Making D&I a reality in workplaces

Chennai, 29th October 2018: SAGE publications in association with AVTAR group is thrilled to announce the launch of one-of-its kind book “The 99 Day Diversity Challenge™ by the award-winning social entrepreneur Dr Saundarya Rajesh”, Founder -President of AVTAR Group, Chennai. The book is designed to develop a diversity and inclusion mindset in any organization or even individual within the proverbial 99 days.
In an engaging, gentle, and a light-hearted manner, Dr Saundarya Rajesh demystifies this Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) for the business leader, the diversity enthusiast and even young professionals who are curious about this topic. Over a set of 99 stories, anecdotes, thought blogs, D&I games and puzzles, this book sequentially uncovers what diversity and inclusion means, and how D&I can be absorbed by just about everyone.
Dr Rajesh through her work in this area for several years is best-placed to author a book on this topic as it answers a very pertinent question-- Is a Unified Culture Possible in a Diverse Workplace? “Yes”, says the author and in her admirable style reiterates that she “fervently believes that the ability to survive in a world of diversity and espousing inclusion will be among the most sought-after skills right after the 3 R’s (the proverbial Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). Managing people of different generations, leading a gender-diverse team, working out deals with a client at the other end of the globe, sending your kid off to a country you have only seen on Travel & Living—all of these and more are what we call ‘the business case for Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)’. D&I is here to stay, especially in a world where ‘humanizing behavior’ will be the key competitive differentiator when mundane tasks are overtaken by machines”.

“Dr. Saundarya Rajesh is uniquely positioned to write this book because she has lived this journey personally and has been a teacher and collaborator to both individual women and their companies for a couple of decades. This book synthesizes her best thinking and experiences. The ability to have a handy resource as reference when you are on your company’s Inclusion journey, is critical. This is the book you want in your arsenal. Be sure to get your advance copy!” reveals Subha Barry, Vice President & General Manager - Working Mother Media.
“The 99DDC™ is a culmination of years and years of learning, unlearning, observations and strategies that have helped companies look beyond their D&I mandate and internalize practices that are sustainable. While the topic is an important one that needs to be assimilated with all seriousness, I have used the story telling format, to ensure that it is light on the reader. I hope that India Inc. will respond to this call for what I refer to as “Agile Inclusion” – the pursuit of inclusion almost in a project management mode within the proverbial 99 days.” adds Dr. Saundarya Rajesh.
The 99 Day Diversity Challenge™ with intriguing ready-to-use tools will unlock the diverse human potential at the workplace and offer an enriching experience to readers through stimulating tools such as lexicons, word puzzles, crosswords and thought-provoking D&I games.
“Organizations which practice the concept of diversity and inclusion are more creative and adaptable. They usually live longer and out beat others in growth and profitability. I also feel that companies having diversity and inclusion provide the right platform to foster happy, involved and closely knit teams. Having pioneered the concept of Diversity and Inclusion along with spearheading the work for providing second careers for women, Dr. Rajesh is the best person to write “The 99 Day Diversity Challenge™.” Having walked the talk, there is no better person to elucidate and throw more light on Diversity & Inclusion”, elucidates, C.K.Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director - CavinKare Private Limited.

The book is being released on 30th October at Best Practices of the 100 Best Conference 2018 organized by US-based Working Mother Media and AVTAR group in Chennai, to celebrate the Best Companies for women in India (BCWI).

About AVTAR Group
AVTAR set up in 2000, is India’s first diversity advocate & workplace inclusion expert. Renowned for its extensive work in the space of Diversity & Inclusion and more specifically, women’s workforce participation, it is the country’s largest provider of second career opportunities for women and is also the earliest to begin working on diversity audits and measurement. Lead by the visionary Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, AVTAR has ventured into areas of women’s empowerment and career creation, which are firsts to India, such as – 1) Creating a marketplace for second career women to meet potential employers, 2) Developing a comprehensive set of career enablers which companies can implement in their workspaces, 3) Spearheading original research that has provided cutting edge insights to organizations 4) Re-Skilling, Up-skilling and Counselling of women to pursue sustainable career paths and 5) Building career intentionality amongst under privileged girl children. Over its 18 years of existence, AVTAR has helped charter Diversity & Inclusion plans for several organisations in the IT, FMCG and Financial sectors in the country.
About the Author: Dr Saundarya Rajesh is one of India’s most respected thought leaders on Diversity and Inclusion (D & I). An award-winning social entrepreneur, she is best known as the pioneer of second-career opportunities for women in corporate India. She has been recognized as a ‘#100Women Achiever’ by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, India, and also listed in the United Nation’s ‘Women Transforming India’ by the NITI Aayog. She was recently chosen as one of the most ‘Innovative Diversity & Inclusion leaders by the Asia Pacific HRM Congress.

A relentless advocate of the potential of women in the workplace, Dr Rajesh is the advisor of choice for an impressive list of organizations and leaders on the benefits of inclusion and diversity. One of the earliest voices in India to speak about the need for gender balance in the workplace, her diversity immersion sessions have benefited varied audiences, ranging from industry bodies to the police force, from entrepreneurs to college-goers, from organizations such as Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Mahindra Group and Tata Group to small and medium businesses.

About SAGE Publications
Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE publishes more than 1,000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. Our growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com

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This release was published on openPR.