Gay community turns assertive in workplace

Last Thursday, gay men and women across the country were going around their offices with a spring in their step and a grin on their faces. They were constantly on the Net and on the phone,typing endless messages and talking excitedly about parties. Some even parked themselves in front of the office TV, unabashedly switching from business channels covering the Economic Survey to channels reporting on the Delhi High Court judgement de-criminalising homosexuality.

All this surely posed a bit of a dilemma for their colleagues. Were congratulations in order or should one just let the whole thing pass? Did one have to be a close friend to congratulate someone on matters of sexuality? What exactly does one say under such circumstances anyway?

In some offices, however, there was no dilemma. When Parmesh Shahani, Editorial Director of Verve magazine, entered his office late in the morning, he was greeted with a big hurrah. “It was like India had won the World Cup,” he says. “My straight colleagues were as excited by the judgement as my gay colleagues. It became a way for them to show their support.”

Never has it been harder to stay in the closet in India . After Facebook, Dostana, pride parades and television talk shows, the Delhi High Court judgement is the latest in a recent series of opportunities for gay men and women to declare themselves. “This is such a morale booster,” says Shahani , who authored the book Gay Bombay: Globalisation , Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India last year. “It quite often happens that everyone around you knows you’re gay but they’re just waiting for you to come out and tell them. Now the process has become easier.”

One might say these things are always easier if you’re lucky enough to be working at a fashion magazine, but Shahani actually began his corporate career at staid old Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M ) before Anuradha Mahindra whisked him away to Verve. He still holds the post of head, vision & opportunities, at the parent company and says, “I’ve been out at M&M since I joined. It’s a very warm, accepting group.”

While those in the closet ponder the possible process through which they could come out — start with the boss? Tell colleagues in the immediate team? Spill the beans to the office gossip and wait for him or her to spread the news? — others are making things simpler for themselves by declaring their sexuality during the recruitment process itself.

When Harish Iyer, 30, joined Shobiz five years ago, he made it a point to scratch out the marital status options in the event management company’s standard recruitment form and write ‘gay.’ “It’s a very important part of who I am and I wanted my boss to know right from the beginning ,” he says.