Unity in diversity

I was at IIFT, one of 4 B-Schools that we visited over the weekend for summer placements. We handpicked 2 at IIFT. One, a farmer son from rural Rajasthan who’d grown up to be a collections agent for a sarkari bank. The other, an Elo-rated national chess player from Tier II Gujarat who’d failed at selling omlettes!

In my 10+ years of recruiting, I hadn’t seen more diversity. India’s grown. The edge of the male, metro elitist is going. You can grow from the hinterland; you can grow from having tried different stuff.

It’s growing everywhere. Women CEOs in Axis, ICICI, Allahabad Bank, HSBC and SBI are torchbearers of gender diversity. Dhoni as captain, Vidarbha and Gujarat as last 2 winners of Ranji trophy signify geographic diversity. Top IT/ ITES firms have been particularly thoughtful. E.g., Wipro’s Corporate Diversity Council’s scope includes not only gender but also extends to persons with disabilities, cultures and people from underprivileged backgrounds.

No institution prospers through homogeneity. The different and the outsider enlarges workforce, intellect and capabilities. Intuitive, but tough to practice.

It’s been 70 years since Nehru coined “Unity in Diversity” in the “Discovery of India”. For years a concept, he’d be proud to see it in action now.