Three years after the Supreme Court decriminalised Section 377, Axis Bank on Monday, September 6, announced a charter of policies and practices for its employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, among others) community. The bank said that the initiative is part of its wider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. Among other things, the company said it has initiated all gender restrooms at its large offices. “We recognize that employees could have a gender or gender expression that’s different from their sex assigned at birth. They can choose to dress in accordance with their gender/ gender expression,” the Bank said.
Effective from September 20, the bank’s customers can open a joint savings bank account or a term deposit with their same-sex partner at its branches, while they can also make their same-sex partner a nominee for their savings or term deposit account with the bank
Employees can apply for mediclaim benefits on behalf of their partners irrespestive of gender, sexual orientation, or marital status, Members from the community will be able to list their title as ‘Mx’ in their savings and term deposit accounts
