“If you look at the first 15-18 years of education, women always perform better if not as well as men. This is reflected in the gender parity report of the World Economic Forum. The one place where we come very close to men is education. That’s where we have over 96% parity, which falls to 35% when it comes to economic participation. How does meritocracy suddenly become such as big question mark after we come into the workforce? Organisations need to look at the problem internally,” argues Nitu Bhushan, CHRO, Pernod Ricard, South Asia.

The idea of building a diverse yet meritocratic organisation needs to be driven by leaders who believe in it. Diversity, equity and inclusion must be deeply embedded in an organisation’s culture and business strategy, says Suresh Narayanan, chairman and MD, Nestlé India. “A truly inclusive organisation is built when leaders set the tone by holding themselves accountable, addressing biases and ensuring equitable access to opportunities for their teams. As we stand shoulder to shoulder, the principles of ‘enablement, enhancement, engagement, empowerment, and equity’ will help businesses create an environment that truly lays the foundation of inclusivity and diversity building, leading to a resilient and future-ready organisation.”

“Enablement provides access to mentorship, training and resources that levels the playing field for everyone. Enhancement celebrates and leverages the unique strengths, perspectives and experiences of employees, and fosters innovation. Engagement encourages belonging and participation in decision-making. Empowerment equips individuals to contribute meaningfully and stay accountable. Equity ensures equal opportunity for everyone,” Narayanan further explains.

Charan agrees the success of diversity has got a lot to do with the CEO’s attitude. “Some leaders are passionate, but many don’t know how to execute. Certain types of cognitive abilities are rare, and they exist across populations. Leaders must identify and develop them.”

“Leadership is such a privilege. It’s an opportunity to leave things better than you found them. For us, legacy isn’t just our numbers in one year, but the products we innovated, the management systems we improved, the organisations we made more inclusive and resilient — all things that lead to long-term flourishing. In that sense, leaders who bring rationality and love to what they do tend to have the most successful outcomes,” adds Godrej.

The DE&I backlash in the U.S. has one big lesson for corporations — a mere tick-in-the-box activity of having more women or people with other sexual orientations in the workforce is tokenism, which is bound to fail. “One thing one should never compromise is meritocracy. Never get into a quota system, you end up recruiting people who don’t need to be with you,” reiterates Mehta of L Catterton India.

The success of an organisation depends on the intelligence and capabilities of employees, not gender.