Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Luminous
India, with its vast and diverse cultural heritage, a myriad of languages, traditions, landscape, and nationalities stands as a shining example of Unity in Diversity. We have all grown up reading, hearing, and saying this and, even more, believing in this fact. It is true indeed that our nation has a mosaic that is woven with threads of countless and varied customs, languages, and beliefs and this creates a vibrant patchwork that reflects the richness of our collective identity. Yet, amidst this diversity, there are shadows and undercurrents of subtle yet very pervasive challenges – microaggressions that silently chip away at the dignity and self-worth of many individuals, inequities that perpetuate disparities in opportunity and treatment, and a persistent sense of non-inclusion that leaves far too many on the margins of society.
While inequity of our social systems is a real-life problem, we at Luminous strive to acknowledge it as a challenge and yet an opportunity – an opportunity to provide every individual working with us equal chances to thrive, regardless of their background and circumstance. In our quest for Inclusion and Equity, we believe, that despite the challenges we may face, there are always pathways forward, waiting to be illuminated by the light of compassion, collaboration and collective actions.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Journey so far-
At Luminous, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is visible in our ways of working. We take a lot of pride in our diverse workforce and value their contribution towards our business goals. While we nurture the cultural diversity, we have been constantly working on increasing women representation and generation. We have consistently increased our women representation in the workforce to double it in the last six years. The representation of women in leadership roles is 33%. The campus intake of women is above 50%, the Early career is above 40% and the infusion of Young Talent is 70% in 2024. We strongly believe that this diversity of people joining us from different walks of life helps us in fostering a culture of Innovation. We take pride in sharing that we truly live by the principles of Equity by having absolute Gender Pay Parity across all levels and ensuring that each employee experiences Equity and Inclusion throughout their career journey, thus strengthening their commitment and sense of belonging.
Our Learning offerings are need based and in context of the development plan of an employee.
The women at an Early Career stage are in the phase of strengthening their confidence and self- efficacy which is the belief in their own ability to perform. Whereas women in Mid-career need to focus more on consolidating their competencies and striking the balance between evolving life and career demands. Keeping that in mind, we offer customized and holistic programs emphasizing these unique needs at different points in time.
Inclusion is a bed rock of everything that we do. We promote a workplace where everyone feels psychologically safe to bring their authentic self to work. We are building Sustainable Diversity through Inclusion. We thrive on our people and leverage their diverse capabilities, skills, and talent to create a culture of innovation contributing towards the success of our business. We have initiatives like Tech Titan, Talent Tank to bring in new Technology and Innovation mindset across the organization where our people work in cross functional teams and come up with creative solutions towards business problems as well as new opportunities.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Way Forward-
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is the CORE of Luminous. C stands for culture, O stands for Organization Capability, R is recruitment and retention, and E is Enablement and Engagement.
DEI in Culture-
We strongly believe that DEI is a business agenda and has to be lived by leaders. We have strong sponsorship from the Leadership team on leading and driving DEI agenda and our Leaders are the real ambassadors of building a culture of diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.
Organization Capability-
We have a highly experiential journey for our mid-level women. At the same time, we believe that development does not have to be myopic to only programs or interventions. As per the Mckinsey and Lean.in report 2024, out of every 100 men getting promoted as managers only 87 women are getting promoted. When women miss their first promotion it hits their self-confidence and self-belief. That is the time when they need not only need an Ally but a Sponsor who can speak for them and provide them with the right opportunities and visibility to take a next level role. Broken Rung can be only addressed through Mentoring and Sponsorship and we at Luminous have our Leaders become sponsors of our mid-level women to accelerate their careers.
Recruitment and Retention-
While recruitment is all about numbers, what differentiates us is the fact that we align businesses, identify roles, and systematically attract the right talent to ensure we have diverse participation across the organization. In addition, our Inclusive policies and processes make a huge difference in hiring, growing, engaging, and retaining employees across gender, culture, age, orientation, region, preferences, abilities etc.
Enablement and Engagement-
We bring sustenance to our DEI agenda through our Employee Resource Networks. Our senior leaders are sponsors of the DEI agenda; we have also built a strong Allyship among our employees. We enable our diverse workforce through Inclusive policies and practices. We regularly take feedback from employees’ resource networks and revisit these to make it more relevant. We wish to ensure that our DEI practices are well aligned to the ground reality and is relevant for the person present at the regional as well as global location.
Luminous #WomenInEnergy campaign
The energy sector remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors worldwide, and there is an urgency to attract and retain a diverse workforce to ensure innovation and the inclusive perspectives needed to navigate the low-carbon energy transition successfully. Luminous’ #WomenInEnergy campaign, currently in its second year, aims to bridge this gender gap in the energy sector and challenge the existing gender stereotypes and biases while inspiring a brighter future for generations to come.
This year’s campaign highlights the need to shift the mindset towards gender-neutral roles and provide equal opportunities to all. Luminous’ campaign #WomenInEnergy aims to transform the mindset and make roles like solar technicians, seen as male dominated roles, a viable and attractive career option for women.
Luminous under its CSR project “Solar PV Installation Training” is upskilling men and women across small towns of India, to become Solar Installation Technicians. This 400-hour, NSDC-certified course provides job and entrepreneurship opportunities for unemployed youth. The training focuses on the development of industry-competent skills. The project is active in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Jammu, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Sikkim.
While there is a long and fulfilling journey we have travelled, it is far from over. We are committed to building an Agile, Innovative and Inclusive Culture where every individual is made to feel welcome and has an opportunity to thrive.