Why are women still underrepresented in the technology industry and what will we do about it? Those were the questions being addressed head on at HARMAN’s first Women’s Leadership Summit to help achieve our diversity and inclusion goals.
During this three-day internal event, female executives from around the world gathered to discuss how building a community and culture focused on respect and inclusiveness requires bold actions and a tone set at the top. Sandy Rowland, CFO; Paula Davis, SVP of Corporate Affairs & Communications and Chief of Staff to the CEO; Roopa Unnikrishnan, VP of Strategy; and Sandra Martinez, VP of Global Talent Management, Diversity & Corporate HR, shared their personal experiences and spoke about the resources they used and the steps they took to successfully navigate their careers. Additionally, leaders from GE, Accenture, and Univision discussed the methods they implemented at their own organizations to build cultures that leverage and promote diversity and inclusion.
Attendees leveraged these insights to develop meaningful programs that strengthen HARMAN talent pipeline, enhance workplace culture, and help women develop their knowledge and skills.
Before the Summit concluded, attendees shared their initial recommendations with Dinesh Paliwal, President and Chief Executive Officer of HARMAN, along with other members of the senior leadership team.
“This has been a personal goal of mine for nearly 11 years – to increase diversity and develop and elevate women leaders,” said Dinesh. “I heard amazing dialogue and many brilliant ideas. Now, it’s time to prioritize and implement them. We want the world to know, beginning with our own colleagues, that anyone who is principled, respectful, brilliant, and bold can thrive and grow at HARMAN.”
Already, the company has announced new programs to increase the talent pipeline, including sponsorship of the 1,000 Dreams Fund BroadcastHER Academy, which aims to address the gender gap in financial funding for women by connecting established female gamers and broadcasters to aspiring young women interested in pursuing careers in the burgeoning live video streaming and broadcast space.
Still, there is much work to be done on gender parity in tech and HARMAN and its peers that intend to win the war for talent know to start with the ideas and involvement of their own people.