Introduction

Good Business Lab (GBL) is dedicated to improving the lives of workers around the world. Central to this mission is creating a workplace that fosters diversity, equity and inclusion, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of gender, have the opportunity to thrive. This plan reflects our commitment to a fairer and more equitable world of work, in alignment with our core values of Inclusion, Collaboration, and a Culture of Care.

Purpose and Scope

This Gender diversity, equity and inclusion plan outlines GBL’s framework for promoting gender equality across our organization. It is designed to address potential imbalances, build an inclusive environment, and ensure equitable opportunities at all levels.

Core Principles

1. Equal Opportunity: GBL is committed to ensuring all employees, regardless of gender, have equal access to career opportunities, development resources and career advancement –
   1. Fair Recruitment: We ensure that our recruitment processes reduce bias, using clear, well-defined, and objective criteria to assess candidates. For example, we have used software to remove gendered language from our job descriptions, experimented with masked screenings for some roles, include case studies and work samples to assess both soft and technical skills, and ensure there is a hiring committee rather than an individual making the final decision and that all conversations and scores are documented. We also clearly outline the recruitment process in the job description and try our best to keep the process lean and minimize free labor through our exercises. We also include statements in our JDs to encourage diverse applicants to apply; such as: We know it’s tough, but please try to avoid the ​​confidence gap​.​​ You don’t have to match all the listed requirements exactly to be considered for this role. Parity is ensured through the defined salary bands for each level across the organization. We introduced affirmative action in internships in Winter 2021, so far 60+ interns have been hired through this process. In each of the cycles we have managed to fill 50% of the internship positions from the Affirmative action (AA) pool (Other Backward Classes (OBC)/Scheduled Tribes(ST)/Scheduled Castes (SC))

A total of nine people have converted to full-time roles, two of who are from the AA pool (we recognize we can do more to increase this number through mentorship and other support).

We ask about reasonable accommodations requirements during the recruitment process, and we have accommodated needs such as; extended timelines for assignments, shared questions in writing before the interview, etc. We also mention our commitment to diversity and that GBL is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

1. Development Opportunities: We provide equal access to training, skill-building, and mentorship to foster the professional growth of all employees. For example, we’ve matched employees who want to pursue a PhD with academics and policy oriented team members with senior people at the World Bank to facilitate career growth. Some opportunities for empowerment Initiatives include:  developing mentorship programs and leadership pathways to uplift underrepresented genders. Some examples of training sessions organized for GBL team include: onboarding sessions for new hires, Art of Feedback, Effective Business Communication, Finding Your Flow,  Additionally, team members have individual T&D (Training & Development) budgets to pursue training programs that align with their development needs as well as team/organization needs. 
2. Promotion: We ensure that promotions are based on performance and standardised, transparent eligibility criteria, reducing bias, offering equal opportunities for career progression across all GBL levels, including senior roles. This includes skills grading across core competencies and 360 feedback from peers, direct reports, and managers to provide a holistic perspective. Additionally, alignment with culture and values is also a crucial parameter for performance assessment and promotions.

1. Diversity and Inclusion: We are committed to fostering an environment where diverse perspectives and experiences are sought and valued, and everyone can contribute meaningfully –
   1. Inclusive Culture: We create an inclusive work environment where every employee feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their ideas and experiences. Our  GBL culture handbook serves as a guide to achieving our shared goal. It’s what makes us come together and work harmoniously, making GBL a safe, healthy, and nurturing workspace that brings out the best in all of us. A place where we are in the flow of work, together. The handbook includes five core values (Inclusion, Culture of Care, Courage, Effective Communication, and Result-orientation), eight operating principles, norms and protocols.  They are written to be actionable, highlighting expected behavior from team members. They help us describe the type of behavior we expect from GBL team members. For example, we regularly solicit feedback from the team on our values and operating principles to evolve and identify instances where our values are not being lived through actions. 
   2. Inclusive policies: GBL maintains key policies, such as the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) policy for the India team and our Code of Conduct for all GBL team members with a policy section on Equal opportunity at the workplace, free of discrimination and harassment, which are aligned with the needs of a diverse and inclusive organization. All GBL policies are designed to address and support diverse needs. These policies are regularly updated to reflect changes in local laws, organizational priorities, and evolving best practices.
   3. Inclusive Communication: We create a welcoming environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts/opinions/ suggestions/feedback. This involves being mindful of the language we use, whether in verbal conversations, written communication, or any other format. Thoughtful and respectful interactions, both within our organization and with external partners and stakeholders, are essential for fostering an inclusive and supportive community. To support this effort, we are developing an Inclusive Communication Workplace Guide, which includes a section on the ‘use of pronouns’, encouraging new team members to use the pronouns that they best identify with. We encourage brain-writing and other forms of hosting inclusive meetings. 
   4. A dedicated DEI Taskforce was formed this year through an open application process and consists of team members, representing various levels, to provide input and contribute to GBL’s DEI initiatives on a strategic level, advancing our dual mission, one for the world and one for us – to enable all businesses to improve the lives of workers— and to empower our team to lead fulfilling, impactful lives while we do it.
   5. Addressing Unconscious Bias: We implement ongoing training and discussions to identify and address unconscious biases in decision-making processes, covering gender, age, caste, and other topics to spark conversations and motivate team members to reflect on their daily actions.  
2. Culture of Care: We recognize that employee wellbeing is fundamental to their success and productivity, so we foster a culture of support that caters to both personal and professional needs:
   1. Mental and Physical Health: GBL offers wellbeing resources such as individual and organisational wellbeing budgets that can be used for therapy, physical health, other such investments or wellbeing emergency needs, and flexible working arrangements to ensure employees can thrive inside and outside the workplace.
   2. Work-Life Balance: We promote a healthy work-life blend by offering flexible schedules, liberal time-off policies with recommended but not rigid limits, gender-neutral parental leave and the option to work remotely based on personal commitments and work requirements. 
   3. Supportive senior management: Senior management team at GBL is committed to be approachable, empathetic, and supportive, offering guidance and resources to ensure that every team member succeeds in their roles. For example, through monthly GBL managers training and knowledge sharing sessions, managers are equipped to navigate challenges, and to guide and empower their team. 

