Closets, cubicles, & corporate cosplay

Pride props in the lobby, but no gender-neutral loos? We're done clapping for performative allyship that vanishes faster than a rainbow filter.

- Siddharth Jain

They/them. He/him. She/her. Ze/zir. Pronouns are slipping into email footers and Slack bios, but for queer pros in Indian offices, it's still a tightrope walk—between visibility and safety, between rainbow cupcakes and bathrooms you can actually use.

I started this story sipping cold brew in a glass-walled coworking space, wondering: Is corporate India truly queer-friendly, or just queer-friendly-for-the-gram? Spoiler alert: It's complicated.

If you've been on the corporate Pride campaign treadmill, you know the drill: pink balloons, rainbow reels, brunch-and-badge, merch drops. But one day past June 30? Misgendering, microaggressions, and polite silences crash the party.

2024 data tells the real story: One in five queer employees fear being outed at work. Only 4 per cent of Indian firms do annual DE&I audits. Translation? For many, coming out is less “authentic glow-up” and more “risk assessment 101.”

PINKWASHING 101: WHEN PRIDE IS JUST PR

The Bakery Test: Imagine walking into a bakery in June. The walls are covered in rainbow bunting, the staff wear Pride pins, and there's a sparkly sign at the entrance that screams, “LOVE IS LOVE!” You're hopeful. This place looks inclusive. But then you glance at the menu. No eggless cakes. No vegan bakes. You ask for one, and the server smiles awkwardly and says, “Oh...we don't actually have those. But we totally support people who do.” You'd walk out, right? That's pinkwashing. It's when inclusion becomes a costume, not a commitment. When corporations cash in on queerness without offering any real space, support, or policy for queer people to exist safely and authentically.