EMPOWERING WOMEN IN WORKFORCE

The three-spoke dictum of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE and I), is almost ubiquitous to the working world, but when used in the gender parlance, evokes a sense of emancipation within well-oiled workforce machinery, especially for women and their constant quest for validity and self-worth. Equally critical is the heat and heartbreaks of ‘second career’ opportunities where women dare to thrive or to transition in their respective careers.

Kindling this wave of second-career revolution in the past two decades is a pioneer and award-winning social entrepreneur, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-Director, Avtar-The Power of Diversity. A diversity strategist and author of ‘The 99 Day Diversity Challenge: Creating an Inclusive Workplace’, her journey is but the story of every woman, aspiring for a particular future, who often get cowed down due to systemic issues or personal biases. Saundarya Rajesh talks to Corporate Citizen on how she dared to dream and build an empowered future for herself and the innumerable women ‘talent pool’, lost either due to motherhood, marriage or both. How she has since re-oriented the corporate matrix through research-based data, artificial intelligence (AI), and workshops to influence 500-odd Indian and multinational companies in integrating DE and I within the corporate landscape

"To my shock and disbelief, I found that organisations had deep-rooted mindsets about women coming back to a career post a break. I also realised that conscious inclusion of different kinds of people, with differing orientations towards life, work, families etc., which was a great booster of a positive culture, was starkly missing"

“For whatever reason, the future does not map out in the way that a woman visualises it; at that point, there is a fork in the road, and you look at which path to choose. Do you take that route or you know this is not the future that I had imagined? Also, it does not need to be something that I do not accept. It can be something that I also co-create. I think I took the second path as a girl from the beautiful seaside town of Pondicherry”, said Dr Saundarya Rajesh.

PIONEERING A CHANGE

Dr Saundarya’s achievements, however, did not follow a chartered path initially but took shape gradually as she attempted to rejoin the workforce after a four-year career break. It was her conscious effort and grit in trying to re-enter the workforce with a gap in her resume, which has now altered the face of the HR sector in India, which is transitioning towards a more women-centric and diverse work culture.

She finally embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in 2000, with her first venture Avtar Career Creators, which is now powered by AI (Artificial Intelligence) providing hiring solutions nationwide. She founded the Avtar Human Capital Trust followed by Flexi Careers India.

THE WONDER YEARS

"When I tell my kids about the fun which we had in those days, they look at me with pity in their eyes-a world I grew up in without the gadget-a remote control"

Strolling down memory lane, Dr Saundarya reminisced upon the girl with the well-oiled pigtails, cycling away to her school in Pondicherry; a school nestled amidst mango orchards and falling in love for the first time with the English language.

College was where she learnt the power of networking for the first time, that she considers as a skill which is even more critical than breathing in today’s age and times.

“I won many oratorical competitions. There was music and I had lots of fun. But today when I tell my kids about the fun which we had in those days, they look at me with pity in their eyes-a world I grew up in without the all-powerful gadget-a remote control”, she said.

Keen on literature, she had won the University of Madras’s Gold medal for Emerging University 1st rank in English Literature and had imagined a likely future into poetry, and the romance of nature with Wordsworth’s Daffodils, or Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman. But life and her father had chalked a different plan for her.

Also, growing up in a joint family in Pondicherry, Dr Saundarya imbibed the importance of hierarchy and spiritualism and “both have stayed with me till today”, she said.

THE YESTER YEARS

She graduated from Pondicherry University with an MBA in Systems and Marketing in 1990. She attributes her gradual shift from the romanticism of English literature to the cut-throat world of management to her father who enabled her to recognise her leadership skills. “I was part of the third batch and a rather grudging MBA student because my first love was English Literature,” she said.

She suddenly found herself in a classroom where she was also among the top-ranked students. But despite her three years of college with English Literature, she had at that point completely stepped off the quantitative track. “I also wrote the GMAT and cleared it. But when I went into the B-school classroom, I was completely thrown away because they were talking law and quantitative technics-all that I had left behind in my 12th grade. However, my father’s support helped because he said everyone has something and that they have to learn to accept and to face challenges that is something ingrained in you,” said Dr Saundarya.

