Allyship is the wind that sails Inclusion at Flipkart!

At the Flipkart Group, we strongly believe that the ‘best ideas can come from anywhere’. We are driven by our value of inclusion and are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where diverse minds innovate, excel and maximise everyday.

Our culture encourages individuals to learn, fail, succeed, and excel fearlessly. And, we strongly believe that the ability to truly maximise one’s potential goes hand-in-hand with being able to be their true and unique selves and thrive in an environment that makes every person feel like they belong.

Pride Month holds a very special and crucial significance for the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud to celebrate our LGBTQ+ employees. We are committed to bringing in benefits that maximise inclusion, wellbeing and development for all employees. To integrate the LGBTQ+ community in corporate India, we must engage in conversations to increase our awareness about the community as the first step. This Pride Month, we at Flipkart have curated a plan resulting from direct contributions of the Flipsters from the community and their allies. We understand the importance and need to come together to enable a workplace that is inclusive and challenges stereotypes, judgments and biases against employees from the community.

We are committed to explore the facets of inclusion, learn more about the LGBTQ+ community through awareness programs, discussions, and listening to lived experiences of employees from the community. We want Flipsters to challenge their own biases and inculcate curiosity to make Flipkart an inclusive organisation each day.

We, at Flipkart, are proud supporters of our colleagues from the LGBTQ+ community! We are committed to raising awareness about the community, understanding their challenges, building a safe and equitable space for all, and celebrating the true, unique self of every individual.  

-Krishna Raghavan, Chief People Officer, Flipkart

Over the last few years, we have driven several initiatives and strategic interventions to enable various dimensions of diversity such as persons with disabilities, veterans and LGBTQ+ community. We started hiring people from the transgender community in our supply chain last year and today have 30 individuals who identify themselves from the transgender community, performing various roles, under our Project Indradhanush. To extend the benefits, we have designed our policies to be universal and inclusive. We provide a supportive, safe and non-discriminatory space for all our employees to thrive in. Our insurance plan covers Gender Affirmation Surgery as well as Surrogacy procedure. The Family Care and Pregnancy Care plans can be availed for by employees and their partners, including those in non-heterosexual relationships. We have also recently introduced Period Leave policy for our women and transgender employees, wherein employees can take auto-approved, one day period leave. Last year, we had included Gender Reassignment surgery as part of our offering, and this year we have enhanced it to include their partner as well. Also, starting this year the pre and post hospitalization cover has been extended to include the partner of a Flipster. The pre hospitalization is for 30 days and and post hospitalization cover is for 90 days that covers all pre and post hospitalization expenses along with hormonal therapy. We also offer counseling and mental wellbeing services under our Total Support Program.

Every individual has the right to be authentic and be accepted for who they are. And, that is the reason I chose to be an LGBTQ+ ally. I believe that everybody should be able to be themselves, be it at their workplaces, their homes or their social circles. It is important that we see people as people, without a label or a tag, and love and respect them for the individual that they are!

-Ajay Veer Yadav, SVP & Head- Flipkart Health+

We have also taken a step towards upgrading our parenthood benefits to be more inclusive.  Along with the basic set of parenthood benefits, our people receive access to ante-natal care, health content, nutrition counselling, regular consultation, financial support for infertility treatments and egg freezing processes.

Furthermore, our definition of family includes single parents who would wish to add their child and parent as well.

We are honouring Pride Month at Flipkart to celebrate all forms of love, proudly and unabashedly. Our culture encourages every individual to be proud of and be comfortable with who they are, without any fear or judgement. I am a proud Ally myself and I pledge to not only take conscious efforts to build a respectful environment for all, but also call out discrimination if I see any.

-Abrar Ahmed K M , Senior Manager I, CX Training

Words like Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual often create an air of discomfort when spoken about. These are words that need to be spoken about more often and in more of our conversations, so more and more people feel comfortable sharing and talking. As an Ally, I am committed to doing my best to have such conversations within my professional and social circles freely, so in the days to come, there’s less awkwardness around this subject and more acceptance and inclusivity.

-Renuka Singaram, Senior Director - Non Large Mother Hub, eKart

At Flipkart, we dare to maximise together. Our courage to conquer feats and charter paths untaken, have always helped us grow. Our care for every stakeholder and the planet is a pedestal that empowers us to thrive together. 

This Pride, we are channeling our desire to maximise ourselves, live courageously, let live with freedom by rekindling our spirit to create a warm, welcoming and safe environment for all.  

Happy Pride! 🌈