A bustling media house. Vikram, a seasoned editor and mentor, sits with Veda, a young journalist eager to learn, in a quiet corner of the newsroom. Sowndarawali, a sharp-witted intern, occasionally chimes in with her practical insights. They’re discussing how the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings on fairness and inclusivity can guide corporate governance in their media organization.
Veda: Vikram sir, I’ve heard the Bhagavad Gita has timeless wisdom. How can it guide us in ensuring fairness and inclusivity in our media house’s governance?
Vikram: Great question, Veda. The Gita offers profound insights into treating everyone equally, without bias, by recognizing the unity of all beings. Let’s start with a significant verse from Chapter 5, Verse 18:
Original (Sanskrit):
विद्या विनय सम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि।
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः॥
Transliteration:
Vidyā vinaya sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini,
śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ samadarśinaḥ.
Translation:
The wise see the same (divine essence) in a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.
This verse emphasizes that a truly wise person sees beyond superficial differences—status, species, or background—and recognizes the same divine spark in all. In corporate governance, this translates to treating every stakeholder—employees, shareholders, or audiences—equitably, without favouritism or prejudice.
Veda: That sounds important, but how does it matter for our media house? We are a fast-paced organization, and sometimes, fair seems like another fancy word.
Vikram: Fair enough. Fair and inclusive in the context of our discussion means developing policies and practices where we don’t discriminate based on gender, caste, religion, or hierarchy. For example, our board needs to have diversity and represent the society we serve because a media house shapes public opinion, so we need a diverse range of leaders—urban, rural, male, female, young, and old. If the board is mostly senior men from the same class or caste, we are bound to have blind spots and unconscious biases.
Sowndarawali (cutting in): Sorry, Vikram sir, but let me help you with this. Last month, we picked all the interns from a few elite colleges in Mumbai, and a good friend of mine went to a smaller town college and submitted much better writing samples than the applicants we offered internships to, and she didn’t even get a call back. Would you say that is fair? If the Gita says to see everyone equally, shouldn’t our hiring process reflect that?
Vikram: You are absolutely right, Sowndarawali! That is a clear example of unconscious bias. The Gita is attempting to teach us to think of equality without identifying with credentials or prestige. In governance, we want to develop clear and transparent standards for hiring or promoting. For example, our board of directors could require anonymity in resume review, so examiners focus on skill, not names or universities.
Veda: Okay, I see how hiring requires diversity. What about policies involving compensation or lay offs? How can we pretend to be fair in those situations?
Vikram: The Gita describes the concept of samadarśinaḥ, and this idea relates in these situations as well. In terms of compensation, a fair remuneration policy would at least ensure employees received appropriate pay for input, instead of on who they know in the institution, or how good they are at bargaining. So for journalism if two people are at the same level, one woman and one man, and doing the same work, there is no reason for their pay to be different. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that women in media earn less than men. We need to create procedures so that our Management will audit the pay structure and try to resolve these discrepancies.
In terms of layoffs, we can’t avoid layoffs, but we can ensure they are fair. Some media organizations acted disgracefully during the pandemic, where junior staff were laid off while senior executives were given bonuses. The Gita would have wanted us to be selfless leaders and care for the least powerful. They would suggest that institutions make a layoff policy that involved transparency; that is, to determine who was laid off based on formalised ways, such as performance measures or whether someone was redundant [and not by power]. If the board set such a policy in place, it would increase the trust of people working in the institution.
Sowndarawali: May I add something? When our channel highlighted a major political scandalwe had airtime for only the same “star” anchors at the station, while junior reporters who did the footwork were forgotten. That seemed wrong. Let’s say we “are talking Gita,” shouldn’t the contributions of all parties be recognized no matter what they did?
Vikram: Yes, Sowndarawali, of course. That is a great point. The Gita asserts that all parts of the system matter for the whole. In relation to governance, this means creating systems to recognize everyone’s work. For example, our board may adopt a policy that credits for stories or broadcasts must include researchers and/or field reporters, and not just “anchors.” A major takeaway is to recognize the value of the “divine spark” in all persons in the system.
Veda: All of this sounds well, but how do we build trust among stakeholders—our audience, advertisers or employees—by these practices?
Vikram: Trust builds through consistency and transparency. There is wisdom in the Gita by acting through dharma, which means righteousness without attachment to self-interest. For our media house, dharma means being transparent about how we do things. For instance, consider publicly producing diversity documents that show what diversity looks like in our board and staff. Our participation serves both social and government agencies that want to engage with their audiences. The same applies to our audience. We engage them when we make their voices heard through our stories. When our advertisers know we are being fair and equal, they can trust us as a credible organization.
Sowndarawali: Here is a real, practical example: we have received complaints from our viewers on social media saying our panels of women on women’s issues do not include rural or lower-income women, and they feel disconnected from us. We’ve been called out for being out of touch with those realities. If we follow the Gita, shouldn’t we be talking urban and rural inequalities, covering everyone’s experience and not just voices the loudest and in a major city?
Vikram: Exactly, Sowndarawali. Us being called out is proof that we have gaps in being inclusive. The Gita’s idea of “equal vision” is to give voice to marginalization and not to marginalize. Our board could put a policy in place to give our panels a mandate to represent their communities—geographically, economically and culturally. Not only is it good practice, but it also builds viewer trust, which is our main objective.
Veda: This is so affirming, but how can we realistically tackle unconscious bias? They are not easy to identify.
Vikram: The Gita suggests awareness, which is important. Boards should require that people leaders and any staff participating in recruiting or hiring receive some form of training on unconscious bias. Conducting audits to examine policies – compensation or hiring practices and decisions on content – may also bring bias to the fore. The aim is to make sure that our decisions reflect the Gita’s suggestion of being able to see everyone as equal.
Sowndarawali: One final thing to mention – when you did that story on disability rights, you didn’t even include any journalists living with a disability in the discussion. I think that was unfortunate. Perhaps we could implement a checklist for every story ensuring that we incorporate other perspectives. Easy, right?
Vikram: Great idea, Sowndarawali! A checklist would be a practical means to operationalize the Gita. It would force us to stop and conclude – are we inherently including? Are we being fair? It is a small change that could radically change the way we govern and how we work.
Veda: This has opened my eyes. The Gita suggests equal vision, is very relatable to the idea of developing our media house fairly and from the perspective of being trusted, by everyone.
Vikram: Right, Veda. And when we live by these principles, we are practicing dharma, and will create a stronger and more inclusive organization.
Sowndarawali – (with a sage smile): You see, the Gita’s telling us: Fairness isn’t just a policy—it’s seeing everyone, from the intern to the CEO, with the same light in their eyes. If we light up every spark, then there will be more light than we can share.
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