Written by Vikalp Jain, Principal Architect and Practice Leader at Credera.
Having a more gender-diverse workforce has long been shown to foster creativity and innovation, as well as reduce attrition. In fact, this study showed a strong positive correlation between gender diversity in the workforce and financial performance of the company. But in many ways, getting to a truly gender-diverse workforce has been akin to finding a unicorn for many companies. For example, a 2012 McKinsey and Company study of 60 companies measured companies based on 4 factors: 1) starting position that reflects individual talent 2) the number of women at the top of the organization 3) odds of promotion equivalent to men 4) and the mix of women in line roles versus staff roles and found that there wasn’t a single company that was truly gender-diverse! The study also reported that 59 percent of women interviewed said they did not aspire to the C-suite.
At Credera, we are certainly conscious of our gender diversity. In my own practice, which is a custom software development practice and the largest business unit at Credera, women make up 11% of the workforce. This ratio is even more startling given that women make up roughly 18% of the graduating class at leading computer science undergraduate programs.
As we grow the firm, improving our gender-diversity is a key strategic goal for us and we are influencing it in 3 ways:
1) Offering Better Benefits: We recently overhauled our benefits to include up to 12 weeks of fully paid maternity leave and extended those benefits to adopting mothers as well. When paired with FMLA benefits, this gives working mothers up to 24 weeks (roughly 6 months) at home to care for their newborn child.
2) Building Professional Support Networks: The Credera Women’s Network and Women in IDS are two groups that serve as the primary support network that influence gender-diversity by offering a platform for women to A) Develop a sense of comradeship B) Foster creativity and innovation C) Provide encouragement and support D) Connect with female executives that can serve as a role model and E) Educate the whole firm on the importance and benefits of diversity and inclusion
3) Investing in Strategic Recruiting Channels: This year in October we are attendingGrace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, which is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. The event is a combination of a technology conference and a career fair, with over 700 speakers and 15,000 attendees. We will be at the event with our women technologists, along with leading technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.
I am excited to see these investments bear fruit and help us grow a better, stronger consulting organization.
About: Vikalp Jain is a Principal Architect and Practice Leader at Credera. Read more about Credera's perspective here or visit our company page on LinkedIn
