Hey folks,
Last week, on 25th March 2022, a Diversity Equity and Inclusion conference was organized by Publicis Sapient on the theme #Breakthebias. At this conference, many relevant topics were touched upon.
To give an overview, the #Breakthebias conference was a
daylong event where internal and external speakers shared different
perspectives and personal experiences on breaking stereotypes and rising above
expectations. Do read Publicis Sapient company feedback to know people’s
reactions yourself. It was an overwhelming conference where messages and
comments never stopped flowing.
Nandita Das (Actor,
Director), Sushant Digvikar/Rani Ko-He-Nur (Drag Artiste, Singer & LGBTQI
Activist) and Laxmi Agarwal (Acid Attack Survivor and Activist) lightened up
the conversations with their diverse, open and thought-provoking talks. Resham
Talwar and Ankita Patel, both people with disabilities (PWD), ignited the stage
with fire through their musical performances.
Below is a brief description
of how the event progressed:
How PS people stole hearts in the conference
The opening speakers were
Vieshaka Dutta and Prashant Singhal, PS leaders who shared different
initiatives done by PS and how every story/opinion/personality matters.
We had a session with People
in Publicis Sapient in conversation with Sanjay Menon, MD, on how they broke
biases at various levels. As opposed to general topics, people's stories and
experiences were very heart-warming, eye-opening and encouraging. A few people narrated
the struggles they faced in work-life integration due to personal issues such
as pregnancy and ASD child management. Below are two of them:
- Being pregnant, it is very
difficult to switch jobs as a new organization is sceptical about the
upcoming maternity break. But, Publicis Sapient provided the deserved
opportunity without any bias.
- A father told a story of his
ASD child and how he manages his son’s special needs with his job. It was
an emotional story as his wife’s role reversed from being a caregiver to
needing an emotional caregiver in the last few years. His story gave an
insight into how PS as an organization with policies, managers and team as
people supported him in daily tasks and understood that simple daily
rituals many need special attention and methods.
Nandita Das’s session, where conversations bloomed at unprecedented speed
Nandita shared various
perspectives on her being a dark-skinned girl to stories told in Bollywood
movies. From being an ally of the LGBTQI+ community to the choice of films
directed by her. She spoke candidly on different topics and biases present in
society.
When Sushant Digvikar/Rani Ko-He-Nur shared her journey of self-discovery
of being a Woman
Sushant was very comfortable
with her sexuality and her point of view on non-binary gender was refreshing.
Having a self-discovery and accepting one’s true self is never easy for anyone.
But, with stories like Sushant’s, people would have gotten the courage to be
more open about their opinions.
When Laxmi Agarwal became a symbol of hope and strength from the victim
mindset
Although we are familiar with
Laxmi’s struggles through the “Chappak” movie, it is a distinct experience to
hear the story from an individual point of view. Laxmi graced the conference with
her story and bloomed hope in people. She emphasized inner beauty and strength
of courage.
During the entire conference,
people expressed their views & supported the speakers. Overall, it was an
emotional experience. Such experience may not be told in any Publicis Sapient
reviews, but an initiative like this gives positive direction to the 'future of
work'.
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