What are GCC?
The GCC or the Global Capability Centre are the offshore centre of multinational organisations. These centres typically would do much more than just the back office work. In India and GCCs have evolved from being a cost centre to value creators and innovation hubs, moving up much higher in the value chain.
The India advantage
India’s competitive advantage of a large talent pool, who bring in both technical and functional expertise and an English-speaking workforce has been the driving factor for multinational organisations choosing India as their preferred GCC location. Added to the talent pool, the real estate, the ease of starting a business, availability of plug & play facilities, the Government’s thrust on GCC (Benefits like SEZ incentives and Digital India programmes) have also been contributing factors.
What do the numbers say?
India has over 1,700 GCCs, employing 1.9 million professionals and generating $64.6 billion in revenue as of 2024. The sector is projected to expand to $105 billion by 2030, with around 2,400 GCCs employing over 2.8 million people, solidifying India’s role as a global hub for enterprise operations and innovation. Key GCC hubs are located in metro cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, and the National Capital Region (NCR) and are now finding their presence in tier 2 cities like Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Kochi and others.
So what’s the challenge?
As the number of GCCs is growing and more multinationals are opening up their innovation hubs in India, the need to attract, retain, reskill and upskill also goes up. To maintain the innovation advantage and to support their global expectations, people become the key drivers for success. The need to create a culture where inclusive leadership is embedded in everyday behaviours.
GCCs bet high on AI, which compels leadership to invest in platforms, processes, and people. Effective use of the platform and processes can only be achieved with an investment in people, especially in their softer skills. We’ve mastered the art of evaluating the technical skills before hiring, but the softer skills are the ones that need to be developed by the hiring organisation.
Why should GCCs invest in DEIB initiatives?
Global mindset: GCCs are an integral part of multinational corporations. The GCC is one of the many centres where the parent companies operate from different geographies, bringing workforce diversity and representing a diverse customer base. The GCCs can thrive by embracing cultural, gender, generational, abilities, ethnic and all other kinds of diversity to reflect the global markets they serve.
Gen Z and their needs: With Gen Z making a significant proportion of the workforce in GCCs, the leadership has to adapt to the new ways of managing the workforce. Gen Z are known to align their consumption and their relationships with organisations that are perceived to be inclusive, according to a Deloitte study. The Gen Z is also about not “what” I am doing, but more “why” I am doing. To keep them engaged and productive, the leaders will need to master the skills of constant communication, creating a psychologically safe space and leading with empathy. In other words, intentional inclusion is not a choice anymore. While we talk about Gen Zs, this may not be unique to Gen Z and can be true for all the other generations as well.
Business performance boost: Gone are the days when GCCs were meant to be cost centres, and India was perceived as a hub for doing back-office and transaction work. The shift of GCCs from being cost centres to becoming value creators has its unique requirements. As cost centres, the focus was on cost minimisation and cost efficiency, and as value creators, the spotlight has shifted to innovation, end-to-end product development, and strategic decision-making. Research shows diverse teams outperform homogenous ones by up to 35%, thanks to varied perspectives that enhance creativity and problem-solving.
Innovation boost: By its very nature, current GCCs are innovation hubs. There is a strong business case for leaders to adapt their mindset from being authoritative to authentic, from directive to direction setting, from steering the team to becoming a co-pilot. Such is the culture where creativity thrives. Innovation begets innovation. When the entire environment is promoting and rewarding everyday creativity, innovation becomes the norm.
Complex problem solving and decision making: According to an HBR article by Alison Reynolds and David Lewis, cognitively diverse teams solve complex problems faster. However, this does not happen by chance; leaders have to be intentional in creating spaces where inclusion thrives. When leaders create space for every voice to be heard and where psychological safety is a way things are, associates learn to experiment, fail, experiment, fail, experiment and thrive.
What about compliance ?
For GCCs, diversity and inclusion are about more than compliance; they’re about building workplaces that thrive on authenticity, respect, collaboration, where every associate has a strong sense of belonging and every voice is heard. By embedding DEIB into their cultural DNA, GCCs can position themselves as leaders and gain a competitive advantage
- Attract, retain and grow top global talent
- Drive sustainability through innovation and growth
- Position themselves as leaders in the future of work
Additional Reading
- Culture as a Catalyst: Insights from Deloitte India’s GCC Culture Sensing Report 2025
- What 200+ GCC leaders say about the future of GCCs in India
- Role of DEI in India’s GCC growth strategy
- How Millennials & Gen Z Are Pushing Brands On Diversity And Inclusion
What next?
- This is part of a series of articles on DEIB, which will be published in the coming weeks. Watch out for our next blog on Why DEIB is more than HR initiative
- If you want to know more about how we can support you in your DEIB journey, please connect with us to set up a 30-minute call. email: connect@ananyawomenatwork.com ph: +91 93431 23455
