Performative Pride is out—here's what LGBTQIA+ employees in India really want at work

They/them. He/him. She/ her. Ze/zir. Pronouns are slipping into email footers and Slack bios, but for queer pros in Indian offices, it’s still a tightrope walk—between visibility and safety, between rainbow cupcakes and bathrooms you can actually use.

I started this story sipping cold brew in a glass-walled coworking space, wondering: Is corporate India truly queer-friendly, or just queer friendly-for-the-gram? Spoiler alert: It’s complicated.

If you’ve been on the corporate Pride campaign treadmill, you know the drill: pink balloons, rainbow reels, brunch-and-badge, merch drops. But one day past June 30? Misgendering, microaggressions, and polite silences crash the party.

2024 data tells the real story: One in five queer employees fear being outed at work. Only 4 per cent of Indian firms do annual DE&I audits. Translation? For many, coming out is less “authentic glow-up” and more “risk assessment 101.” 

Pinkwashing 101: When pride is just PR

The Bakery Test: Imagine walking into a bakery in June. The walls are covered in rainbow bunting, the staff wear Pride pins, and there’s a sparkly sign at the entrance that screams, “LOVE IS LOVE!” You’re hopeful. This place looks inclusive. But then you glance at the menu. No eggless cakes. No vegan bakes. You ask for one, and the server smiles awkwardly and says, “Oh...we don’t actually have those. But we totally support people who do.” You’d walk out, right? That’s pinkwashing. It’s when inclusion becomes a costume, not a commitment. When corporations cash in on queerness without offering any real space, support, or policy for queer people to exist safely and authentically.

June on LinkedIn = rainbow overload. July? Crickets. It’s pink washing—slapping a Pride sticker on your brand while neglecting the basics. Like gender neutral bathrooms that actually exist. Or HR that doesn’t misgender trans employees in official docs. Or queer voices? Absent from inclusion panels.

Priya, a non-binary designer at a Mumbai agency (a blend of many real stories), sums it up: “Pride balloons in the cafeteria, but I got misgendered every other day. Exhausting. Like being seen but erased.” Token June, invisible July—that’s the bitter truth for many queer employees.

Harish Iyer, SVP & Head of DE&I at Axis Bank, nails it: “Customer is queen. Let them wash us in pink. But if you don’t back it up, you’re sinking.”

Would you buy Rainbow Bakery’s eggless cake? No? Then don’t buy corporate rainbow branding without substance.

Voices from the ground: Real talk from the queer cubicle

Forget the polished panels and DE&I decks—if you want the real state of queer life at work in India, you go straight to the source. We’re talking bold, brilliant professionals who’ve turned boardrooms into battlegrounds (and sometimes runways), rewriting the rules with every fabulous footstep. From HR policies that still don’t get pronouns right to managers who go from performative to powerful allies—this is the unfiltered, un-airbrushed tea from folks living the cubicle chronicles with courage, colour, and charisma.

Hiten Noonwala - designer, educator, drag artist, human sparkler of joy

“My queerness is my art,” says Hiten, and honestly? Mood. From classrooms to couture, they’ve shown up as their most fabulous, fearless self—even when people didn’t quite know what to do with all that authenticity.

“Too bold? Too soft? Too ‘different’?” they were asked. The answer? “Too real, darling.” There were icy silences. Side-eyes. Microaggressions cloaked in ‘just kidding.’ But there were also glittering moments of validation. “When students tell me they finally feel seen—that is the paycheck that matters.”

Hiten didn’t ‘come out’ at work. They walked in with it.

“I’ve been denied gigs. Called names. Had classes boycotted because I looked ‘too much’. But I guard my peace like couture—precious and custom-made.”

Their manifesto? “We need to move from invitation to integration. I’m not here to be tolerated—I’m here to thrive.”

Fashion world, take note: “Stop treating queerness like a seasonal accessory. Respect the art, not just the aesthetic. Hire us for our vision, not your diversity grid.”

True allyship? “When colleagues defended me, not just clapped for my drag show. That’s when it hit— it’s not about performance, it’s about presence.”

Harish Iyer - SVP & DEI lead, Axis Bank (AKA the inclusion whisperer)

Picture this: Young Harish, freshly out, hears a snide, “Oh, you’re gay? Must be creative.” He cries. His boss? Stands up. Boom. Instant ally energy.

That moment turned into a movement. Fast-forward to today: Harish helped launch ComeAsYouAre—Axis Bank’s blueprint for what inclusion should actually look like.

We’re talking: Gender-affirming surgery benefits, partner coverage no matter who you love, and dress codes that actually see your gender?

“True inclusion,” he says, “isn’t about tweaking yourself to fit in. It’s being seen, respected, and valued—as you are.”

To queer newbies entering the boardroom jungle? “You are bigger than any job title. Don’t fold to fit. Choose companies that deserve your authenticity.”

And to the gatekeepers: “If you’ve always been included, it’s your turn to open the d*mn gate.”

Maira Q - Dei Lead, Godrej Capital

“Inclusion isn’t just policy—it’s practice, huh.” And Maira’s got receipts.

Godrej has quietly been building a fortress of queerness: Transition Support Policy with actual leave days + medical coverage, pronoun & gender self-ID on the internal systems (no awkward HR convos!), all-gender washrooms placed thoughtfully, not just to tick a box, and queer hiring that’s intentional, not just seasonal.

