TransFormation: Mumbai gets its 1st salon run by transgender people

Mumbai: What could prove to be an opportunity towards equitable livelihood in the true sense, ‘TransFormation Salon’, the first salon in Mumbai to be run by transgender woman, was inaugurated on Saturday March 25 in Prabhadevi at Rachana Sansad college. It will employ professionally trained beauticians some of whom will be from the transgeder/LGBTQA+ community.

Deutsch Bank and Rotary Club's initiative

Deutsch Bank and Rotary Club of Bombay have partnered to set up Mumbai’s first salon which will be run by transgender people. It was inaugurated by executives of Deutsche Bank, Rotary Club of Bombay and Pride Business Network Foundation. Later on, it will be run by the Pride Business Network Foundation as a for-profit enterprise.

This initiative is in line with the shared vision and goals to create an equitable livelihood opportunity for all people irrespective of their circumstances. It is one of the many programs run by these organizations to broaden the workforce through skilling and opportunity creation. The Salon is located at – Rachna Sansad College, 8G, Manoj CHS, Shankar Ghanekar Marg, Near Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai – 400025.

DEI- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are much more than corporate imperatives for us at Deutsche Bank. They are relevant to the people in our community as much as they are for our employees. Through the TransFormation Salon, we are providing a platform to integrate members of the marginalised LGBTQIA+ community into mainstream society. This is a small but important step towards creating an equitable society,” said Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, Deutsche Bank Group, India.

Sandip Agarwalla, District Governor of Rotary International District 3141 comprising 111 Clubs in Mumbai and Palghar said, “This is the second such initiative we have taken under DEI after starting a Café earlier this year in Andheri which is run solely by the trans community. Living with dignity is a right which everyone should have and we believe these are important steps in that direction.”

“Community Economic Development is one of the seven avenues of service of Rotary International and DEI is our stated focus area, therefore, setting up of Transformation Salon serves as the best intervention for Rotary Club of Bombay to support a sustainable livelihood program for a community that needs to be offered an equal opportunity in our society,” said Vineet Bhatnagar, President of Rotary Club of Bombay.