AXIS Bank recently made an announcement that a charter of policies will be implemented which will be favorable for its customers and employees from the LGBTQIA community. The main motive is to put efforts and encourage “equity, diversity and inclusion” in its work environment.
Its policies will assure the account holders from the LGBTQIA+ community people can nominate their partners in their bank accounts. Said the lender.
Joint savings for customers
Customers from the LGBTQIA+ community are also allowed here to open joint savings and term deposit account with their same-sex partner, ‘ComeAsYouAre’ charter of policies and practices for employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ community’, said Axis Bank said while announcing.
Human resource (HR) front
On the other hand the human resource (HR) front, employees will also be allowed to put their partner’s name for medical benefits despite all their gender, sex, or marital status.
Employees dress by their gender expression
Employees are allowed to dress as per their self-identified gender. “Axis Bank, in line with its ‘DilSeOpen’ philosophy, today announced #ComeAsYouAre, a charter of policies and practices for their employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ community. With these initiatives, Axis Bank becomes one of the first banks in India to take such steps to promote and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion,” it said in a release.
“History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution,” the bank quoted Justice Indu Malhotra, a part of a five-member bench that gave the historic judgment on Section 377.
SC decriminalized sexual relationships between consenting adults in private in historic judgment in September 2018
The AXIS Bank lender said it recognizes the employees who could have a gender expression that’s different from their sex assigned at birth. Effective from September 20, 2021, customers will be able to opt for these measures and can add ‘Mx’ as a title.
In the savings or term deposit account, Customers who are gender fluid, gender non-binary, or transgender will get an option to choose their title from the option of ‘Mx’. Employees from these communities are allowed to dress in a restroom of their choice. The bank said it has initiated all-gender restrooms at its large offices.
Statement given by Rajesh Dahiya
Rajesh Dahiya, Executive Director, Axis Bank, said: “At Axis, we have put our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion that respects and recognizes the importance of distinctive life journeys and several identities that extend beyond the paradigms of gender. This for us is as much about the invisible markers as it is about the visible ones. We believe that it fosters a culture of innovation and leverages the multiple talent pools that exist in rich demography like ours.”
Axis Bank revealed that they are focussing on creating suitable processes and policies which will allow it to create space for everyone to thrive.”