But she’s real about the struggle: “People often only include what feels familiar. Anything outside the template is scary territory. That’s the challenge.”

Her verdict on rainbow capitalism? “Pride Month is a checkpoint, not the finish line. If your inclusion pauses after June, you were never really running.”

Her dream workplace is one where queer folks are everywhere—in hiring, marketing, leadership, and even the product strategy. Because guess what? “Inclusion isn’t a campaign. It’s culture.”

These stories aren’t just inspiring—they’re a blueprint for the future. Because being queer at work shouldn’t feel like a tightrope walk between authenticity and acceptance. It should feel like freedom. And thanks to changemakers like Hiten, Harish, and Maira, we’re inching closer to that dream—one pronoun, one policy, and one power move at a time. Let’s be clear: Pride doesn’t end with a campaign. The real celebration is when showing up as your full self is no longer radical— it’s just regular. According to Harish, “The onus of inclusion lies on those who are included, not on those who are excluded.”

Who's actually walking the talk?

Let’s cut through the rainbow confetti and see who’s actually showing up for the queer community beyond the ‘gram. Old school giants like Axis Bank and Godrej Capital? Total trailblazers. They’re not just putting out Pride posts—they’re putting policies in place. We’re talking all-gender washrooms, self-ID forms without drama, medical insurance that covers gender-affirming procedures, and actual partner benefits for same-sex couples. Oh, and queer-inclusive hiring charters with HR teams trained to not flinch at pronoun corrections. Major snaps.

Godrej’s Good & Green commitment isn’t just a CSR buzzword—it includes active LGBTQIA+ representation, transition support, and real allyship, not just rainbow emoji energy. Think: Job fairs for queer folks, DEI councils that aren’t just HR side gigs, and regular audits to keep the receipts real.

Axis Bank’s ComeAsYouAre initiative does exactly what it promises—creates space for every identity, every expression. Their internal LGBTQ+ forum isn’t just symbolic—it actually helps shape policy and raise red flags if the culture slips. Plus, they’ve trained 50,000+ employees in LGBTQ+ sensitivity. Hello, real impact.

And now, for the cool kids on the block: A new wave of Indian startups—from food delivery disruptors to fintech flexers and adworld darlings—are lowkey killing it when it comes to queer inclusion. These workplaces are rolling out the stuff that actually matters: Pronoun pickers on internal platforms (yes, please). Gender-neutral washrooms—not just labelled, but stocked, safe, and thoughtfully located. Bias Busting 101—aka unconscious bias trainings that employees actually attend (and not just RSVP “yes” and ghost). Healthcare coverage that includes gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy—because queer health is health, period. Queer ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) that aren’t just performative Pride Month panels— they’re year-round community.

Bottom line: These aren’t just rainbow-wrapped initiatives. They’re structural shifts—slow, yes, but showing us what authentic inclusion can look like in the Indian workplace. Less corporate cosplay, more conscious culture.

Real talk: what inclusion actually means

True inclusion isn’t a rainbow sticker slapped on your logo every June. It’s gender-neutral bathrooms you can use without fear, health insurance that treats partners like partners, not side notes. It is real, ongoing unconscious bias training (because one workshop won’t cut it), and crystal-clear antidiscrimination policies and grievance systems that actually work. Trans-inclusive hiring that’s not lip service, as well as vibrant queer employee networks with representation in leadership.

Hunting for a job? Don’t just skim descriptions—stalk LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Reddit. Ask the real questions at interviews. If they dodge or waffle, swipe left.

Build your tribe. Join or start queer employee groups. Know your rights (Transgender Persons Act, POSH). Find allies who do more than just post rainbows—they call out cringe and have your back.

The final word

Being queer at work in India is a high-stakes balancing act—office politics, societal bias, HR Excel sheets included. But change is happening in policies, in people, and in the courage of queer professionals showing up everyday. Every rainbow badge means something only if the boardroom behind it is brave enough to back it up with real action.

“The responsibility is on cis het men, who rule the roost of the top layers of corporate houses to make space for women, LGBTQIA+ and PWD (people with disability) people,” says Harish. So at workplaces, the filter is cute, but real allyship is in the hiring policy.

Statistics to know

A queer snapshot of India Inc. in 2025:

92 per cent of India’s transgender population is excluded from formal employment. Translation: The workforce is still failing its most vulnerable.

Only 9 per cent of Indian companies have LGBTQIA+ inclusion policies. So much for all those rainbow reels, right? l Just 3 per cent offer gender-neutral bathrooms. Still scanning floor plans for safety? Same.

87per cent of queer employees lack access to an LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG). No safe space = no true support system.

India loses up to 1.7 per cent of its GDP annually due to LGBTQ+ exclusion. Bias isn’t just bad for people, it’s bad for business too.

Only 4 per cent of companies conduct annual DE&I audits. You can’t fix what you don’t measure. l One in every 5 queer employees fear being outed at work. Pride shouldn’t come with a panic button.

(Source: IJNRD Queer Inclusivity Report 2024, Godrej India Culture Lab White Paper 2023, LinkedIn Diversity Insights 2023, Pride Circle India LGBTQ+ Workplace Survey 2024, World Bank LGBTQ Economic Impact Report)

Lead image: Illustrations by Anwesh Sahoo

The article originally appeared Cosmopolitan May-June 2025 print issue

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