She graduated with one of the best campus placements offer at that time as Manager Merchant Services with Citibank India at Chennai and recollects that she began with a monthly remuneration of Rs.5000. “And why was it such a large amount of money? Because the next highest campus placement offer was not even half of that”, she said.

“So, this is 1990, and you can imagine how things were at that time, but it was a fantastic time for me. In those three years, I got promoted twice and also got the ESOPS, which were reserved for high performing employees. All of this happened and then marriage, maternity and motherhood also happened. And that took me a little out of the exact frame of mind”, she said.

THE GAP AND RESURRECTION

As with most women, Dr Saundarya too was thrown within the boundaries of domestic duties but by choice. In the four years from 1993 to 1996, she realised that that there is a need for a competitive environment to thrive in one’s chosen career. “See, if you are to make those numbers and hit those targets, you have to have a certain focus. I felt that after becoming a mother, my focus was kind of divided. It would have been possible for me to have continued but somehow I felt that the child needed me at home, and I took a break,” she said.

But when she seriously attempted to rejoin the workforce after her break, “I found that the Indian corporate scenario at that time was not really ready to give up its fixation of how the ideal candidate should be”, she said.

But, not to get bogged down, she picked up a vocation as an Interim Professor at Chennai’s M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women. In her more than six-years tenure with the college, she mobilised her students and the ‘all-woman’ ethos to explore the types of trajectories that women should take. “Do all women aspire for a career or are there only some women who really want to pursue a career?”, were questions that formed the basis of India’s first few research and deliberations conducted by Dr Saundarya Rajesh.

She shares her journey with Corporate Citizen on creating an inclusive workplace where women’s participation is equally important to her, to womanhood and the country.

Corporate Citizen: What was the trigger in conceptualising Avtar?

Dr Saundarya Rajesh: A couple of years after my break, around mid-1995, I decided to seek opportunities to re-enter the workplace. To my shock and disbelief, I found that organisations had deep-rooted mindsets about women coming back to a career post a break. I also realised that conscious inclusion of different kinds of people, with differing orientations towards life, work, families etc., which was a great booster of a positive culture, was starkly missing.

"When I attempted a re-entry after my break, I found that the Indian corporate scenario at that time was not really ready to give up on its fixation of how the ideal candidate should be or in knowing how people should pursue their careers"

Dr Saundarya Rajesh at the launch of her book

CC: Does Avtar have a working philosophy?

Avtar works on the four aspects of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) related services-Experiencing Diversity, Embedding Diversity, Enabling Diversity and Enriching Diversity. Each of these focus areas helps us to provide thought leadership to our corporate partners-the organisations that are utilising D&I and Equity to create a change in society.

CC: How acceptable was the concept of a second-career chance in the 1990s?

Even if companies did hire second career women, they were treated as second-class citizens and companies lacked empathy. It was not because corporates at that time were filled with anti-diversity folks; it was simply because there was no awareness. Around this time, I began teaching as an interim professor at the local M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women in Chennai. But in my quest to understand the system better, I began researching-on women’s careers, organisations connect with women et al. On December 3, 2000, Avtar was born.

CC: What ailed corporates in encouraging women’s participation in the workplace?

When I attempted a re-entry after my break, I found that the Indian corporate scenario at that time was not really ready to give up on its fixation of how the ideal candidate should be or in knowing how people should pursue their careers. Anybody who was not part of the existing norms were not comfortable either with that work culture. So, I switched and got into teaching because I found that to be a comfortable and flexible job option. Besides, the teaching option provided me with a huge window into a world where I could begin researching on women’s careers. I started the work that created the first few research dimensions on gender and employment in India.

CC: What were the many firsts that drove Avtar’s contributions in the past two decades?

Well, Avtar has always been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to creating inclusive workplaces. Here are a few firsts:

India’s first career service for women started in December 2005 and presently rebranded to myAvtar to include not just women, but all members of under-represented talent pools (www.myAvtar.com)

In July 2006, India’s first formal, recorded Return-to-work program, with 480 women rejoining the workplace.

In 2008-09, launched the first career creation program for homemakers for Big Bazaar (Future Group).

In July 2009, we conducted India’s first Flexibility audit on behalf of Accenture, resulting in several thousand jobs getting converted into their flexible variants.

