Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is often viewed as just another corporate mandate. However, its transformative power lies in how it shapes lives and systems. Few understand this better than Sanchita Ghosh, a changemaker who has dedicated over two decades to redefining inclusion in India and beyond. From rural communities in South Asia to corporate boardrooms, she has championed care, empathy, and accountability as pillars of genuine change.
In this candid interview, Sanchita Ghosh shares her journey, insights, and the nuances of creating diverse and genuinely inclusive workplaces and communities.
About Sanchita Ghosh
Sanchita Ghosh is a Behavioural Change Specialist, DEI Strategist, and Community Builder with over 22 years of experience spanning South Asia and Africa. Her work blends behavioural sciences, sociology, and economics to create practical, sustainable strategies for inclusion. Guided by her principle of “care,” she has worked with global organisations like The World Bank, UN agencies, and the Tata Group, building equitable workplaces and advocating for care communities.
A Personal Journey into DEI
When asked what led her to DEI, Sanchita shared:
“My journey isn’t the result of a single moment but a whole set of experiences that shaped me greatly, both personally and professionally.”
Q: Can you share a personal experience that sparked your interest in DEI work?
Care has always been at the core of everything I do, including ensuring everyone has a voice and agency. My journey into DEI isn’t the result of a single moment but a whole set of experiences that have greatly shaped me, both personally and professionally.
Growing up, I watched my mother steer through a world that often denied her agency. She never went to school and carried the weight of entrenched gender roles her entire life. I remember how she wished for better lives for her daughters, for opportunities she never had. But even in her aspirations for us, she was bound by her reality, one where independence for women came with conditions. You could work, yes, but only after fulfilling every nurturing role society expected of you. That duality of the hope she carried for us and the limits she lived within taught me early on how acutely systemic barriers can shape a person’s life.
Years later, as I worked in rural communities, I saw similar dynamics play out on a much larger scale. From my work in the social development sector for seventeen years, I learned that progress doesn’t begin at the centre; it starts at the margins. I have worked with groups in marginalised and vulnerable situations and witnessed how often they were left out of decisions that impacted their lives. Inclusion wasn’t just about ‘doing good.’ It was about survival, growth, and transformation, not just for individuals but for entire communities.
How those years shaped me
Those years shaped how I think about inclusion today. I have seen how it takes time, trust, and persistence to chip away at barriers that feel immovable, often bordering on hopelessness. I have also seen how transformative it is when inclusion becomes central to any design and when systems are built to leave no one behind.
For me, fixing what is broken is not DEI. It is about creating something better, about integrating inclusion into whatever we build, whether in rural societies or corporate boardrooms.
Sanchita Ghosh redefines DEI as more than representation
Sanchita describes DEI as a multi-layered concept:
Representation is equity in action, but it’s just one layer of diversity. True diversity lies in the perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences that challenge conventional thinking and drive innovation.
She shares how inclusive decision-making by women farmers in the NRLM project addressed critical issues like nutrition, income inequality, and ecological sustainability—demonstrating the transformative impact of diversity in action.
Q: How do you define DEI, and what does it mean to you personally?
When I think of diversity, I see it in layers.
On the one hand, it is about the diversity of thought, backgrounds, and experiences, the richness that brings innovation, creativity, and problem-solving, much of what gets talked about. I have seen this play out in organisations where people with wildly different perspectives come together to solve problems in ways no single person could. This kind of diversity may or may not come from traditional cohorts, like gender, age, or ability. It comes from the depth of personal journeys, from someone who grew up in a rural village bringing fresh insights to a corporate boardroom or a neurodiverse team member reimagining a process everyone else had overlooked.
On the other hand, diversity is also about representation and ensuring that workplaces are microcosms of the society we live in. It is about giving everyone a seat at the table, not because it looks good but because it is the right thing to do. Representation is equity in action. I have seen how the inclusion of women farmers in decision-making was not a social initiative under NRLM (Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana MKSP project in AP). It led to solving critical issues of nutrition, income inequality, and ecological sustainability of the entire agricultural system. It transformed entire communities. The same principle applies in workplaces.
DEI’s role in sustainability makes it essential, especially for businesses. Businesses that embrace DEI are not just keeping up with the times; they are building for the future. Diverse teams are better equipped to adapt, innovate, and stay relevant in a constantly evolving world.
Personally, DEI holds meaning because it is built on a foundation of care, care for individuals, the systems we navigate, and the society we seek to create.
The missing link: Diversity beyond cohorts
“Cohorts give us representation, but perspectives give us transformation.”
Sanchita’s insights emphasise the need for organisations to move beyond mere representation and embrace individuals’ unique perspectives. She illustrates this with examples of colleagues whose unconventional life paths fueled creativity and problem-solving.
Q: You mentioned that DEI initiatives often focus on cohorts rather than diverse perspectives. Can you elaborate on this observation and provide examples?
