TISS Mumbai News & Events ,Deonar

Tata Institute of Social Sciences Inks MoU With Pernod Ricard India Foundation

April 13, 2022: The Pernod Ricard India Foundation announced today a collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and the Collective Good Foundation (CGF) to develop India's first Academic-Corporate Fellowship Program for the transgender population. This programme will systemically enable transpeople from underprivileged communities across India to carve out their own business careers.

Transpeople are frequently forced to take on menial jobs in society due to inequitable access to education and skills, and they continue to confront major socioeconomic and cultural barriers on their path to financial independence and employment in the corporate workforce. Furthermore, due to constraints such as a high bar for minimal education and experience, as well as a dearth of gender-neutral rules, systems, and infrastructures, and low societal acceptance, only a few transpeople advance to executive and managerial positions in their corporate careers.

This fellowship programme will give them the necessary training and exposure to prepare them for managerial and higher-level jobs in the corporate ladder. Transgender people between the ages of 18 and 25 can apply for the programme, and there is no requirement for applicants to have a higher degree. These applications will be shortlisted via an online procedure, which will be followed by a round of group talks and personal interviews. The first cohort of 20 fellows is scheduled to begin on July 1st. Applications for the one-year Fellowship are now being accepted and will close on April 30, 2022.

The one-year fellowship programme is split into two parts. The first phase aims to develop theoretical knowledge and workplace skills through 6 months of immersive classroom training and project work led by TISS faculty and mentors. It will be followed by six months of hands-on workplace immersion through internships with major corporations and non-profits to give broad exposure and experiential learning. Each fellow will get a total stipend of INR 2,40,000, as well as INR 96,000 for travel and lodging over the year. Throughout both periods, fellows will receive ongoing emotional and psychosocial support, as well as career coaching from experienced LGBTQIA+ professionals, corporate, industrial, and non-profit leaders.

TISS will issue completion certificates to the fellows upon successful graduation. This will offer them with solid credentials that will allow them to be considered for corporate membership. In addition, the fellows will be encouraged in developing their long-term goals, and the programme will aim to create corporate placements for interested fellows in collaboration with Pride Circle.