Organised the Segue Sessions in December 2011-India’s first skill-building session for career re-entry by women.

India’s first developmental project for young underprivileged girls to develop career intentionality in December 2016.

India’s first initiative to assess policy creation and implementation by corporates in creating welcoming workplaces for women-the Best Companies for Women in India-hosted from 2016 to 2020.

GROOMING A NEW ‘AVTAR’

CC: How many women have re-entered the workplace since Avtar’s launch?

When I started Avtar in 2000, I would say honestly, I did not have a clue as to how we would get employment for women who had dropped off. We did not know if we could even make it possible. So, the initial few years did not see much traction. We would go from office to office, pitching the idea of women who are no longer part of the workforce but are keen to be in it. The idea was to just get them jobs. And I think, some corporates saw the merit in the argument and decided to give us a chance.

CC: Who was your first client?

Our first client was Standard Chartered Bank and we began with a few hundred women, about 480, in 2005-2006. Over the past 15 years, although we have crossed about 50,000 counts, I believe this is an exceedingly small number, as compared to the over 27 lakh Indian women, who, after their education, entered into the workplace, but dropped off after a few years. We have a long way to go in this regard.

CC: Have corporates changed their attitude towards D&I?

In the beginning, our work was noticed only by those corporates who had a clear diversity mandate. But today, we work with over 300 corporates and at any given point in time, we engage with at least 120-130 clients. We assist them in diversity hiring, in designing events and interventions. We also conduct audits and provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategic advisory while also creating workshops and training programmes. I would say with confidence that almost all discerning corporates, brands that are conscious of their responsibility, are keen on creating diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces.

CC: Did the Indian Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 help your cause?

In 2017, the country witnessed the amendment of the Maternity Benefit Act that extended the paid maternity mandate to 26 weeks, making India a country with one of the most generous parental leaves. In 2018, India closed the gender gap in tertiary education enrolment gap for the very first time. When it comes to the 100 best companies, they constantly innovated, raised the bars, created new benchmarks for gender inclusion and the results are here to see.

CORPORATE CONDITIONING AND BCWI

"When we started India’s first career service for women in 2005, we found that women were unclear about their role identity. Despite being educated, they were not encouraged to pursue a career"

Dr Saundarya Rajesh at CSR Puthri Excellence Awards

CC: Is there a change in the socio-cultural environment for working women in India?

When we started India’s first career service for women in 2005, we found that women were unclear about their role identity. Despite being educated, they were not encouraged to pursue a career. They were urged to be aspirational in their studies, but when it came to creating an independent identity of their own, the family stalled them. These conflicting demands, especially on younger women professionals lead to a huge drop-off. Even as we convinced organisations to relook at their hiring and create more welcoming workplaces, we also felt that the strong intent to work was missing in many women.

CC: Does socio-cultural conditioning impact women in sustaining their careers?

Yes, women are socialised to spend the better part of their lives (definitely the first half) taking care of everyone else. But, when they are given the opportunities, do women really make the most of it? We asked our-selves this hard question. The answer lay in intentional career pathing. This is a technique that helps women manage both the half-circles of their life.

CC: How have corporates transitioned in creating an inclusive work environment?

Since 2016, Avtar is in association with Working Mother Media, a champion of culture change in the US, started hosting corporate India’s largest and most comprehensive gender analytics exercise-the Working Mother & Avtar Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) study. This is the only international expansion of this prestigious study, outside the U.S. The association has resulted in listing and celebrating close to 100 of India’s most inclusive workplaces for women for the period between 2016 to 2019.

CC: What has been the impact of the BCWI initiative on corporates?

This was a hallmark move that encouraged Indian companies to track, monitor and report key diversity metrics for sustaining their diversity progress. Between 2016-2019, when the BCWI was expanding its canvas, there were changes as well as growth in terms of the corporate landscape that rendered itself to women’s employment. Adhering to the vision of the study, BCWI over the years has helped progressive companies share, learn and grow from the most impactful of best practices. The study canvas has over the years also helped establish the rigour in applicant companies to track, monitor and report diversity metrics, building on their own repositories of diversity intelligence. This is only set to expand in the coming years, boosting D&I conviction with data-backed strategy.

