As corporations across increasingly embrace the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in everything from thought-leadership to advertising, questions persist about the sincerity and impact of these initiatives. “India is like a teenager seeking attention when it comes to DEI. Europe, by contrast, is like someone in midlife who no longer feels the need to prove anything,” said Abhishek Ghosh, co-founder of Qonnect, a networking platform for LGBTQIA professionals. “But when it comes to depth of execution and accountability, Europe is well ahead.”
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In Ghosh’s current company in Europe, DEI initiatives are tied directly to leadership objectives. “It’s embedded in corporate strategy, and leaders are held accountable,” he said, referring to Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align diversity targets with broader business goals. Yet even there, he added, DEI remains vulnerable: “If it’s not tied to revenue, it gets deprioritized. In fact, we dropped that OKR this year.”
In India, by contrast, Ghosh recalled that even in fast-growing technology companies, including one that recently went public, DEI was often treated as an informal concern. “It was entirely dependent on whether an individual HR manager cared,” he said. “There was no dedicated budget—so one day you had money, the next you didn’t.”
This dissonance between visibility and substantive change is a familiar pattern in India, where public commitments to diversity often outpace structural reforms. Companies may champion diversity initiatives during Pride Month or International Women’s Day, but power, pay, and promotion pathways for marginalized groups often remain elusive.
Salaries and the value of DEI Work
Official salary ranges for DEI professionals in India suggest progress: Diversity and Inclusion Managers typically earn between ₹18 lakh and ₹35 lakh per annum, while Chief Diversity Officers can command packages exceeding ₹50 lakh, according to data from TeamLease Digital.
Yet insiders tell a more nuanced story.
Ashish Pandya, who leads customer success at a genomics startup in Mumbai, said DEI roles in Indian startups are often marginalized. “Companies are new to hiring queer talent and want to play it safe,” he said. “They hire at junior levels so the individual can adjust to the culture.” Senior leadership positions for openly queer professionals remain rare, he added, often due to concerns about workplace dynamics.
The result is a systemic bias: even qualified candidates can find themselves excluded from decision-making roles because of perceived risks.
The unseen burden of emotional labor
Beyond salary disparities, DEI practitioners and marginalized employees often carry a significant burden of emotional labor, an effort rarely acknowledged, let alone compensated.
“The conversation around compensating emotional labor has not even begun in India,” said Anupama Easwaran, founder of inHarmony, a DEI consultancy working with transgender and caste-oppressed communities.
While discussions of gender pay equity have entered the corporate mainstream, broader inclusion efforts, spanning LGBTQIA+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and caste minorities, remain nascent. Many such professionals are recruited into entry-level positions with little clarity on career advancement.
Even Karishma Parikh, Vice President- Human Resources, Adecco India agrees with caste minorities not being represented enough. “While organizations are increasingly prioritizing intersectionality and inclusive leadership, further emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives in driving innovation and fostering inclusive workplaces. However, caste remains a significant gap in corporate DEI programs in India, with most initiatives focusing on gender, disability, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion.”
Growth in DEI roles, but challenges persist
Recent data points to a surge in DEI hiring. LinkedIn reported a 168.9 percent global increase in Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer positions between 2019 and 2022, a trend mirrored in India, especially among multinational corporations and large firms in cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai.
The IT, consulting, and consumer goods sectors have seen the steepest increases in DEI roles, according to data from staffing firm Adecco India. However, sectors such as manufacturing and traditional industries continue to lag.
Meanwhile, Foundit, an employment platform, reported that diversity hiring in India grew by 69 percent over the past two years. Remote and hybrid roles for DEI professionals have also become more common, particularly in 2024 and 2025, expanding opportunities beyond metropolitan hubs.
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“What’s particularly promising is the shift from mere compliance to culture-building,” said Anupama Bhimrajka, Vice President of Marketing at Foundit. “As organizations grow, inclusion is becoming an integral part of the strategic agenda.”
Nevertheless, systemic challenges remain. According to TeamLease Digital, salaries for DEI-aligned roles start at ₹4.7 lakh for entry-level professionals and rise to ₹45 lakh at the leadership level. But many insiders note that without strong policy backing, DEI efforts risk becoming symbolic rather than transformational.
“While including women is becoming more common, inclusion of different castes and people with disabilities still needs stronger support,” said Neeti Sharma, CEO of TeamLease Digital.
The challenge of retention
For many experts, true success lies not just in hiring marginalized professionals but in retaining and promoting them.
“Hirings can backfire if companies don’t provide structural support,” said Ghosh. “It forces people to out themselves before they’re ready and creates resentment when promises aren’t met.”
Internship programs and leadership mentorships could provide more sustainable pathways for marginalized talent, said Easwaran. “Training programs over six months to a year are much more effective than targeting hires for hyper-specific roles,” she said.
Tokenism remains a concern. “Some companies genuinely build inclusion into their culture,” Easwaran said. “But for others, it’s still a box-ticking exercise, a lunch, a campaign, a one-off event.”
Yet even small interventions, she argued, have value: “If someone attends a Pride event or bias training once, that awareness can ripple out into homes and communities.”
Transparency as the Next Frontier
Both Easwaran and Pandya emphasized the need for greater transparency around compensation and career progression.
“Companies should publish internal pay equity audits,” said Pandya. “That’s how you expose pinkwashing and drive real change.”
Ultimately, Ghosh argued, the true test of DEI commitments is not the public parade but the private systems companies build.
“DEI in India is often loud and performative,” he said. “In Europe, it’s quieter but systemic. The real question isn’t whether you hired someone, it’s whether you changed the system to help them lead.”
Despite the rise in DEI hiring and growing public awareness, meaningful transformation in Indian workplaces remains uneven. For now, the gap between intent and impact continues to define the country’s diversity journey.
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