RISE: Asia’s biggest LGBTI job fair, conference and marketplace comes to Delhi
New Delhi: Delhi is set to host its first RISE (Reimagining Inclusion for Social Equity), Asia’s biggest LGBTI Conference, Job Fair and Marketplace. This is the second edition of RISE, following a successful Bengaluru edition. It is scheduled on February 22 at hotel The Lalit. RISE is the flagship event organized by the Pride Circle, India’s premier diversity & inclusion consulting, that enables organizations to foster inclusion with its expertise and solutions. It will be a day-long congregation of over 1000 changemakers, businesses, organizations, candidates, students, human resource professionals, advocates, and experts. The event will witness over 400 job seekers and 30 inclusive brands.
At RISE, there will be a Conference, Job Fair and a Marketplace, making it a unique proposition for changemakers and job seekers. The job fair will connect the largest LGBTI talent pool with inclusive organizations. Companies such as Uber, Accenture, BNY Mellon, The Lalit, Kronokare, Unhotel, among others will be coming to hire. FICCI joins in as the industry Partner for RISE. Interested candidates may register themselves by submitting their resume at https://resume.thepridecircle.com/. LGBTI Candidates may also walk-in to explore job opportunities.
The LGBTI and ally leaders from around the world will be interacting with the attendees through various sessions on topics of Business Leaders driving inclusion, workplace policies & benefits, discrimination at workplace, transition support, parenting, among other. There will be research report launches along with movie screening, masterclass, breakouts and films.
A marketplace will also be set-up to feature products & services from micro, small and medium-sized LGBTI owned businesses from across India. Over 20 LGBTI owned business will be participating to showcase innovative products and services such as bakery, merchandise, travel & tourism at this consortium.
Pride Circle held Asia’s first LGBTI conference, job fair and marketplace in Bengaluru in July last year. Creating a space for the interaction between corporations and the LGBT talent pool, the fair resulted in 43 job placements with annual aggregate CTC of INR 3.9 crores (USD 550,000). The seekers were offered white as well as blue collar jobs spread across IT sector, hospitality, banking, finance, housekeeping among others.
Srini Ramaswamy, co-founder, Pride Circle, says, “Through RISE, we are promoting the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in the workforce. The first edition of RISE in Bangalore bore fruitful results and we aim higher placements in the Delhi edition. Through different formats of dialogue between the job seekers and the employers, we aim to shed the fears developed due to the sexual orientation of the talent pool in workplace environments.”
“We have been working with the LGBTI community; multinational companies (MNCs); Indian corporations, experts, policymakers from across the country to make inclusive livelihood opportunities a reality. With consistent support from the community and our partners, we hope to collectively make a tangible impact, and to positively impact lives”, said the co-founder of Pride Circle, Ramkrishna Sinha.
India’s LGBTI community has faced a long battle for legal rights. It has been more than a year since the Supreme Court abolished the draconian colonial-era law, which criminalized homosexual behaviors. However, the stigma and discrimination against the LGBTI community is still rampant in all the societal and organizational settings.
The event is designed to provide safe space for the job seekers where they will be judged and selected based on their talent and not rejected for their sexual orientation. The fair is expected to provide an enriching experience to the community members and help them understand what kind of skills can land them in a good job opportunity. It will also sensitize and encourage LGBTI inclusion in the workspaces of the hiring organizations.