Democracy and growth are interconnected. Inclusive democracy believes in inclusion of excluded groups in all spheres including business and industry. It is fact that for historical reasons and continued graded inequality in our social system, the excluded groups, such as women, minority and SCs and STs, are largely underrepresented in business and industry.
They have been facing discrimination in job market while competing with dominant social groups. Business and industry sectors have to ensure diversity in workplaces as well as in ownerships and must respond to social responsibility in nation building. Business and industry organisations should not limit itself to just doing charity by contributing donations but they should practice the policy of inclusion in employment and sharing ownership. The SCs and STs are visible in political parties and as representatives in governance from Panchyat to Parliament and they also have representation in Government and public sector jobs due to reservation after independence, but they are not visible in private sector business and industry.
Just mere political representation benefiting few families is not enough; there should be mass economic activities for SCs and STs to liberate them from continued poverty and social discrimination. The continued inequality in social and economic life due to under representation and lack of participation of a major segment of our society in economic activities is weakening social, economic and political democracy and it has been affecting the overall work culture and production and thus, economic growth.
The private sector business and industry has emerged as the largest source of employment. The post economic globalization trends in India show increasing disinvestment of public sector companies and withdrawal of State from State owned business and industry. The benefits of economic globalization to the market forces need to be distributed across social groups.
The growing privatization process has increased the public attention towards private sector not only as a major source of employment but also in responding to social responsibilities. By the effort of Government in 2006, the business and industrial sector has voluntarily come up with affirmative action as a social responsibility in ensuring social equality by creating opportunities for the historically marginalized excluded sections of our society to ensure their participation in private sector business and industry.
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has been leading efforts on affirmative action agenda by developing code of conduct on affirmative action in four areas which includes education, employability, entrepreneurship and employment for marginalized groups specially targeting SCs and STs since 2006. The other private business and industry bodies such as the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have also voluntarily committed for affirmative action in addressing social injustice, discrimination against SCs and STs.
Many of the prominent leaders of business and industry such as Tata groups have come up with affirmative action in a number of ways. Tata has declared affirmative action policy in its employment and undertaken promotional initiative to build business partners form among historically marginalized groups focusing SCs and STs by creating access to quality education, technical skill and competency.
The Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) came into existence on April 14, 2005 in Pune by upcoming small Dalit entrepreneurs having an annual turnover between Rs 1 crore to maximum Rs 5 crore to promote business among Dalits and encourage Dalit youths with the spirit of entrepreneurship and develop business leadership among them. The DICCI is in the national council of CII and have members in Australia, UAE, Japan, Germany and South Africa. Many studies have established the fact that SCs and STs have absolutely no representation in business and industry.
A study by a team of researchers associated with University of Northern British Columbia, Canada in a report published in EPW 2011 says there is no diversity in Indian corporate boards. About 93 per cent of board members belong to dominant social groups, Brahmin and Vaishya castes and the rest belong to SC, ST and OBC. The business and industry in India has to be inclusive of different social groups to become secular and democratic in its composition.
There are a number of industries and business houses which have developed affirmative action programme for the marginalized, especially for SCs and STs. As part of the affirmative action many of them are running schools, hospitals, skill development training centers and providing support in many ways to the youths to become employable. It is suggested that along with education there should be supply diversity in public contract, departmental purchase, dealer and distributorship which will help in getting access of SCs and STs to business and industry. The industry should follow a non–discriminatory employment policy to ensure diversity at workplace.
The whole recruitment process should be transparent and free from caste and gender based biasness against excluded groups. The work places should have a social environment free from all forms of discrimination by dominant groups. There have been reports of hate campaign and derogative caste based remarks against youths of vulnerable groups while they are participating in interviews and appearing exams.
The voluntary policy and self declared code of conduct adopted by private sector business and industry organizations in a charity mode should be converted to a legal binding one, because many of the business and industry organizations are not following affirmative action on their own in the absence of monitoring and accountability.
The affirmative action effort of corporate bodies should be integrated with initiatives of Government and CSOs for targeted larger impact to change the continued situation of under representation. It is also observed that there is no concentrated collective effort by business and industry organizations to address the basic issues faced by excluded groups such as livelihood and injustice and exploitation against them.
The affirmative action policy should percolate down State and regional level business and industry bodies such as Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Odisha. There are a number of private business and industry bodies operating in Odisha in mining, steel, power, aluminum, hotel, infrastructure development, mineral trading, education and health sector and their affirmative action efforts are very minimal in creating impact on the life and livelihood of the marginalized groups.
The target groups are not aware about the opportunities of participation for their development available for them in private business and industry sector and there is no such formal arrangement either by Government or private bodies for monitoring of affirmative action to ensure transparency in the process. In Odisha with 40 per cent of its population belonging to SCs and STs should have a State policy guideline for private business and industry and must have a dedicated institutional mechanism to ensure its fullest implementation.
(The writer is a researcher and rights activist who can be mailed at manasbbsr15@gmail.com)