To develop an equal opportunity model to help women transit to leadership roles
Challenge
IBM, on its latest endeavor of empowering women, is all set to train two lakh women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills across India.
Action
Signed agreements with several Indian states and expects more sign ups in future. Other initiatives include 2-year Advanced Diploma Programme in emerging tech, supporting math teachers with Teacher Advisor With Watson, and making TryScience resoruces available for teachers.
Results
Worked with the government to better equip the workforce with a new generation of skills, so that the positive impact of AI and other technology can be experienced in a larger scale
WIPRO wanted to install an equal opportunity model inside the organization so that high potential (HiPO) women employees can get guidance to become leaders through training.
Challenge
Action
Women of Wipro (WoW), a programme was crafted. Top leaders became mentors to train HiPO women employees using orientation workshops, web-enabled sessions, periodic status reports and progress tracking through informal connects.
Results
Increased promotion rates—18% as compared to 5% overall, reduced attrition rates among participants—7% as compared to the 15% of non-participant
Goal
To bring an equal opportunity employment, WIPRO tried to analyse some impediments which were holding them back from achieving their desired result. Lack of career guidance, competency and ambition gaps, and especially absence of role models were some the crucial roadblocks.
Action
WIPRO initiated a programme called Women of Wipro (WoW) and transformed the top leaders in the organization as mentors, coaches who will groom the high potential (HiPO) middle-management women employees, over a period of nine months. The programme includes orientation workshops, web-enabled sessions, periodic status reports and progress tracking through informal connects. Furthermore, WoW also plans to tap onto business needs to highlight the primary focus areas for building roadmaps of growth for women. Today, Wow boasts of a strong foundation consisting of over 60 mentors, with almost 80% being male and delivers consistent impact.
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Impact
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The entire approach has yielded pretty remarkable results such in terms of increased promotion rates—18% as compared to 5% overall, reduced attrition rates among participants—7% as compared to the 15% of non-participant. Also, It laid the bridge of trust and bond for the women employees to collaborate, network with business leaders.
Takeaway
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This kind of development programme bequeaths any organization with two-fold benefits. Firstly, the programme itself helps you identify leaders within your organization, who have had been nurtured, grown-up within the company environment. The employee, by the time opts for the programme, has herself ingested each and every facets of the company culture, process. And homegrown leaders are always more adaptable than the ones, hired from outside. Secondly, a programme like this raises the bar of involvement, interest for other employees. When your top management becomes the mentor and coaches middle-management, the intended company message is best delivered, passed-on within the loop. A company, already aware of its potential employees, can leverage this model to prepare its future leaders and lead the business.