Indian digital payment firm PhonePe has pledged to increase female representation in its two senior most leadership roles, including directors and vice presidents, from 16 percent to 25 percent by December 2021.
The company said it has taken on a numerical goal for gender at the senior level, where stronger representation at the top is easily visible and helps provide role models for the broader organization.
Diversity and Inclusion
This is part of a new Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) program, adopted by the company to create a more inclusive workforce. The first phase of the charter will include focusing on gender, sexual orientation and people with disability, while identifying specific actions in each of these areas to push inclusion.
Sameer Nigam CEO & Co-Founder PhonePe
“As we build solutions for a billion Indians, it is important for us that the organization we create truly represents the diversity of our customer base. I have always felt strongly about creating a diverse, inclusive and vibrant organization. There are sound rational reasons to do this – there is a strong correlation between diverse organizations and increased shareholder value; as a diverse workspace we will be able to attract from a wider talent pool; and we will be able to encourage deeper, more holistic thinking.”
For the LGBTQ community, PhonePe’s initial focus will be on creating spaces for conversation and awareness, and to review policies, processes and systems to be more inclusive.
As part of the program, the company is also reviewing its current roles, policy framework and infrastructure to enable people with disabilities to be a larger part of the organization.
“People work best when they have a safe environment to bring all of their capabilities and creativity to the job. Diversity for us will never be only about representation, but about letting people be their true selves without the need to hide any aspect of themselves. How we do this will be a process of ongoing learning – from people’s lived experiences, and from all the work that has gone before,” said Manmeet Sandhu, head of human resources, PhonePe.
PhonePe
The instant money transfer app was founded by ex-employees of Indian eCommerce company Flipkart. It was acquired by Flipkart in 2016. In 2018, Flipkart was acquired by Walmart, and PhonePe was also part of the transaction.