CC: Has the BCWI helped to increase women’s representation within corporates?

Women’s representation at the 100 Best Companies in 2019 stood at 33% (8% points higher than 25% in 2016), a trend if effectively enabled can help these companies achieve the goal of gender balance as early as 2027. Today, over 53% of the 100 Best Companies have formal second career hiring programmes that particularly hire women on career breaks. Going by the pattern of best practices adopted, by 2025, this will become a norm in almost all the 100 Best Companies. Sixteen per cent of business leadership in the 100 Best Companies is currently women and is poised to grow up to 25% by 2025.

CC: Do the BCWI parameters help catalyse women’s workforce participation?

There are close to five lakh women employed in the 100 Best Companies who have the best of enablers from formal/structured mentoring (across 92% companies) to Leadership Training (across 99% companies) and childcare support (across 72% companies), also includes formal phase-back programmes for women returning after maternity leaves (across 74% companies). A winning aspect of career enablement at the 100 Best Companies is not exclusive for women alone. It includes programmes like mentoring, career sponsorship, high-potential talent programmes and flexible working mode, which are open to all employees.

CC: What about BCWI in relation to DE&I in the workplace?

Measures to ensure zero tolerance for workplace sexual harassment, apart from being legally compliant require organisation-wide sensitisation and awareness programmes. To help build employee conviction in diversity, equity and inclusion, there are specific training programmes across the vast employee cross-sections both across levels and roles. Senior male leaders help promote a culture of allyship, helping create inclusive cultures that champion the cause of diversity and that of parity. While the inclusion intent is top-driven, there are conscious efforts to hold employees accountable for pursuing the DE&I agenda, right up from the managerial level.

POSITIONING DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

"The Covid-19 induced remote work has also been able to help organisations calibrate their work protocols to meet the flexibility needs of diverse talent pools including women and people with disabilities"

Dr Saundarya Rajesh with her senior leadership team at Avtar

CC: How futuristic is the idea of DE&I amongst corporates?

We have entered a new decade and the first year has been nothing short of a litmus test for organisations on inclusion. Given the omnipresence of Covid-19, and the subsequent paradigm shift to remote work, discerning organisations have been focusing on nurturing inclusion and belongingness in their employees operating via virtual work environments. Our observations suggest that organisations that have been quick to respond to this unprecedented disruption, have been able to secure the trust and confidence of their workforce which is critical to sustaining an atmosphere of inclusion and enable employee effectiveness.

CC: How has the pandemic impacted DE&I in relation to remote work patterns?

The Covid-19 induced remote work has also been able to help organisations calibrate their work protocols to meet the flexibility needs of diverse talent pools including women and people with disabilities. It has helped several leaders reflect on the basics of essential employee behaviour, in inculcating an inclusive mindset. The learnings from the Covid-19 era holds a potential to boost the DE&I momentum amongst India Inc. The onus is now on the decision-makers. As organisations chalk out their plans for inclusive recovery and growth, we look forward to moving into times of greater diversity consciousness. In leveraging the talent potential of a truly diverse workforce diverse in gender, age, abilities, sexual orientation and culture, lies our hope for a better future for the country.

CC: Can Indian women really work from home?

Of the 2.8 crore Indian women (non-rural, non-agricultural) who are employed, an approximate 22% started working from home, post-Covid-19, as businesses were forced to shift their revenue models and work practices. Many of these women (about a third) already had the experience of working-from-home policies, since they had worked for companies which had initiated this as a diversity best practice several years ago.

CC: What about women struggling for a work-life balance even in the remote state?

Over 66% of women were navigating the blurring boundaries between professional and personal lives for the first time during the lockdown. These women had to literally undergo an overnight shift to allow their safe, personal, home spaces to become open arenas of public scrutiny as they began working from home. The stress associated with multiple responsibilities, the assumption that somehow women just “know” how to work-from-home efficiently and the fact that religion, education, homecare and eldercare were jostling for the same space as that of a professional career, which placed enormous levels of stress amongst first-time home-workers.

CC: So, what is the solution to balance work-life beyond gender biases?