Awareness and Training

• At GBL, our dedication to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace is at the heart of our training initiatives. Guided by our commitment to DEI, we conduct training programs that cater to the diverse needs of our team while promoting awareness, continuous learning and action. Some examples of training programs conducted this year – unconscious bias, neurodiversity, emotional inclusion; Code of Conduct, and POSH – Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 – team awareness sessions. We also do an annual training for Internal Committee (IC) and Ethics Committee (EC) members to equip them with the knowledge of resources to ensure compliance with these two policies. 
• These sessions are thoughtfully designed to equip team members with the knowledge and skills needed to cultivate a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace. Additionally, we actively collaborate with external experts, ensuring that our approach remains relevant, comprehensive, and impactful. 

Implementation and Monitoring

The implementation of this Gender diversity, equity and inclusion plan will be led by People Operations, who will ensure the plan’s alignment with GBL’s mission and values. Progress will be tracked and transparently shared with stakeholders to foster accountability and trust.

Measurement and Reporting

The measurement and reporting of progress will be carried out using the defined metrics associated with each of the policies/processes currently in place within the company, such as the leave policy, wellbeing and training budgets utilisation, recruitment guide, promotions/increments policy among others. These reports/updates/aggregated insights are shared with stakeholders annually/need-basis. These metrics will help us track progress and identify areas for improvement in gender equality. 

Some of the metrics are:

• Ensure gender balance in recruitment (for example- diversity of candidate pool, diversity of panel)/ promotions, particularly in senior management and decision-making roles. 
• Ensure representation ​​by assessing workforce composition across the organization, identifying demographic gaps by level or relevant classifications/groupings (such as- vertical or team-wise). For example, at the senior management level, women representation is 62.50%. 
  • in our org-wide #BeYou survey, a majority of respondents identified as “Cis-man” (39.8%) and “Cis-woman” (54.5%), with 4.5% preferring not to share; and zero team members from gender-diverse groups. We aim to address this as we forge ahead on the inclusion path.
• Ensure retention tracking with a 12-month rolling average retention rate, and deep dive into analyzing if team members from a gender group are leaving the organization faster, or if there are trends in commitment levels within any group.
• Ensure the organization’s commitment to DEI, by evaluating DEI efforts through the #BeYou survey, participation in DEI initiatives/trainings/workshops, and team engagement surveys. For instance, in the June 2024 team engagement survey, 84% of team members agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I believe that GBL demonstrates a commitment to developing and retaining a diverse workforce.”
• Ensure equal pay for equal work across gender lines, with regular salary audits/review cycle feedback/promotions/increments decisions.
• Ensure work-life blend for all genders; with leave (time-off) data/ support form- for wellbeing intervention data/team engagement/satisfaction surveys. For example, in the June 2024 team engagement survey, the average score for work-life blend was 7.5 out of 10, on par with the work-life blend scores from the December 2023 survey. Additionally, 85% of employees agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “We are genuinely supported if we choose to make use of flexible working arrangements.
• We conduct bi-annual team engagement surveys measuring aspects such as psychological safety, collaboration and communication, work-life blend, DEI, and relationship with managers and peers to identify pain points. We collect post-session and post- performance review feedback, insights from stay and exit conversations regularly to remain agile

We hold managers and senior management accountable to these insights by generating and socializing department-wise reports and ensuring major gaps are highlighted in senior management team reviews.

Policy Enhancement

Based on the findings from our measurement and reporting practices, we periodically review and update our policies to address any inclusivity, and equity-related concerns. This process ensures that any gaps or inequities identified through data collection and analysis are promptly addressed. Our policy enhancement efforts focus on fostering equitable opportunities for all genders, reinforcing GBL’s commitment to continuous improvement and creating a more inclusive workplace.

Approval and Publication

This Gender Equality Plan has been formally reviewed and approved by GBL’s senior management team. It will be updated periodically to reflect our evolving understanding and commitment to gender equality.

Next Review Date

The next review and update of this plan will take place in December 2025, at which time progress toward each goal will be assessed and adjustments will be made as necessary.

Signed by GBL Board