The launch took place in Mumbai in the presence of Arundhati Bhattarcharya, Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce, Pirojsha Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Properties, Gaurav Pandey, MD & CEO, Godrej Properties, and Parmesh Shahani, Head – Godrej DEI Lab
Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL), one of India’s leading real estate developers, today announced the launch of CREW – Collective of Real Estate Women; A National Collective of Women Professionals, aimed at empowering women in real estate, construction, and allied sectors. This nation-wide initiative will be rolled out through the implementation of a series of inclusive company policies based on internal research with 500+ women (current employees and alumni of Godrej Properties).
As an organisation, GPL has been at the forefront of diversity and inclusion with 31% representation of women, LGBTQ, and PWD employees in a sector with 12% diverse representation primarily driven by women. This stems from a deep conviction that work needs to move beyond representation to building an authentic and inclusive organisation.
The launch event witnessed the participation of eminent women thought leaders such as Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce, Simran Khara – CEO of Koparo, Sabriya Tenberken – Founder, Kanthari Foundation and Dr. Sushma Kulkarni – Vice Chancellor, NICMAR University, Pune through a panel discussion moderated by Parmesh Sahani. This panel was a thought-provoking discussion on “Women in Leadership”. Conversations centred around the need for organisations to codify flexibility to keep women in the workforce. The panel also spoke about the importance of women being in the driver’s seats of their careers despite adversities and choosing to stay with an organisation and the need to buy, build and retain talent right through the value chain from academic to corporate leadership.
Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties Limited on the launch of CREW said, “Our aspiration is to create a nation-wide platform to engage meaningfully with academia, industry bodies, and other stakeholders to ensure an increased presence of women in the sector. We believe improving women labor force participation rates in India is a critical economic and social priority and we hope to see this initiative have a positive impact on this important issue in the real estate sector.”
Adding to this, Gaurav Pandey, MD & CEO, Godrej Properties Limited, said, “We envision this forum as more than just an initiative; it’s a cornerstone of our commitment to building a real estate industry that thrives on diversity and inclusivity. Our vision with the forum is about creating an ecosystem where women not only occupy leadership positions but flourish in them. By launching this forum, driven by our shared vision of an inclusive real estate sector, we hope to pave the way for a future that reflects the rich diversity of talent that will transform our industry.”
Megha Goel, CHRO, Godrej Properties Limited, said, “The rationale behind launching this forum stems from all the work that we have done till now in the space and where we want to reach. We are confident of not just making the real estate sector but also society at large a better place. We look forward to building CREW over the next few years as a thriving collective of all women in the real estate sector, and especially on the construction side which typically has not been the most attractive sector for women. The insights from our internal study “Project Woolf” underscores the importance of creating a supportive and empathetic work environment which will help us build on data-based insights for women representation and inclusion.”
