Avtar Awards IBM Leader the 2024 Male Ally Legacy Award and Bosch Limited the Social Excellence Award at the 8th Avtar

Amit Sharma, Managing Partner - Global Delivery, IBM Consulting, wins the Male Ally Legacy Award championing women’s advancement in the organization. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) November 14, 2024 - Avtar Group, India’s pioneers in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Consulting, announced the winners of the 2024 Avtar & Seramount Social Excellence Award and Male Ally Legacy Awards (MALA). The Awards were announced in Chennai at the eighth edition of Avtar and Seramount Best of the Best Conference 2024, India’s most respected conference on DEI.

The Best of the Best is an annual DEI conference conducted by Avtar Group, India’s leading Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) solutions firm. The Best Practices of the Best Conference (BOB) is a celebration of the winners of the 2024 Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI), Male Ally Legacy Award (Men championing gender inclusion) and Social Excellence Award towards enabling social inclusion

The Male Ally Legacy Award celebrates male allies who have spearheaded change in the mindsets and attitudes towards women at the workplace. Meanwhile, the Avtar & Seramount Social Excellence Award for is a recognition programme to identify and celebrate the most impactful social impact initiative amongst applicant companies. This award was conferred upon, Bosch Limited for their Employment linked Short Term Skilling Programs for the underprivileged.

Themed at #PrismOfDiversity, the eighth successive edition of The Best Practices of the Best Conference (BOB) 2024 brought forth conversations on how the convergent DEI becomes a powerful tool for fostering innovation, nurturing creativity and enhancing employee experience.
Ms Halima Holland, British Deputy High Commissioner for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, who was present at the conference as the chief guest, said, “Equality is at the heart of everything we do as the UK government and our commitment to empowering women and girls remains steadfast. I am delighted to learn about the pioneering work of Avtar and Seramount in fostering an inclusive and diverse corporate culture and congratulate all the companies who are moving the needle with respect to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

Speaking at the conference, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group, said, "At the core of lasting change is the commitment to equity by all. Today, we celebrate our male allies — those who champion the voices, ambitions, and growth of women not as an obligation, but as a core belief. The Male Ally Legacy Award honors those who understand that equity benefits everyone, leaving a legacy of inclusive progress. MALA is a call to action, urging leaders across the globe to recognize their role in building a culture where allyship is more than an initiative; it is a way of being.”
“We are delighted to shine the spotlight on organizations that are committed to creating social impact and enabling social inclusion. Through comprehensive programs towards skilling and livelihood creation for the marginalized segments of the society, these organizations are role-models that foster inclusive growth.” Dr. Saundarya added.

The two-day conference had over 40 speakers from different walks of life deliberating over key challenges, solutions in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion journey of achieving equitable workplaces.

2024 Avtar & Seramount Social Excellence Award - Winner
• Bosch Limited
2024 Avtar & Seramount Social Excellence Award - Choice of Jury Winners (Company names listed alphabetically)
• PwC in India
• Tech Mahindra Limited
2024 Male Ally Legacy Awards (MALA) - Winner
• Amit Sharma, Managing Partner - Global Delivery, IBM Consulting
2024 Male Ally Legacy Awards (MALA) - Choice of Jury Winners (Listed alphabetically as per company names)
• Jignesh Bhate, Chief Executive, Molecular Connections Private Limited
• Milind Nerurkar, Managing Director, Citibank

Appendix:
Social Excellence Award
Title Winner: Bosch Limited
Project: Employment linked Short Term Training Programs
Through BRIDGE - Bosch’s Response to India’s Development & Growth through Employability Enhancement – several young people have gained industry-relevant skills and making them employable. The program combines classroom instruction in soft skills and life skills with hands-on, on-the-job training (OJT). Focusing on promoting quality education through Teachers, the BRIDGE Foundation program aligns with the National Education Policy 2020, training educators in innovative and experiential teaching methods to improve student learning outcomes in government schools.

Choice of Jury award: PwC in India
Project: Community Inclusive Education

"Inclusive Education Project” is implemented in a rural community in the border between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to support children and persons with disabilities. The impact of the 'Inclusive education' program for disability are measured through key indicators that assess the enrollment and retention rate, accessibility and infrastructure, teacher training and support, curriculum adaptation, student participation and achievement, parent and community involvement, social inclusion and peer relationships, transition to higher education or employment, community-based inclusive health referrals, therapy services, provision of assistive devices, and accessing social security benefit programs.

Choice of Jury award: Tech Mahindra Limited
Project: SMART (Skills for Market Training) program by Tech Mahindra Foundation
Tech Mahindra Foundation works in Education, Employability and Disability with a vision to bring 'Empowerment through Education.' Their key focus is empowering girls/women, people with disability and corporate volunteering. Tech Mahindra Foundation's primary employability initiative, the SMART (Skills for Market Training) program, was launched in 2012 with the vision of establishing a vocational training model in the country. In line with the Skill India Mission, SMART aims to equip youth from under-served urban communities with essential employability skills. It does this through structured training programs and facilitates their placement in respectable jobs. The program focuses on teaching foundational skills such as Spoken English, Basic IT, and Workplace Readiness. This training enhances the employability of youth by providing them with the right skills. Additionally, the SMART Academies and SMART Centres in Healthcare, Logistics and Digital offer more than 108 courses across 17 domains (from inception).

Male Ally Legacy Awards
Title Winner: Amit Sharma, Managing Partner - Global Delivery, IBM Consulting
Amit has promoted women's growth, launching initiatives such as Step-Up, LEAD, RISE, and SURGE to encourage more women to assume People Manager and Senior Leadership roles. Early this year, Amit introduced the IBM GIC/BPOD Talent Accelerator Program, designed to cultivate future leadership skills among high-potential women. He ensured that the organization invests in development programs for these women, thereby creating a pipeline for senior roles and executive positions. Amit sponsors the IBM Shine program, which helps IBM leaders, particularly women, to enhance their external influence.

Choice of Jury Award: Jignesh Bhate Chief Executive, Molecular Connections Private Limited
Jignesh Bhate, has fueled the meteoric rise of MC, and his decision to choose two women executives as business unit heads right from the inception of the company set a precedent for gender parity in leadership roles at the organisation. The move was forward-thinking and reflected Jignesh's belief in diversity and fairness at MC. Beyond these critical appointments at the leadership level, Jignesh has also been instrumental in introducing and developing talented women across the organisation.

Choice of Jury Award: Milind Nerurkar, Managing Director, Citibank
What gets measured, gets done’: Setting up measurable goals for initiatives, like pay equity and aspirational diverse representation to embed in leaders’ scorecards. • Aspire: A program for Officer level high-performing women to hone them into taking AVP (mid-level) roles. • Return to Work Program for women who are joining the workforce after a career break of 6 months or more. The program is a 12-month development journey to assimilate employees into the workforce after a career break. • Citi India Maternity Flex Policy allows women to work from home for a year upon their return from Maternity Leave. Women employees on maternity break retain the best of an average of the earlier two performances years or the current year rating.

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