Diversity

Noun, plural diversities.

1. The state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness: diversity of opinion.

2. Variety; multiformity.

3. The inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation, etc.: diversity in the workplace.

4. A point of difference.

A little variety is a good thing. If you eat chocolate all day, then a carrot tastes utterly delicious. If you party all night every night, then an evening at home in front of the TV is bliss. And if you own a company, it is critical to have people from different backgrounds and with varied experience working for and with you.

Diversity is a bit of a buzzword in many countries, particularly developed ones. There, you’ll find workplace gender equality agencies and racial quotas. Here in India, the concept of trying to build a workforce composed of a balance of ethnicity, sex and even sexuality is not really top of mind for many CEOs and HR Heads, especially when the priority is to fill positions, quickly, in a growing business.

When it comes to the battle of the sexes, we’ve always had a great balance of men and women at The 120 Media Collective. We currently have a male-female ratio of 47%-53%, and half of our Management Team is women. One of the biggest impediments for women when it comes to their career is having to decide between work or starting a family – for many new mothers, juggling a baby with the demands of a rigorous job proves to be impossible. We proactively support new mothers (and fathers!), offering flexible working hours where required and ensuring a healthy work life balance wherever possible. Women also find themselves lagging behind men when it comes to salaries. We absolutely refuse to hire, promote or give more money to anyone just because they are male.

We also like to encourage diversity when it comes to life experience. We are not the type of company who will tick off boxes during an interview. Graduation, tick. Post-graduation, tick. MBA, tick. If you’ve done all those things, that’s all well and good, but we are also interested to hear about what you’ve done if you have chosen not to opt for conventional schooling or a linear career path. India can be particularly relentless when it comes to pushing a traditional agenda. Employers in other countries are more forgiving of those who want to spend their time exploring the world, experimenting with jobs, learning less obvious skills and building their creativity and we share that attitude. We look at gaps in the CV not with a critical eye, but with a curious one, and we love to hear about people who have done things differently. We appreciate diversity across roles and even industries – whereas moving across different types of employers, and even giving it all up to go solo may be considered a negative at most companies, here at The 120 Media Collective, we consider it a tremendous positive.

Our passion for diversity continues once you join the company. We encourage people to move between our different group verticals and functions, to take on different responsibilities and work across different teams, if they wish to.

Finally, we have a great mix of people from different parts of India and even the world. As we expand the company, and move into international markets, our vision of becoming a truly diverse company will really begin to come alive. For now, we are very proud of our efforts to attract, hire and retain people from all walks of life and with a rich variety of different experiences.