WeWork India, one of the major co-working businesses operating in the country, has announced the extension of medical insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners of its employees.
The Company, which is part of the realty firm, Embassy Group, has taken this step to show how serious it is about its diversity and inclusion (D&I) agenda.
While many companies in the country offer medical insurance to same-sex partners of their employees, and also for gender-reassignment surgery, WeWork has become the first collaborative workspace company in India to offer health insurance cover to partners of all LGBTQ employees.
Other LGBTQ-friendly organisations in the country include big names, such as Accenture, IBM, Godrej Group, ADP, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra. All of them have altered their policies to ensure that same-sex partners of their LGBTQ employees also benefit from the health insurance and medical cover provided.
With more than 500 employees in the country, WeWork India’s partnership with Futurerisk and The Oriental Insurance Company has made it possible for its employees to add partners as dependents and gain medical benefits, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. This is a major step towards making its workplace LGBTQ friendly.
The Embassy Group, which is based in Bengaluru, is a big name in the country’s commercial real-estate space. It tied up with US-based WeWork about four years back, to launch the co-working business in India.