Avtar Human Capital Trust organises In dia’s First Male Allyship Synergy Summi it (MASS) for Students and Corporates
· Inclusive leadership, equity, and cultur al intelligence take centre stage
· Launch of Allyship Clubs in Chennai / T N Government schools to usher in a gen der-neutral society through project MIT R (Men Impacting Trust & Respects)
Chennai, 15th March 2025:
Avtar Human Capital Trust, the non-pro fit wing of Avtar, India’s leading workpla ce culture consulting firm, organized ‘M ale Allyship Synergy Summit’ (MASS) 20 25, a first-of-its-kind platform for corpo rate professionals and students to come together to champion male allyship. An extension of MITR (Men Impacting Trust & Respect), a key initiative under Avtar Human Capital Trust that focuses on ge nder sensitization among adolescent bo ys from across Tamil Nadu’s government schools, MASS, is a contest-driven move ment that challenges boys to step-up, sp eak-up and show-up as true allies for ge nder inclusion. This event is to be held a nnually during the month of Internation al Women’s Day.
The inaugural summit held at Tidel Park witnessed about 200 schoolboys from f our government schools, over 100 colle ge students from Chennai and represent ntatives from more than six corporate o rganizations, taking a collective pledge to reinforce their commitment to foster ring gender equality. Whilst, the highlig ght of the summit was the launch of ‘All yship Clubs’ at the schools that are a pa rt of project MITR, there are also other key programs: a panel discussion on ‘Be yond Good Intentions: Turning Allyship into Everyday Actions’, ‘Heart to Art’ – a poster-making contest, Video bytes on the best practices and power of Allyship at workplace and other competitions ce ntred around Male Allyship.
The Chief Guest Mr Anand Mohanram, Managing Director of Mr. Cooper Group lit the lamp and congratulated Team Av tar for this thoughtful initiative that enc courages men to be active allies in chan ging workplace cultures and championi ng women’s empowerment by creating equitable spaces both at work and in the society.
Speaking at the event, Dr Saundarya Ra jesh, Founder-President of the Avtar Gr oup and the Managing Trustee of Avtar Human Capital Trust, said, “MASS marks the beginning of structured engagement between corporates and students throu gh Allyship Clubs in schools. These clubs endeavour to bring boys and girls togeth er to actively practice allyship. Male ally ship is a catalyst in driving progress tow ards SDG 5 and achieving gender equali ty. And what’s important is that we begi n teaching boys to advocate for girls at the earliest stage, an effort MITR, which operates in 30 schools across Tamil Nad u, is involved in. Let’s keep in mind: For a Viksit Bharat to become a reality, both men and women must thrive. And this b egins with our boys fiercely supporting our girls – an inspiring sight we witnesse d today.”
Mr. Eswar Balasubramanian, Senior Vice President, Avtar Human Capital Trust sp oke about the critical role men play in a dvancing gender equality and how they can promote inclusive leadership, advoc ate for opportunities and be an ally in ac tion.
The events:
The ‘Heart to Art’ poster-making contes st encouraged participants to visualize a world, where all boys promote equality. A corporate video byte contest highligh ted the best practices in fostering male allyship within workplaces. A college-le vel roleplay focused on breaking gender stereotypes together.
A panel discussio on the topic ‘Beyond Good Intentions:
Turning Allyship into Everyday Actions’, moderated by Ms. Sanjula Bai, Group M anager at IBM, the panellists included, Mr. Rathinavel Rajan, Head of HR at Ball s Engineering, Mr. Saravanan, Director – People Communications and CSR, Kone India, and Dr. Shanthi, Principal of Asan Memorial Arts & Science College.