The solution is that if you work for an evolved organisation that has both policy rigour and discerning implementation, then yes, you-the Indian woman, can comfortably work from home and the numbers will grow. However, on the other hand, if you belong to the majority of women workers who are still struggling to reach the golden mean of balance, then no, this is an experiment that is bound to do the exact opposite and cause greater attrition of women than before.

CC: What made you extend the inclusive job search for LGBTQ members and people with disabilities?

In the past few years, we began noticing that organisations that engaged with people from under-represented talent pools were creating amazing cultural breakthroughs. They experienced a fantastic sense of intrinsic value. However, the process of identifying people from the LGBTQ community or transgenders or persons with some form of disability, presented a challenge, since organisations also did not want to compromise on meritocracy. They did not want this mere tokenism. They wanted every candidate to enjoy the same career progress and not get stagnated. So even if actual work experience was lacking, they looked for learnability, for passion and for perseverance amongst the candidates. This requires a different kind of assessment and interviewing. It means that we must remove pre-existing biases and look at each individual not just in terms of what they already know, but also what they can build. Thus, was created www.myavtar.com, a portal launched in November 2020.

"I am deeply spiritual. I also believe in the Hindu philosophy of Karma. I am of the firm opinion that every action, event and happening is pre-destined"

CC: What has been the impact of your digital portal?

The portal, www.myavtar.com, brings together organisations that are deeply invested in community building, but not just as a CSR prop but as job-seeking people, whose job search is essentially different. We are thrilled with the way organisations have responded to this idea. We are looking at hosting our first-ever online jobs event shortly and hope that hundreds from marginalised sections of society step into their careers via MyAvtar.

CC: What is the gist of your book the ‘99 Day Diversity Challenge’?

Very often, I have been asked whether Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are esoteric concepts that are understandable only by a select few. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are concepts that are practical, simple and hugely valuable. They are also very easily implementable in our daily lives. I wanted students, especially, B-School students to understand the idea behind diversity, equity and inclusion effectively. The new breed of professionals are future industry captains or leaders of enterprises. If we are able to get them excited about the concepts of DE&I, then we know that businesses of the future will not be biased. It is to this goal, that I wrote the 99 Day Diversity Challenge. The 99DDC is a set of stories, case-lets, self-assessment tools etc.; exceptionally light reading that practically explains everything that one needs to know about being an inclusive professional.

CC: What’s next for Avtar?

One of our initiatives that gives me and Team Avtar the greatest sense of fulfilment is Project Puthri (www.puthri.org). This is a mentoring programme launched in 2016 for young underprivileged girls to create career intentionality in them. Today, we have 62 live projects across as many schools, where we work with over 6500 girl children from deeply underprivileged families in the age group of 13 to 18.

CC: Who is a Puthri scholar and how does this model work?

A Puthri scholar is selected by her school, usually a corporation, government, a missionary or a trust-run school. The child enters the programme when she is in 8th grade. We mentor her for five years and exits the programme after completing her 12th grade, followed by a graduation course. We handhold them during their most impressionable years and become a part of their struggles and achievements. We also engage with them with our post-school sessions and eventually, after they complete their tertiary education, we hope to see them pursuing their careers.

In fact, more than our beneficiaries, the Puthri scholars, it is the mentors and career coaches, who derive great contentment and positive energy from our work. We continued with our sessions even during the pandemic-in fact, it was more rigorous than even the in-person sessions. Our donors came forward to sponsor devices, internet bandwidth, teleconferencing solutions, study implements for the children.

CC: What are your expectations from the Puthri scholar concept?

The Puthri scholar who learns the 40 career intentionality skills goes on to influence her entire family. It is incredibly heartening to witness how a virtuous cycle of enablement can be created. To see an alumni get-together of Puthri scholars, say, 10 years from now, when each of them is in an economically empowering job, influencing the lives of other Puthri scholars-is my dream!

PERSONAL PLAY

"Entrepreneurship is not about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is a beautiful walk down a rainy cloudy avenue watching the rainbow taking shape"

CC: What was the reason behind starting something on your own?

I am a deeply spiritual person. I also believe in the Hindu philosophy of karma. I am of the firm opinion that every action, event and happening is pre-destined. However, making it work to the extent that you want is entirely in your hands. Sounds contradictory? Well, that’s life!