I have been thinking about how to put this in a way that feels simple and true. Too often, we focus on cohorts defined by gender, age, ability, or identity. While these groups are essential to recognise because they reflect histories of exclusion and inequities, their presence alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Diversity becomes meaningful when it brings fresh perspectives, challenges conventional thinking, and enriches the way we solve problems and innovate.
Of course, representation matters to ensure everyone has a seat at the table. But a seat doesn’t guarantee a voice, and even a voice isn’t enough if it’s boxed into a stereotype, such as the voice of a woman, someone with a disability, or a marginalised group. The diversity of cohorts addresses who is at the table, but it’s the diversity of perspectives, thoughts, and human narratives that transforms the conversation. That’s what we need.
Let me help you understand it better:
Think of the colleague who brings insights shaped by their rural upbringing, offering solutions grounded in resourcefulness and practicality. Or the colleague whose neurodiversity allows them to see solutions others might miss entirely. It can also be the leader whose unconventional career path helps them challenge traditional norms and discover new possibilities. Or the teammate raised in a multicultural household who effortlessly bridges cultural divides. These differences, born from varied life paths, fuel the dynamism of any organisation. What’s the point of cohort diversity if diversity of ideas isn’t part of the conversation? It’s not about asking diverse cohorts to replicate what the majority group does but about embracing what they do differently.
That is the balance organisations must find. Cohorts give us representation, but perspectives transform us.
At the heart of diversity is not just who’s present or who fills the room but how they make the room think, work, and act differently, challenge assumptions, collaborate, and create in entirely new ways.
Sanchita Ghosh and the lessons from an unconventional career
Sanchita’s approach to DEI is shaped by her multidisciplinary career spanning behavioural sciences, economics, sociology, and marketing.
“Real change happens at the intersections,” she says, crediting her diverse experiences for her ability to design inclusive systems that are both practical and sustainable.
Q: How do you think your background and experiences have influenced your approach to DEI work?
My journey into DEI has been anything but conventional, and that’s where its strength lies. I didn’t come into this work through the traditional HR route. Instead, I’ve built my understanding of inclusion through the diverse experiences and perspectives I’ve actively sought over the years. My path hasn’t been linear, and that’s what makes it richer and more multidimensional.
I work at the intersection of behavioural sciences, psychology, economics, sociology, marketing, and communications. These are the tools in my kit. They help me notice patterns, sense dissonance in conversations or systems, and understand the subtle dynamics that often shape workplace cultures. Behavioural science helps me address biases that sit beneath the surface, sociology gives me a lens into group dynamics, and economics offers clarity on how systems reward or inhibit behaviours. Together, these perspectives allow me to design DEI strategies that are not just inclusive but practical, thoughtful, and sustainable.
My foundation in sales and marketing gives me a strong business lens. I have worked in sectors as varied as agroforestry, agriculture, off-farm livelihoods, education, health, and sanitation, working with communities in different countries in South Asia and Africa. These experiences have shown me what it means to truly listen, whether to women farmers in villages or leaders in boardrooms. Every interaction taught me something new about trust, dialogue, power, and cultural nuance.
Here is what my experience taught me
In many ways, I feel like a living example of diversity myself (haha!). My life has been full of intersections between disciplines, sectors, and perspectives, from grassroots to boardrooms. This experience shapes how I approach DEI, not as a policy or initiative but as a way of thinking and building. Real change happens in these intersections, and that’s where I find the most meaning in my work.
What keeps Sanchita Ghosh motivated
“Every shift, no matter how small, reminds me why this work matters,” Sanchita shares.
From the Kudumbashree program in Kerala to corporate boardrooms, her experiences have shown her the universal potential of inclusion to transform lives and systems.
Q: What motivates you to continue advocating for DEI in India despite the challenges?
Advocating for DEI in India is deeply personal to me. What shapes it is the stories I have witnessed, the dissonance I have felt, and the possibilities I have glimpsed in spaces where inclusion is done right. Early in my career, while working in rural communities, I saw the power of being genuinely seen and heard. I remember sitting with women’s groups, listening to their struggles and triumphs. These women were often excluded from decisions that shaped their lives, but when their voices were included, everything changed, not just for them but for the entire system.
Take the Kudumbashree program in Kerala, for example. Women’s inclusion in its design and leadership transformed poverty alleviation strategies, addressing not just income generation but also social and political empowerment. It became one of the largest women-driven initiatives in the world, inspiring similar programs across India and beyond. Examples like these remind me that inclusion is genuinely transformative.
Fast-forward to my work in corporate boardrooms, and I’ve seen similar patterns. Voices are often missing, silenced by biases or the comfort of the status quo. Whether it’s a woman in a village or a junior employee in an organisation, the feeling of exclusion is universal. However, there is also the potential for transformation when inclusion is integrated into decision-making. I’ve seen how powerful it is when someone feels they matter when their perspective brings about an idea, a solution, or even a movement.
