Our Events A New, Positive Future For LGBT+ Inclusion in...

Description

As many of you will be aware, Thursday 6 September, was a great day for LGBT+ inclusion. The Indian Supreme Court made a landmark decision to abolish Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - finally decriminalising gay sex in India. This decision has been the cause of much celebration for those of us, like Community Business, who have been championing and advocating for greater LGBT+ inclusion for here in India for so many years.

We are pleased to invite you to a panel discussion on what role companies can play in bringing a new and positive future for the LGBT+ Inclusion in India, reflecting on the 6 September ruling and understand the implications of this new judgement.  In addition to being joined by key LGBT+ experts and advocates, we are also delighted to welcome Community Business’ CEO, Fern Ngai to be a part of the discussion.

As a passionate champion and advocate, Fern will share the work Community Business has done to mobilise the business community behind LGBT+ inclusion and the impact of our work across the Asia region – helping to facilitate a discussion on what next for India.

Event Speakers

Arvind Narrain

Lawyer, activist and writer

Arvind Narrain is a human rights lawyer, activist and writer. He has written extensively on human rights issues including on LGBT rights, minority rights and discrimination law. He is the founder member of the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore, a human rights lawyering collective based in India. He has been part of the team of lawyers involved in the litigation around Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), in both the High Court and the Supreme Court. He is currently the Director Research and Practice at Arc International, which advocates the right to be free from violence and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status and develop international law and policy on the same.

Srikanth Suvvaru

Chair of the RBS India Rainbow Network

Srikanth Suvvaru is the Chair of the RBS India Rainbow Network, an ERG that is designed to build safe spaces for our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and to ensure that RBS is a truly great place to work for everyone. Their focus is on allowing people to bring their true selves to work, irrespective of gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression.

Freya D Souza

With a MBA in Marketing, Freya has spent close to ten years in marketing, advertising and brand communications, working with some of India’s most well-known brands, narrating stories that are authentic, impactful and relevant - be they about brands or people. An amateur editor, author and designer, she is also co-founder of a Bangalore based NGO that works across sector – Freya’s focus currently remains LGBT+ equality and environmental activism.

Fern Ngai

CEO, Community Business

Fern Ngai is Chief Executive Officer of Community Business. Fern joined Community Business 5 years ago and under her leadership, the organisation has expanded its products and services, established a subsidiary in India, and has launched the groundbreaking Hong Kong LGBT+ Inclusion Index and annual Awards. Fern is a Steering Committee member of the 30% Club Hong Kong which believes in collaborative, concerted business-led efforts to help accelerate progress towards gender parity on Hong Kong corporate boards. She was also a finalist in the 2017 Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award. Originally from Canada, Fern has 40 years of broad experience in financial services, technology, change management, and in workplace diversity and community programmes. She held leadership roles in the human resources, technology and operations, governance, and corporate affairs functions at Standard Chartered Bank and was its first diversity and inclusion champion for Hong Kong. She volunteers as a board director of KELY Support Group, a Hong Kong charity dedicated to supporting young people.