Procter & Gamble India announces new commitments and shares progress on actions to strengthen Equality & Inclusion in India

The commitments were announced at P&G’s #WeSeeEqual summit that saw participation from equality and inclusion advocates and personalities like Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Kunal Khemu, Radhika Piramal, Dr Rukmini Banerji, Soha Ali Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Yami Gautam, Zoya Akhtar among others

Mumbai, May 10, 2022: Procter & Gamble India today announced new commitments aimed toward advancing Equality & Inclusion across India, at its third annual #WeSeeEqual summit. The event saw participation from distinguished advocates and personalities who came together to discuss the challenges that society faces on equality and inclusion, and how different stakeholders can accelerate progress together.

Built on the theme ‘#Unlearn and #Unleash’, the summit saw P&G India commit to several actions needed to advance progress towards creating an equal and inclusive world:

·         P&G India will spend a cumulative total of INR 500 Cr by deliberately working with women-owned and women-led businesses in India from the year 2021 to 2025

o   Last year, P&G committed to spending a cumulative total of INR 300 Cr by deliberately working with women-owned and women-led businesses in India, from the year 2021 to 2025. With already more than INR 200 Cr invested through this initiative in the first year across India, the company is now elevating this commitment to INR 500 cr by 2025

·         P&G India will introduce the ‘P&G ReLaunch program’ – to welcome back talented professionals who took a break from the workforce and are looking to restart their careers in STEM roles, with targeted support and development

o   This program is part of the company’s commitment to strengthening diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and will focus on people looking to relaunch their careers in IT, Research & Development, and Product Supply

·         P&G India will improve the accessibility of its brand advertising, including social media content and websites, by making it accessible to people with sight and hearing impairments by 2024

o   The company will do this for all new brand advertising across India. This initiative will make P&G brands more inclusive and accessible to all members of our community

·         P&G India will introduce ‘P&G Shiksha Betiyan Scholarship Program’ to provide financial aid and mentorship to girls wanting to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education

o   This program will be introduced across 50+ colleges including technical institutes, undergraduate colleges and post-graduate universities. The program will be aimed at underprivileged girls and will provide them with financial support and mentorship as they pursue STEM education

·         P&G India will sensitize students pursuing advertising and marketing courses on accurate portrayal and representation of women in advertising

o   P&G will partner with leading marketing and communication colleges to shape the next generation of marketers and advertisers

Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent said, “In India, we have made strong progress in driving equality and inclusion inside and outside of P&G by taking deliberate actions that break barriers and tackle biases that hold us back. This year, taking this further, we are announcing bold actions and new commitments and also expanding existing ones which will enable us to play an active role in driving equality and inclusion in society. We will continue to leverage the voice of our company and brands to raise awareness on issues that matter and partner with expert organizations and individuals to address them. We remain steadfast in our commitment to advance equality and inclusion by making meaningful impact for our employees, through our brands and with our partners in our communities”

The company also shared strong progress on commitments made last year as part of the annual #WeSeeEqual summit. In 2021, P&G announced its ‘Share the Care’ parental leave policy, which has introduced greater leave benefits and flexibility for all new parents within the company. P&G also extended its company offered benefits to partners of LGBTQ+ employees. In India, the company has spent more than INR 200 Cr by deliberately working with women-owned and women-led businesses. On its commitment to educate more than 2.5 crore girls on puberty and hygiene by 2024, through its Whisper Menstrual Health and Hygiene program, P&G has already educated more than 1 crore girls. In line with its commitment to drive equality behind the camera and increase diversity in the creative pipeline, in the past year, nearly 40% of P&G’s advertising films were directed by female directors. P&G also entered into a partnership with the NITIE Institute to tackle on-ground, perception-based and opportunity-linked barriers on STEM education.

The third edition of P&G India #WeSeeEqual Summit engaged business leaders, government officials, and personalities in candid conversations around strategic actions that can be taken to advance equality and inclusion. In addition to global and regional P&G leaders, the Summit also saw the participation of influential personalities and global leaders, including:    

·         Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India

·         Dr Prasad Dandekar, Head – Radiation Oncology, HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Founder – Health Professionals for queer Indians  

·         Kunal Khemu, Actor

·         Radhika Piramal, Executive Director and Vice Chairperson, VIP Luggage

·         Dr Rukmini Banerji, CEO, Pratham Education Foundation

·         Soha Ali Khan, Actor

·         Dr Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, Transwoman, Doctor/Intern, Content creator, Artist, Actor

·         Twinkle Khanna, Author, Film Producer, CEO Tweak India

·         Yami Gautam, Actor

·         Zoya Akhtar, Filmmaker

The #WeSeeEqual program demonstrates P&G’s continued commitment to creating a more equal and inclusive world. The actions needed today to shape the minds of the future generations, the challenges and solutions to addressing equality in education and economic opportunities and the importance of building an inclusive workplace were some of the key topics discussed across the various panels throughout the summit.

About Procter & Gamble: P&G serves consumers in India with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Vicks ®, Ariel®, Tide®, Whisper®, Olay®, Gillette®, Venus®, AmbiPur®, Pampers®, Pantene®, Oral-B®, Head & Shoulders®, Herbal Essences® and Old Spice®. Please visit in.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G India and its brands.