Shruthi has established diversity and inclusion among the baseline values for Adapt Ready. Despite being a startup, she believes that establishing such values at the beginning will blend into the culture of the company. Last year, Shruthi’s team made a conscious decision to have women represent 50% not only on the board, but also among employees. The board goal has been met and the organisation is close to reaching the same ratio among employees. She believes that no matter how good the policies and governance are within companies, in order for them to effectively work, every organization has a responsibility to go further – and hence, at Adapt Ready, Shruthi also established a system of governance to constantly challenge biases towards gender, race, even functional roles among other diverse characteristics to influence change beyond the company. Despite being a startup, Adapt Ready is designing workforce policies to simplify the hiring and retaining of such talent, such as flexible hours and 50% remote work. In addition to championing these within the organisation, Shruthi took the initiative in sharing best practices with a community of startup founders and other organisations and communicating it to Adapt Ready’s advisors and board to create a ripple effect and close the gender gap. As a thought leader, Shruthi is frequently invited to speak on diversity & inclusion. She regularly mentors other women, particularly those thinking of starting their own business, and was recently named ‘Champion for Action’ by Grant Thornton International.