Avtar and Seramount’s Best of the Best Conference held recently had breakout sessions covering different facets of DEI, with leaders sharing impactful stories of transformation in their organizations.
“DEI is everyone’s responsibility, so is learning and development,” said Chitra Shyam Sunder, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, APAC, Barclays Global Service Centre, in her closing remark at the Avtar and Seramount Best of the Best Conference 2022 recently. Barclays detailed its transformational journey under the Innovative Best Practices Session. Launchpad, which is focused on developing ethnically diverse middle-level women, earned recognition as a program focused on developing high-potential women across different business levels to advance their career growth. “The company is proud to present its outcomes as one of the best, as we see higher conversion rates than the industry average,” added Chitra.
Restating the purpose of DEI, Qualcomm presented its best practices in the forum. “We are trying to create a momentum where not just leaders and DEI practitioners but also managers and employees are responsible for DEI,” said Shriya Dutt, Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, India and APAC, Qualcomm, presenting the best practices. With a demographic diversity with employees from 117 nationalities with 92 languages and offices across 30 countries, Qualcomm has to its credit several DEI initiatives, including sponsorship programs, professional development, partnership with technology platforms and premier colleges, and most importantly, external outreach focusing on mentorship of women entrepreneurs and STEM education for girl students.
Adopting similar strategies, as part of their DEI initiatives, Chella Pandian Pitchai, AVP, Global Head, Talent, Learning, Leadership Development, Culture & DEI at Biocon Biologics, discussed some best practices of the company, which has addressed career development of women. Stating the importance of creating an ecosystem for women in science, he reiterated the power of ERGs to enable women’s career development. To a question posed by the audience, he stated, “ERGs are mostly evolving, and it is necessary to create an ecosystem for a greater number of women.” He also added how he was confronted by a question on how men were given fewer opportunities and importance to which he added, “Functionally, women have limited opportunities, and this support would continue until we become a 50:50 ratio.”
