Diversity programs can take the shape of recruitment practices that source diverse candidates, and formal programs to build an inclusive environment and promote diverse leaders.

Although most companies claim to be deeply committed to diversity, it is highly likely that they still do not have a highly inclusive workplace. Biases are so deeply ingrained in corporate culture that a deliberate attempt needs to be made to address deeply nuanced issues of inclusion. Framing strategies and designing programs around this will go a long way.

A truly effective diversity program should make diverse employees – across gender, culture, age, race, religion and sexual orientation – feel valued at the workplace. A survey conducted by Deloitte stated that even though almost half the companies in India admit to being grossly unprepared in this area, trends indicate a growing impetus among corporates to build a more inclusive environment in their organisations.

Companies are increasingly sensing an urgency when making this shift, especially when seen in the context of core business strategies. Many studies indicate that promoting diversity helps enhance overall business performance and profitability. These reports also establish that companies that invest in a diverse workforce are better equipped to attract talent and engage employees more effectively.

These initiatives can take the shape of recruitment practices that identify and source diverse candidates, formal programs to build an inclusive environment and promote diverse leaders, compliance training as well as unconscious bias training, among others.

While it is true that women remain underrepresented at every level in corporate India, it is still a small part of a larger diversity piece. Most initiatives are centred around gender diversity, and it will take more to build diversity of thoughts, experiences, and perspectives within organisations.

In the interim, this is an encouraging development. Moreover, with women forming a large portion of the entire talent dwelling in the market, it is critical for organisations to design programs to attract and retain them. In fact, a McKinsey report showed that companies with the highest share of women in senior management teams outperformed those with no women by over 40%, indicating that a change in mindset could deliver long-term benefits.

However, women’s professional experiences are not without its challenges – a point that was raised by many at Rising 2019, one of the largest gatherings of women in India working in the field of technology. But albeit these challenges, the need of the hour is to empower women in these fields and one way of doing that is by building good diversity programs that inspire more women to pursue careers in technology.

Some examples of these programs and ways to empower women are expounded below:-

Microsoft’s Codess & DigiGirlz 

Microsoft India Development Center has launched a slew of programs to promote gender diversity in engineering and provide free technology programs targeted at young people. While Codess is designed to inspire female coders to achieve their professional goals with the help of mentoring and networking events, DigiGirlz gives middle and high school girls opportunities to connect with Microsoft employees and learn about careers in technology.

PayPal India’s Recharge

PayPal India has introduced a bundle of initiatives to increase their diversity ratio, and at the same time, encourage women to pursue careers in the technology space. One such initiative is ‘Recharge’, which is designed as a ‘back-to-work initiative’ for women. The six-week program focuses on equipping female technologists with skills to resume their careers after a personal or professional break.

Accenture’s High-Tech Women Rise Program 

Introduced in 2018 by Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India, the High-Tech Women Rise program essentially seeks to help women build long-term careers in the tech industry. In this program, accomplished women who have exhibited a lot of potential in the past and who are in their mid-career levels are identified and trained to be certified as ‘Technical Architects’. The latest version of this program has incorporated new technologies like AI, Automation, Blockchain, and others.

IBM’s Stem For Girls & Disha

In a bid to inspire more girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), IBM has been working with girls in middle and higher secondary schools in India to focus on computing skills, STEM learning, and gender empowerment. For the program,  IBM coding developers take 10 to 12-year-old girls from underprivileged backgrounds and teach them the basics of coding, along with some digital skills. 

IBM also piloted its Disha program in 2017 with 75 women professionals. The program was designed to empower young, promising women and reskill them on their digital capabilities lest they dropped off from the workforce on account of a variety of reasons. 

Shell’s NXplorers

Much like IBM’s Stem For Girls, Shell has launched an innovative education programme aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 19 years. Named NXplorers, it aims to plug the gender gap in STEM by creating opportunities for female engineers. Along the same vein, EY’s STEM Tribe – launched across 45 schools in India in October 2019 – enables STEM learning for school girls.