Hues of Change

C MOULEE

Back in the 1990's,

when he was just a teenager, C Moulee, now an LGBT rights activist, found his support mechanism between the pages of those few teen magazines that ran counselling columns and a handful of articles on queer issues. “I was 14 when I came across the term ‘gay’ in a now defunct teen magazine’s cover story about homosexuality. It was in a positive light and gave me immense comfort. I knew I wasn’t alone then,” says Moulee.

Indomitable spirit

In 2015, Moulee set up the first pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) in the Asia-Pacific for Symantec, a multi-national technology company, and instantly became a star for the LGBT community in the country. “During the brief time that homosexuality was legal in India, some companies sponsored LGBT ERGs. But with re-criminalisation, they stopped, and I realised that starting an ERG would have to come from employees—like me,” says Moulee. The ERG has 12 people today,including some allies who don’t identify as LGBT, and is spread among Symantec offices in Chennai and Pune. “Unofficially, there are a few others who want to be involved but don’t want to be on the public distribution list. Despite the progress we’ve made, the feeling of inclusion takes time and is hard work,” says Moulee.

“My aim is to bring about more awareness about LGBT people among our employees. I think ignorance is one of the reasons why queer individuals are ignored and harassed. To make the workplace more sensitive towards queer issues and people; this is at the top of my mind,” he adds.