclusive-themed artwork for their offices, such as Smashing Patriarchy,
Gender as a Spectrum, Cultural diversity, Linguistic diversity, Generational diversity, Diversity of Religion, and
Diverse Perspectives.

13
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/thoughtworks-rolls-out-gender-affirmation-policy/articleshow/74073963.cms last
viewed on December 28, 2020.
14
https://aravaniartproject.com/ last viewed on December 28, 2020.

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 LGBTQ+ Inclusion at ThoughtWorks India

Vinod and her team worked with several external partners to strengthen their efforts for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Periferry,15 an organization that worked in the trans-inclusion and empowerment space, collaborated with
ThoughtWorks on skill-building workshops and job fair programs called “Revive.” This was a ThoughtWorks-
sponsored 30-day intensive training program focused on building candidates’ personal, interpersonal, and soft
skills to prepare them for corporate environments. Another program, “Prajna,” was developed and launched in
2020 in partnership with Periferry to provide mentorship for transgender individuals. In collaboration with
Dramanon, an English theater group, drama-based learning workshops were conducted on gender inclusion,
LGBTQ+ inclusion, and mental health and wellness of the workplace, which sparked many conversations and
helped enhance awareness.

TOUGH DECISIONS

The industry and media widely lauded ThoughtWorks’ efforts. In 2019, the organization received the NASSCOM
Corporate Award for “Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion 2019” and was ranked 18 among the Top 100 Best
Companies for Women in India by.16 It was recognized as Exemplar of Inclusion by Kelp HR.17 The India Workplace
Equality Index 2020 recognized the organization under the GOLD category for demonstrating and advancing
equality for LGBT+ people.18

Earlier, Vinod had received an email from Shambhavi Raj (she/her), head of Human Resources of a mid-sized IT
service organization. Raj and Vinod had recently met as key speakers representing their respective organizations at
an industry-organized seminar on the best practices that build an inclusive organization. Raj had asked for a quick
insight into how to initiate LGBTQ+ inclusion in her organization. Raj wanted to understand how to build a business
case and orchestrate her leadership team’s associated change management efforts. She also wanted Vinod to
share the year-wise increase in LGBTQ+ employee strength at ThoughtWorks. However, the ThoughtWorks team
had consciously refrained from tracking this representation as many members remained in the closet or chose to
reveal their identity only to close friends and colleagues. While she pondered upon an appropriate response, Vinod
knew she first needed to address the complaint against Mani, the project manager accused of disrespectful
behavior against Rishi Krish.

Vinod felt perturbed after her telephonic conversation with Mani. Mani seemed oblivious to the impact of his
comments and behavior, saying, “Rishi does not know how to take a joke. I will be mindful of this in the future, but
he needs to lighten up. He has made a mountain of a molehill.”

Mani was responsible for a critical project and led a large team that brought in significant revenue for
ThoughtWorks. Vinod knew that irrespective of Mani’s responsibilities, his behavior would negatively impact
ThoughtWorks’ culture and success in more ways than one. On the other hand, Tiwari’s call had left Vinod
wondering what to do.

15
https://www.periferry.com/ last viewed on December 28, 2020.
16
https://avtarinc.com/what-we-do/enrich-diversity/most-inclusive-companies-index/ last viewed on September 16, 2021.
17
https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/five-indian-companies-get-commemorated-for-best-posh-practises-11579690254539.html last
viewed on September 16, 2021.
18
https://www.thoughtworks.com/news/iwei2020 last viewed on December 28, 2020.

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 LGBTQ+ Inclusion at ThoughtWorks India

Exhibit 1
Educating the Workforce on Individual Differences

Source: https://www.genderbread.org/ last accessed on September 15, 2021.

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