Here is how I see DEI
DEI is not activism for me. It comes from a space of optimism and collectivism, and I see this growing in India. More is being talked about, written about, and questioned, and I see that as an opportunity to amplify the work being done. India is full of contrasts and rich in diversity, but deep inequalities also mark it. It is that tension, that complexity, that motivates me. Change happens one step, one conversation, one person at a time. Every time I see a shift, no matter how small, I’m reminded why this work matters.
Tackling resistance with empathy
Sanchita approaches resistance to DEI initiatives with curiosity and patience:
Resistance isn’t a wall to stop at; it’s a window to look through.
She recalls lessons from India’s sanitation movement, where engaging communities shifted mindsets and behaviours. Her empathetic yet accountable approach emphasises understanding fears while guiding change.
Q: How do you handle resistance or pushback when advocating for DEI initiatives?
Resistance to DEI is inevitable, but I’ve learned to see it as a part of the process rather than a hurdle. One lesson I’ve carried with me is that resistance isn’t just about the initiative itself; it’s about the behaviours, fears, and beliefs that underpin it. To address resistance, I focus on understanding the human side—what makes people hold on to the familiar, what makes them wary of change, and how their past experiences shape their current reactions.
Let me provide an example from social development. Building toilets was the easy part during India’s battle with open defecation, but changing behaviour was a whole different challenge. For many, open defecation was not just a habit; it was tied to their sense of normalcy, comfort, and even cultural beliefs. People resisted the idea of consistently using a toilet, even when it was readily available because it challenged a way of life they had always known.
The breakthrough came not from telling people what to do but from engaging them. Community leaders started to share stories, families saw their neighbours using toilets, and gradually, the conversation shifted from a top-down mandate to a collective social movement. This experience tells me that resistance is often a sign of deeper emotional or cultural ties. Change happens when you address those underlying factors with empathy and respect.
The patterns in DEI work are similar. Resistance can come from discomfort with unfamiliarity or fear of disrupting the status quo. I approach it with the same curiosity and patience, seeking to understand the why behind the pushback. Is it about resources? Priorities? Fear of losing relevance? Or simply not understanding the value of DEI? Once I identify the root, I tailor my response, whether it’s sharing stories, presenting data, or showing how inclusion benefits everyone.
Resistance isn’t a wall to stop at or break down; it’s a window to look through. Change takes time, and pushback is often the first step toward dialogue.
Sanchita Ghosh defines the role of empathy in DEI.
For Sanchita, empathy is about meeting people where they are while moving them toward where they need to be.
“Empathy doesn’t excuse inaction; it encourages accountability,” she says, sharing how listening deeply to both underrepresented groups and decision-makers has driven meaningful change.
Q: What role do you think empathy plays in creating a more inclusive work culture?
Empathy is a two-way street. It is not just about showing care to those who feel excluded; it is also about understanding the fears and hesitations of those in positions to facilitate change.
Genuine empathy as per my experience:
– lies in bridging these worlds, i.e. hearing the voices of minority groups while addressing the concerns of those who hold the power to make inclusion a reality
– It is about genuinely understanding why people make the choices they do. Whether those choices are rooted in fear, tradition, or limited options, we must balance that understanding with accountability to drive change.
More from my experience
I remember working in a rural community where parents were pulling their daughters out of middle school as soon as they reached puberty. The issue wasn’t just a lack of resources or awareness. It was tied to deeply held cultural beliefs about menstruation and safety. To the parents, they were protecting their daughters. To us, it was a heartbreaking loss of opportunity for those girls. Empathy meant sitting down with those parents and listening, without judgment, to their fears, their realities, and their hopes. It also meant holding those families accountable to the idea of a better future for their daughters.
We worked to address their concerns by advocating for clean toilets at schools, better infrastructure, awareness around adolescent reproductive and sexual health / menstrual hygiene and so on. Slowly, the conversations shifted. Parents began to trust that the system could support their daughters, and the girls returned to school. That experience taught me that empathy is meeting people where they are while moving them toward where they need to be.
The same dynamic exists in workplaces. Empathy for under-represented groups at work means genuinely listening to their experiences, valuing their voices, and ensuring they feel seen and heard. It also extends to leaders and teams who may resist DEI initiatives, whether out of fear, discomfort or a lack of understanding. Empathy doesn’t excuse inaction. It encourages accountability. It is about acknowledging fears while guiding those in positions of power to recognise their role in driving change.
Conclusion: A Changeincontent perspective
In this interview, Sanchita Ghosh provides a masterclass in redefining DEI with empathy, action, and care. Her insights challenge organisations to move beyond tokenism and create systems where everyone thrives.
Sanchita Ghosh’s story is a testament to the transformative power of empathy and action. Her work redefines DEI not as a buzzword but as a collective responsibility. At Changeincontent, we are proud to amplify voices like hers—voices that challenge stereotypes and inspire systemic change.
“Change happens one step, one conversation, one person at a time,” Sanchita reminds us. Her journey exemplifies how meaningful change begins with understanding and care.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content. We broadly define inclusivity as media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
