Vividh 2019: An employment fair for diverse candidates aims to enhance inclusiveness in workplaces

With an aim to enhance workplace diversity, Vividh, a focused career fair is set to connect candidates of every gender, sexuality, age and ability with employers eager to create work environments that encourage inclusivity.

Organised by the LGBTQ++ growth network 6 Degrees and the experiential marketing firm The Event Studio, the diversity fair to be held on 28 July 2019 will be a day-long event comprising CV submissions, on-the-spot interviews and interactions between corporates and diversity candidates.

Representational image/ Press Trust of India

In addition to the 15 stalls at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai that will host these meetings, the event will also have panel speakers, counsellors and professionals who will address those gathered at the employment forum. Among the panellists are screenwriter and film critic Yohann Bhargava, director of Legal and Business Affairs at Jio Saavn, Oindrila Maitra and psychologist and columnist Rachana Awatramani.

Praful Baweja of 6 Degrees said, "Vividh, as the name reflects, is not just a job fair but a celebration and amalgam of diversity in Indian employees and entrepreneurs." Since its inception in 2017, the organisation has encouraged the engagement of the LGBTQ community within itself for skill sharing and referrals and the job fair was a step forward to include 'all intersectionality', he said.

For his part, Nimish Thakkar of The Event Studio noted that as a workplace the team has "always been inclusive to people of all genders and sexuality" and Vividh presented an opportunity in the diversity and inclusion space "where most of our existing and future corporate clients would find value."

Baweja also pointed out that it is exclusivity while assigning jobs at a workplace that might require effort, inclusiveness comes effortlessly. Moreover, drawing on his own experience of working in a diverse space, he said that he never had to go out of the way to sensitise his team towards the concept of inclusivity.

Furthermore, he added that with a variety of perspectives and voices at the table, the work environment is happier and more positive.

Following a similar idea, Vividh is said to be curated with the view that diversity employment has tangible and direct benefits that go beyond simply creating a perfect male to female ratio or filling the inter-generational gap by hiring people who fit all the different age brackets.

Vividh, Diversity Fair 2019 will be hosted at the Nehru Centre in Worli, Mumbai on 28 July 2019