HCLTech-IWD Partnership
We are proud to announce HCLTech’s partnership with International Women’s Day for the third consecutive year. We are leveraging the strengths of both organizations to help forge a gender-equal world. We believe that such a world is possible — and it begins with each and every one of us.
In keeping with our vision for a gender-equal future, we are collaborating with IWD to drive awareness in three focus areas :
Women in Technology
We enable strong career development for women by leveraging programs designed to enhance women's careers at varying stages of their professional journeys. We celebrate digital skills advancement and champion the women forging innovation through technology.
The HCL Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of HCLTech, extends our vision to reach women beyond HCLTech. It is a gold standard not-for-profit organization that brings about lasting positive impact in the lives of people through long-term sustainable programs implemented in full engagement with HCLTech own employees and partners. Programs are ‘gender-equal’ and include holistic community development, youth education and success programs, investments in IT centers, and training in technology and life skills.
Women in Leadership
HCLTech believes in an empowered world where women have an equal place, position, and power in organizations and elsewhere. As an industry leader engaged with a vast network of corporate organizations, we stand in a unique position to bring about industry-wide change. We drive various mentorship programs, identify and recognize high-performing women, and conduct sessions to help guide aspiring women leaders.
Women in Sports
Sport offers a platform for all to forge physical and mental benefits through better behaviours, habits, mindsets and skillsets. However, even now young girls and women do not find sport to be a level playing field – with barriers to recreational and professional participation across unequal opportunities, sponsorship, pay, and visibility. HCLTech is specifically committed to driving conversations, raising awareness, highlighting successes, and celebrating achievements towards the IWD 2021 mission of Women in Sport.
Inspiring Leaders
A Gender-Equal World
We have made large strides in recognizing the professional and personal contributions of women in building families, communities, enterprises, institutions, nations, and the world at large. We drive focused initiatives aimed at the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities to create an ‘inclusive ecosystem’ focused on cultural diversity and inclusion. But it is incumbent upon us to periodically pause and evaluate if what we are doing is creating the balance that we are aiming to achieve. We must reflect on the progress we’ve made, take further action to enable equal opportunities, and celebrate the acts of courage and determination taken by women and men to further this vital cause.
International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021, stands for much more than just an international day of celebration. It is about driving progress forward.
This year, the UN Women’s theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” Together with IWD and in concert with the UN Women’s cause, HCLTech is issuing a call to action to #ChooseToChallenge stereotypes and bias, to encourage organizations to implement progressive policies, and to promote the importance of having an inclusive work culture. HCLTech diligently works with the IWD organization to drive progress in these critical areas, and we must each take part.
This International Women's Day, let us choose to challenge ourselves, our goals, and our limitations, especially when faced with inequality and bias. We look forward to continuing this journey with you as we reinforce our commitment to making the right choices for a gender-equal world today, every day.
#ChooseToChallenge and make 2021 count for women and girls everywhere.
Diversity Differentiator
Making a dynamic shift from integration to inclusion
Making a dynamic shift from integration to inclusion
HCLTech celebrates diversity—be it the diversity in beliefs, behaviours, ideas, ethnicity or skills within our organization. Our workforce represents a spectrum of 157+ nationalities coming from many of the countries we do business in—who all work together to build a culture that respects inclusion.
HCLTech Diversity and Inclusion strategy focuses on talent attraction, talent retention, and talent growth. These three strategies work in tandem to ensure a unified experience in promoting gender diversity, cultural diversity, and inclusivity across the enterprise.
With the aim of enabling the women of HCLTech to reach further and achieve better, we have key development programs that help them in whichever stage they are at in their career.
- Senior women managers: The program focuses on career progression into their aspired role. Key learning elements such as one-to-one mentoring and coaching by senior leaders, peer coaching for domain and technical skills enhancement, and blended learning in the form of videos, case studies, and webinars from globally acclaimed learning partners are integrated into the program. The program has been recognized by Brandon Hall as 'Best Advance in Women Leadership Development' – Gold Award (2017) and the 'Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy' – Silver Award (2018). HCLTech has also been the recipient of NASSCOM's Award for Excellence in Gender Diversity (2019).
- Mid-level women leaders: The program provides mentorship to high-performing women preparing them for their 'next level roles'. It creates a ready pool of talent for existing open positions within the organization. Focusing on 'upward conversations', the program leverages a structured space, time, and content for an engaging interaction between the employee and her Reporting / Skip-level Manager.
- Senior women new hires: This is an exclusive program that enables senior women new hires to settle into the ecosystem of the organization seamlessly.
We have taken steps to create an 'inclusive ecosystem' through focused initiatives aimed at the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities. HCLTech Employee Resource Group, Pride@HCLTech, supports the needs and aspirations of the LGBTQ+ community through the mechanism of 'Advocate, Build, Collaborate, and Develop' for employees in India and the USA. HCLTech has also created a charter for People with Disabilities (PwD) that focuses on enabling an inclusive and accessible work environment through the four tenets of 'Employ, Enable, Engage, and Empower'.
The significance of diversity for HCLTech’s growth is evident from the focus it receives from leaders and employees alike. HCLTech believes that diversity will increasingly be a driving force of competitive advantage, now and into the foreseeable future.
Key Diversity Initiatives
At HCLTech, we are committed to driving organization-wide initiatives to enable a larger social environment that facilitates gender-equal workspaces:
- Women Connect Chapters in the USA and Europe enable HCLTech employees in these geographies to network more effectively with their leaders and peers. The development programs are aimed at advocating a gender-neutral work environment. This group coaches and counsels aspiring young women professionals.
- Women Lead in Australia and Nordics empowers capable women leaders of HCLTech through mentorship. The unique design leverages a network of industry leaders mentoring aspiring senior women executives to guide and support them as they drive to reach the top of the corporate ladder.
- ASCEND caters to developing women leaders of tomorrow at HCLTech through a comprehensive peer coaching and consultancy model. It is designed to address their career aspirations through a self-sourced area of interest pertaining to new technologies/domains.
- Cultural Empathy and Dexterity is a comprehensive program to enhance the cultural dexterity of HCLTech people working at all levels within the organization. An increased cultural empathy helps HCLTech forge highly collaborative partnerships and allows HCLites to engage across the world with their peers with cultural awareness.
- SheInspires captures the life stories of women who have blazed a trail in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to inspire the next generation of women leaders to choose an education/career in these fields.
Notable Women
On using modern technology to power the enterprise
How to make diversity a boardroom agenda
How mentorship can supercharge women’s careers
