2024 India REDI Monitor Report
Full Report EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 9 December 2024
At Dare to Overcome 2024, the full India REDI (Religious Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Monitor Report, as provided by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, will be presented, with special recognition of the 10 top-scoring companies for their achievement.
Contact: Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, media@religiousfreedomandbusiness.org – +1.410.268.7809
Indian BSE Companies Outperform Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 on Religious Inclusion Measure
Most BSE 100 Companies Mention Religion as Part of Diversity Commitments
New Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Monitor Gives Top Marks to 10 BSE-Listed Companies
However, No BSE 100 Report Having Faith-Related Affinity Groups
Companies can opt-in to benchmarking REDI Index in 2025 
(New Delhi, India) – A new annual ranking of the 100 largest companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE 100) shows nearly all mention faith and religion as part of corporate diversity commitments. The secular Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s new Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Monitor, released today, gives high marks to major companies like Godrej, Reliance, and Interglobe (parent company of Indigo) for recognizing the importance of faith in the lives of employees and customers.
The 2024 India REDI Monitor establishes a new benchmark for annual assessment of the state of corporate India’s inclusion of religion as an integral part of its diversity initiatives. Not only does it allow domestic trends to be monitored, it also allows Indian companies to be viewed in comparison with global peers. For example, Nearly all (98%) of the BSE 100 mention or illustrate religion on their diversity pages. substantially higher than both the share of Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. The 2024 US REDI Monitor reports 86% of Fortune 500 companies mention or illustrate religion on their diversity pages, and the 2024 UK REDI Monitor finds that 79% of companies on the FTSE 100 Index do likewise (see chart).
In addition to this positive inclusivity trend emerging in a number of major Indian corporations, the REDI Monitor also reveals opportunities for continued growth among BSE 100 companies. While some BSE 100 companies report having employee resource groups (ERGs) for diversity characteristics such as gender and sexual orientation, there is no public mention of such groups for faith-oriented ERGs among BSE companies. By contrast, 62 Fortune 500 companies (12.4%) publicly report having faith-oriented ERGs and 12% of FTSE 100 companies have such ERGs. Having such ERGs is one of 11 best practices companies around the world benchmark using the opt-in REDI Index. For instance, high-scoring Salesforce’s faith-and-belief business equality ERG ‘Faithforce’ has its largest chapter in India.
“This is a remarkable achievement for India, an indication that its top performing businesses are drawing on the country’s rich cultural and religious diversity as a business advantage in an increasingly globalised and diverse world,” said Dr. Brian Grim, Chair of Dare to Overcome, a global corporate diversity initiative with annual meetings in Washington DC, London, and New Delhi. “We look forward to celebrating this achievement on Monday 9th December at our 2nd annual Dare to Overcome “Unity in Diversity” business conference in New Delhi,” remarked Grim, who is also President of the secular Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, the leading global authority on issues surrounding how faith contributes to global business and economic success.
The top ten companies in the 2024 India REDI Monitor raking are (in alphabetical order):
- — Britannia Industries
- — Godrej Consumer Products
- — HDFC Life Insurance Company
- — Hindalco Industries
- — Indian Oil Corporation
- — Interglobe Aviation
- — Larsen & Toubro
- — Reliance Industries
- — Samvardhana Motherson International
- — Shree Cement
India’s biggest brands recognise that respect for cultural and religious diversity is vital to recruitment, retention and creating a productive work environment. “As I noted in a report for the World Economic Forum, with religious affiliation and diversity continuing to grow world-wide between now and 2050, companies that fail to understand the value of a religiously inclusive workplace are increasingly at a competitive disadvantage,” stated Grim.
2024 India REDI Monitor Top Line Findings include:
- – Nearly every company (98%) mentions or illustrates religion as part of their commitment to workplace diversity, with 17% doing so on their main diversity webpage, 76% on another diversity-related page, and 5% doing so with an image only
- – 71% of the BSE 100 signal religious inclusion through images
- – 73% of the BSE 100 provide links to dig deeper into their diversity programmes
- – 44% of the BSE 100 mention the rationale for their diversity commitments
- – 73% have social media posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) related to religion and/or religious diversity
Not only do 98% of the BSE 100 showcase diversity through statements and images, but more than 7-in-10 (73%) also celebrate festivals by posting faith-positive greetings on their social media accounts year after year. Also, religion is prominently reflected in the unsaid Standard Operating Procedures, which include practices such as lighting a diya before any inauguration or event, applying tilak, and decorating for Christmas.
“The presence of faith-based diversity in Indian corporations is as organic as Indian society itself,” said Dr. Farha Iman, a senior researcher on the REDI Monitor study. “However,” she also notes that “in the current socio-political landscape, managing this diversity necessitates extra effort to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the organization. The presence of diversity doesn’t automatically ensure safety but faith fluent management and measures ensures it.”
While the 2024 REDI Monitor Scores for the BSE 100 reveal nearly all of listed companies reference religion on their Main Diversity Page or elsewhere, none of these companies have established faith-oriented Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). This discrepancy suggests that the representation of diversity within companies may reflect the pluralistic nature of Indian society rather than the organizations’ proactive efforts to create programmes to foster religious diversity, equity and inclusion. The visibility of faith symbols among employees indicates that individuals do bring their faith-based identities to the workplace. Nevertheless, the report highlights that Indian companies are fostering organic and living faith spaces by acknowledging this diversity.
The full study, including its methodology and the rankings of all BSE 100 companies can be found this link.
On Monday, 9th December 2024, at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, the the full 2024 India REDI Monitor Report will be presented, with special recognition of they 10 top-scoring companies for their achievement at the 2nd annual Dare to Overcome ‘Unity in Diversity’ conference.
In addition to the REDI Monitor, Indian companies are invited to participate in the India REDI Index survey which will open for companies to opt-in to benchmark their progress in (and be recognized for) including religion and belief as an integral part of their overall commitment to workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. It is free and open to any Indian company with 2,000 or more employees. Indian companies interested in participating in the 2025 edition of the REDI Index have until 1st July 2025 to submit their surveys. Results will be announced at the annual Dare to Overcome “Unity in Diversity” Conference in New Delhi.
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