Godrej Industries Group Launches Gateway Returnship Programme for Women at India Included on Campus 2026

Godrej DEI Lab, the diversity, equity, and inclusion arm of the Godrej Industries group, has launched ‘Gateway’, a returnship programme aimed at creating structured re-entry pathways for experienced women professionals returning from career breaks due to motherhood, marriage, or caregiving. Announced at the grand finale of the second edition of ‘India Included on Campus 2026’—a DEI-focused case study competition held across top Indian B-schools—the programme reinforces Godrej’s commitment to achieving 40% inclusion of women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities by 2031.

This year’s competition challenged students from institutions like IIM Lucknow, IIT Delhi, XIM Bhubaneswar, and SIBM Pune to address the barriers women face when returning to work, drawing from insights in the 2026 study “The Missing Half,” which highlights that 74% of educated women in India take career breaks. XIM Bhubaneswar emerged as the winning team, securing a cash prize of INR 1,00,000 for their comprehensive proposal on a structured returnship framework.

The newly introduced Gateway initiative features structured onboarding, cohort-based learning, and coaching to seamlessly integrate returning talent into mainstream hiring. Sumit Mitra, Group Head of Human Resources and Corporate Services at Godrej Industries, emphasized that the programme aims to recover valuable mid-management talent and make career re-entry more visible and viable. Parmesh Shahani, Head of Godrej DEI Lab, added that the initiative transitions inclusive ideas into sustainable workplace solutions with robust peer networks and leadership support.