Diversity And Inclusion: 10 Podcasts Indian Bosses Should Be Listening To

By Rajkanya Mahapatra:

Business leaders across the world are prioritizing on making their companies more diverse and inclusive as research shows diverse workforces have a competitive advantage over others. That said, companies might be confusing diversity with inclusion. Hiring people from diverse backgrounds isn’t enough. Bosses will have to systematically alter the workplace to ensure that all employees have adequate psychological safety to be their best selves at work. Getting diversity and inclusion right is a constant work in progress.

There’s good news for business leaders and HR managers trying to create diverse and inclusive workspaces as they are spoilt for choice as far as learning about D&I is concerned. In India, over 40 million people listen to podcasts and the numbers have been steadily growing. Podcasts offer the unique ability to communicate human stories and enable discussion using the warmth of voice and personal connection like no other medium can. Stories are important in shaping our understanding of our place in the world and so it is with D&I, this list of podcasts and podcast episodes offer an important source of developing empathy towards others, a key ingredient in any D&I effort.

“In India, over 40 million people listen to podcasts and the numbers have been steadily growing. Podcasts offer the unique ability to communicate human stories and enable discussion using the warmth of voice and personal connection like no other medium can.”

The ten podcasts on this list strike a balance between ‘learning at home’ and ‘learning from others.’ Featured are voices that focus on bigger questions of D&I and the most effective way to put it into practice and voices that focus on individual stories of hardship too. Happy listening folks!

1) BBC Worklife India

Based in Delhi, this BBC podcast talks about the realities of the modern work life in India and the many opportunities it offers and the obstacles people encounter in accessing those opportunities. Since May 2019, over 45 episodes have been aired. The podcast addresses many issues (gender, disability, sexuality, religion, and caste) that will help business leaders and managers get an understanding of how working folks in India are coping at their respective workplaces . A typical episode lasts 30 minutes which means one could catch up on a good quality discussion while they sip on their morning coffee and make breakfast. Here are a few recommended episodes from the podcast you can find on Spotify: ‘The hidden world of modern slavery’ (Aug 25, 2019), ‘Transforming transgender lives’ (Dec 9, 2019) and ‘Fighting for dignity and inclusion’ (Jan 20, 2020).

2) Choose Inclusion

Starting September 2019, Choose Inclusion, an American podcast hosted by “a blind man, a woman of color, and a wannabe Latino” have discussed various aspects of D&I. In 20+ episodes on Spotify, you can develop a nuanced understanding of D&I issues ranging from how to ‘turn Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into strategy’ (Dec 5, 2019) to historicizing the conversation on the need for accessibility and discussing how things should be in the future (Apr 20, 2020). For example, one of the hosts, Nina Baliga, a tech developer talks about building inclusive technology and how that process got her to recognize the need for inclusion within her organisation in the TED talk linked above.

3) Online Gods – Dalit Online Media

A limited podcast that will bring delight to those looking for an academic understanding of contemporary issues as it takes a theoretical deep dive into how our increased interactions on the internet are transforming the public sphere. Led and co-hosted by Indian communications scholar and social anthropologist, Sahana Udupa, for the project ‘For Digital Dignity’, the podcast offers lucid lessons on how religion, feminism, caste, nationalism is unfolding on the internet and how Indians are dealing with it. From a D&I perspective, the second episode has host Ian Cook discussing Dalit politics with co-founder of Round Table India, Kuffir Nalgundwar. In half an hour, you will not only get an understanding of the history of Dalit politics but also a reality check on how little we’ve done as a society to uproot the exploitative caste system. The biggest takeaway is Nalgundwar’s incisive take on the lack of Dalit journalists in the Indian media. It has been long enough, media organisations in India need to prioritize on D&I right about now.

4) Women in Labour

No podcast gives you a more complete listening experience than ‘Women in Labour’. Hosted by comic Aditi Mittal and journalist cum filmmaker Christina MacGillivray, the podcast covers a wide range of issues (childcare, navigating a male-dominated workplace/sector, decreasing number of women in the workforce, and more) that women face as they work in India. As for providing a complete experience, each episode has a dedicated page that shares information about the guest speaker and what the episode is going to be about. In addition to that, there are links provided at the end for further reading. From a D&I perspective, ‘Women in Labour’ offers insights from folks who understand patriarchy and have found a way to explain and/or circumvent it – HR professionals only stand to gain from tuning in as they will build an understanding of specific challenges women face at work and at home. Three recommended episodes are Episode 11 (Creches are Crucial), Episode 14 (The Economics of The Issue) and Episode 17 (Enabling Others).

