IndiGo's Gender-Neutral Initiative: Introducing 'Mx' as an Option

IndiGo's Gender-Neutral Hiring Process 

As part of broader initiatives to promote diversity, IndiGo is considering introducing the gender-neutral honorific 'Mx' for internal candidates. With a 62 percent domestic market share, the nation's largest carrier hopes to quadruple the number of people with disabilities it employs. According to an airline representative, the honorific "Mx" for internal candidates is being considered.

IndiGo's Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Sukhjit S. Pasricha, told PTI that the airline has launched several efforts for the LGBTQ+ community, including employee referral programs designed expressly to promote the employment of LGBTQ+ people.

"This has strengthened candidate mobilisation through internal resources and fostered a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees... we partner with agencies specialising in LGBTQ+ recruitment," he said.

"Our benefits like gender reassignment surgery and inclusion of live-in partners in the medical insurance have created an even more inclusive space and have been one of the attractive features of our outreach to aspiring candidates from the community," he added.

"Our organisation has over 240+ individuals with disabilities across 60+ cities in customer-facing roles. The placement of individuals with disabilities is determined based on multiple factors, including safety, accommodation requirements, and skill mapping.

"We prioritise merit-based hiring and have primarily employed individuals with disabilities as customer service officers/executives for airport operations roles, with some also serving in cargo teams," Pasricha said.

According to him, the airline is steadily inducting LGBTQ+ individuals and employing them in various functions, including flying. He also said the airline aims to increase the number of individuals with disabilities it employs by at least twofold in the coming financial year. At the end of March 31, 2024, the airline had 36,860 permanent employees, including 5,038 pilots and 9,363 cabin crew.