CC: Where did you pick up your sensibilities on gender equality and inclusion?

We were two daughters to our parents, no brothers. So, no first-hand experience within my family about gender differences. But it was a large joint family, so had plenty of male cousins, extended family members. Yes, there were definitely differences in the way women and men were treated but it did not seem unfair.

CC: Where do you think you learnt the most in your career path?

I think we learn in a variety of ways. We learn from concepts, from people around us and from our own experiences. My first three years of my career-all at Citibank, were filled with learning about how corporates work. I learnt how processes and systems are created, how technology is imbibed et al. I have learnt a lot about life and values and compassion from my parents and my two grandmothers. I have learnt a lot by observing my husband’s career-his views on the inclusion of people into the workplace from myriad backgrounds have influenced me a lot.

CC: What important lessons have you imbibed from your working life?

This work that we do, in creating inclusive workplaces is one that penetrates deep into our own thinking. You cannot coach others unless you are highly self-aware. Our work involves discussions, conversations and research exchanges with corporates and leaders and visionary HR professionals. Their views flow into our minds and we find ourselves constantly re-examining the boundaries of what we can achieve. When we work in the space of unconscious biases, for instance, we are able to observe our own biases. Likewise, when we work in the area of allyship, we understand the extent of journeying that is required to be a true ally. Our work with some of India’s leading corporates, top brands that are household names for many decades, enables us to learn how they create their culture and how scale is possible, even in the matter of establishing values.

CC: How did your gamble to teach in the interim, pay off in your current role as diversity strategist?

After I launched Avtar, I think the learning increased rapidly. It was akin to having your own baby and understanding what the baby wanted. Since I was also a part-time faculty at M.O.P Vaishnav College at that time, it also helped that I was constantly exposed to young students (the Gen Y of that time) who asked tough questions and made me think and reflect. In fact, even today, at Avtar, after 20 years of existence, it is a culture of learning. Nowadays, I find that I learn a lot from my son and daughter who are constantly schooling me.

CC: What is your advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs?

I believe a woman is more suited to be an entrepreneur in many ways. Her innate ability to multitask, to be inclusive, to feel that guilt that comes with when not everyone’s voice is heard, her right-braininess, it is a complete package! All I would say is, just keep at it. Do not give up. Entrepreneurship is not about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is a beautiful walk down a rainy cloudy avenue watching the rainbow taking shape. It is about creating something which did not exist before – something that every mother is familiar with!

CC: What motivated you to translate the Tamil poem ‘Abirami Andadhi’, into English?

It was a labour of love. It has nothing to do with my career and everything to do with my life. Goddess Abhirami is as human to me as you. She inspires me, motivates me, and comes to my rescue in many difficult situations. It was but a debt of gratitude that I decided to translate the Abhirami Andhadhi into English so that the beauty of Sri. Abhirami Bhattar’s poetry as well as the spiritual force of the Goddess can reach many more people. I am delighted that the book has gone for multiple reprints and has found a place amongst other authors as a reference guide.

CC: How do you balance between your entrepreneurship career and personal life?

I do not balance anything; everything just balances itself out. All I do is have utter faith that God (in my case, Goddess) has planned it all for me. I am noticeably clear about my priorities-family, relationships, work, and women.

ACCOLADES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Besides winning many accolades in the past two decades, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, founder-director, Avtar-The Power of Diversity, stands tall as one of the ‘The Chevening Changemakers’ featuring 35 global leaders in the prestigious photography exhibition in London. The exhibition celebrates leaders who are determined to overcome humanities’ acute problems. It recognises international ties forged through 35 years of the U.K. Government’s Chevening Scholarships programme by showcasing specially commissioned portraits of global changemakers.

She is a recipient of the 2019 ‘WebWonderWomen’, International Women’s day award from the Ministry of Women and Child Development in a collaboration with Twitter India and Breakthrough India that uses the power of social media to run a positive campaign in steering a change in society.

Her other notable achievements include the “Winds of Change Award” – in the individual category conferred by The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. in April 2019 and the Inspirational Global Women Awards event, South India’s premier award in November 2020, receiving the award under the Social Enterprise category.