5) Change Catalyst + Tech Inclusion

Created by Melinda Briana Epler, a senior professional with over 25 years of experience in developing strategies for business inclusion and innovation in the United States, the weekly podcast discusses D&I issues, including but not limited to disability advocacy, mental health, xenophobia and islamophobia, and trans and gender non-conforming allyship. The Tech Inclusion podcast – a separate offering from Change Catalyst has young folks from Silicon Valley talk about their experiences of building diverse and inclusive practices at tech companies. This podcast is a goldmine for anybody trying to understand D&I issues irrespective of their nationalities. Most speakers occupy intersectional identities which makes each podcast unique. It’ll be hard to harbour biases once you’ve tuned into Change Catalyst.

6) Queer Money

At 210 episodes, Queer Money, by partners David Auten and John Schneider is a one-of-a-kind podcast for queer folks on how they can manage their personal finances, live debt free and navigate in a world that sees and treats them differently. The podcast may be set in America but it surely serves as a reminder on just how much can be discussed and done to make the lives of Indian LGBTQ+ folks better. Episode 108 titled “Return on Equality with Todd Sears” is a good place to start to understand how D&I policies can be made to facilitate the professional growth of queer employees and help them reach leadership positions.

7) Hear Me Too – Indian Express

Express Audio and UN Women joined forces for this limited podcast hosted by Ameya Nagarajan that focuses on violence against women (VAW) in India. In seven episodes, the podcast addresses VAW in India in the public and private sphere. The episodes have several professionals weighing in with statistics and their expertise on how the violence should not just be seen as explicit actions of physical harm done on women by other people but also how structurally women are marginalized on a daily basis. It’s essential to understand the many barriers that women have to overcome to be their most productive selves at work to be able to build better D&I policies for them.

8) That’s Not How That Works

Like other podcasts focused on D&I, ‘That’s Now How That Works’ also takes up issues of gender, sexuality, and race and dissects them critically. That said, it does one crucial thing differently – it turns the spotlight on those with the most privilege and all the things they need to be doing to be better co-workers and leaders. In conversations on D&I, the need to include and work with folks most privileged within a certain context has been largely missing. Bridging the gap, hosts Weeze and Trudi, who call themselves JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) masters, unpack the little things about White privilege that need deeper introspection and correction. If something similar is done in India, it’ll have the potential to greatly enrich the conversation on D&I. Till that happens, this podcast can guide Indian bosses on how to go about unpacking their own privilege and those of others in their workspace to make room for others.

9) Keeping It Queer

An Indus Vox Media (IVM) podcast, ‘Keeping It Queer’ hosted by comedian Navin Noronha and Farhad Karkaria (who also co-hosts another queer podcast ‘GayBCD’) takes a look at the world through the queer lens. Now in its third season, the podcast deals with personal relationships, gender fluidity, asexuality, human rights, politics, and more. ‘Keeping It Queer’ should be the go-to resource center for HR managers trying to figure how to hire and include queer folks within their organisation. The podcast provides much-needed visibility to queer folks and does a great job at amplifying their voices. We need for ‘Keeping It Queer’ to keep it coming.

10) Kalki Presents: My Indian Life

Actor and host Kalki Koechlin takes to the BBC style of documentary-like narration to speak with Indians with unique stories. Koechlin is sensitive in her treatment of complex issues and the podcast plays out like a story. Clocking under 30 minutes, each episode manages to educate you about the lived realities of a person but also how society functions to impact such individuals. Indian bosses have a lot of work to do to get D&I right, starting with checking their own biases, opening up to the lived experiences of their employees and accepting the issues they face as legitimate. ‘The drag king’ (Dec 6, 2019), ‘The Goddess of Big Things’ (Sep 22, 2018) and ‘A Question of Caste’ (Sep 15, 2018) are three episodes you could begin with.

If you’re keen on building better D&I policies or just want to work on being a better co-worker, this list should help you get started on that journey. All you have to do is tune into an episode in a place where you can listen without interruptions. Off you go now!

Psssst: Ungender is starting its own podcast dedicated exclusively to issues of D&I in India, sign up for the beta here now.

About the author: At Ungender, Rajkanya writes about the many ways modern workplaces can become inclusive. As a graduate student, she’s exploring the location of gender in issues of cyber security, artificial intelligence and violent extremism. She’s previously worked with the online social justice media platform – Youth Ki Awaaz as an editor.

This article has been  🖊  edited  by Varna

Ungender Insights is the product of our learning from advisory work at Ungender. Our team specializes in advising workplaces on workplace diversity and inclusion. Write to us at contact@ungender.in to understand how we can partner with your organization to build a more inclusive workplace.