Diversity management at IBM IBM has a long history of commitment to Diversity and has consistently taken the lead

on Diversity policies long before it was required by law. It began in the mid-20th century, grounded in Equal Opportunity legislation and compliance. IBM moved forward to Diversity in the 1990s with a focus on eliminating barriers, and understanding regional constituencies and differences between the constituencies. As Indias demographics changed, IBM adapted our workplace to be more flexible and began our focus on work-life integration. In addition, over the past 5 years, we've introduced IBM's Values, which links to our diversity work. This strong foundation bringss IBM to where they are today. IBM takes best advantage of differences for innovation. IBMs diversity is a competitive advantage and consciously building diverse teams helps them drive the best results for our clients

To remain competitive, it needs employee populations that mirror and understand the markets we serve uniting different cultures, languages, geographic origins, Professions and perspectives into one globally integrated enterprise.

At IBM, our goal is to enhance awareness, openmindedness, knowledge, tolerance, and respect for other cultures in order to build a stronger IBM team and continue to foster innovation. Diversity at IBM means that difference is expected, respected and encouraged so that every employee can be productive, innovative and achieve to their fullest potential. Our mission is to help create and maintain an IBM culture, climate, and environment in which all people feel welcomed and valued; and to maximise the utilisation of our diverse talent, and position IBM as the company of choice within our community and to our clients and our workforce.

Our diversity strategy gives us a competitive edge that is delivered through our employees. Their differences lead to diversity of thought which sparks the innovation required for our success. Whats more, because we reflect the makeup of the Australian community, our people can relate to the needs and values of our clients and business partners. Our leadership position in diversity helps us attract the best people and acts as an inspiration to our employees. We recognise the importance of the successful integration of Workforce Diversity Principles so that all employees

understand and act accordingly. Some of the ways in which IBM communicates with employees include Diversity Networking Groups, Diversity Networking Events and the Diversity Contact Officer Network. IBMs Diversity Networking Groups IBM has formed five diversity networking groups all of which are key stakeholders of our Workforce Diversity program. These groups consist of IBM employees who voluntarily come together with the ultimate goal of providing feedback to the business, and enhancing the success of IBMs business objectives by helping their members become more effective in the workplace. IBMs current diversity networking groups are as follows: 1. People with Disability - a networking group for people with a disability. This is a very active group, with strong connections to the wider community. 2. Flexibility a networking group which is very active and is open to anyone interested in part time work, job sharing and other flexible working options. 3. Women in Technology a networking group which aims to support the growth, development, advancement, and recognition of IBMs current population of technical women. 4. Cultural Diversity a networking group with a focus on multiculturalism. 5. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT) a networking group which supports the GLBT internal community and also participates in external community partnerships. IBMs Diversity Networking Events IBM recognises that all employees must be consulted, and as such we hold regular diversity networking events. All employees are invited to these events and have the opportunity to provide feedback and learn about IBMs Workforce Diversity program. IBMs Diversity Contact Officer (DCO) network The DCO is another feedback mechanism. DCOs are employees who are trained to handle grievances relating to Diversity. They represent the wider IBM community including, men, women, people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, people with a disability and people who are gay or lesbian. Approximately 60 employees are

DCOs and have been trained in Equal Employment Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination legislation.

The Journey Ahead Workforce Diversity = Diversity of thought = Innovation

Areas of Focus 1. Women in the Workforce 2. People with Disability 3. Work Life Integration 4. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) 5. Cultural Diversity 6. Generational Diversity Women in the Workforce Globally, IBM has seen substantial growth in the number of senior women executives from 185 in 1997 to more than 1,000 today. Sixty-five percent of our women executives are working mother. These women demonstrates outstanding leadership qualities and is achieving superior business results. All IBM had to do was level the playing field so that excellence and achievement were the only criteria for success. People with Disability The Performance of long term commitment and approach to ensuring that people with disability are represented in the business has resulted in workforce representation across all business areas in the organisation and at all levels.

This fact was externally recognised in 2007 when IBM was named a finalist in the Prime Ministers Employer of the Year award for the inclusion of people with disability. IBM was recognised for its ongoing commitment to disability employment through its proactive and holistic approach, resulting in disability representation throughout all business units and at all levels from graduate to senior roles within the organisation.

IBM provides accessible equipment and ongoing services, such as interpreting services to employees through a central accommodation fund. IBM has also partnered with suppliers to develop live on-demand services. IBMs strategy continues to focus on developing innovative pathways for people with disability to enter ICT education and careers. These initiatives aim to increase the number of people with disability in employment and add to the potential IBM talent pool.

Accessibility IBM believes that the combination of technology and innovation can empower human potential by making its information technology widely available and accessible without regard of user ability. IBMs competitiveness in the marketplace depends on satisfying its clients demands for products that meet the needs of all potential clients, including people with disability.

IBM has a global corporate instruction that all the products must include important accessibility features and functions, so that products, tools, applications and services, are either directly accessible or compatible with assistive technology. This instruction also applies internally where, in 2007, IBM continued to provide accessible physical and virtual environments to all of its employees. This is a holistic approach that includes a real estate accessibility strategy, a centralized reasonable accommodations strategy, to enable our people to succeed, and a procurement strategy where accessibility is a standard criteria built into all supplier engagements.

Education and Awareness In 2007, IBM continued to build greater awareness and capability throughout the organisation via education. IBM conducted specific disability employment education sessions for employees, as well as recruitment specific sessions for its workforce management teams. The IBM People with Disability Networking Group also conducted awareness raising events across the country in 2007, which focused on disability that is acquired through life.

 Work Life Integration IBM aims to retain talented people by recognising the importance of and supporting their life outside of work. IBM continues to appreciate the challenges of managing work and life effectively and continues to provide Flexible Working Options for employees. IBMs flexible working options include, Part Time/Job Share, Individualised Work Schedules, Compressed Work Weeks, Working from Home and Telecommuting.

Generational Diversity Our Generational Diversity strategy is focused on enabling mature workers to continue to contribute to our business success. As our workforce ages, IBM faces greater competition to attract new employees and retain existing ones. To address this challenge, we have processes, tools and strategies to retain and maximize the careers of our mature aged workforce and recruit from this talent pool.

Our Generational Diversity Program aims to provide a flexible workplace culture which allows IBM employees to enjoy: continued participation in the workforce without age-related barriers; flexible work hours and responsibilities; a variety of work style options; greater lifestyle choices; continued learning and job satisfaction; and an ongoing connection to the IBM community

Cultural Diversity IBM is dedicated to driving cultural change through innovative principles and policies, and is committed to providing a workplace where employees feel welcomed and valued for who they are. IBM operates across nine time zones in 170 countries, where more than 70 languages are spoken. This diversity is one of our greatest strengths especially when we leverage it effectively, bringing the best talent and ideas together to solve our clients problems.

Cultural diversity in IBM Shades of Blue In 2007, IBM introduced a new version of its Cultural Intelligence education, Shades of Blue. This blended learning solutions and provided managers and employees with awareness, knowledge and skill readiness to work effectively across cultural differences and within a multicultural environment. Participants understand cultural competence and its importance to our environment today through exploring key cultural differences on national, functional, and interpersonal levels. Participants were also able to explore real-life challenges and opportunities to improve performance and bridge cultural gaps enabling employees to work successfully across cultures and across borders.

Floating Cultural Holiday To acknowledge individuals needs to balance cultural and work commitments, our Floating Cultural Holiday policy gives people the option of trading official public holidays for another day of personal cultural significance. For example, an employee may wish to trade the Queens Birthday for Yom Kippur, Diwali or Eid. Gay Lesbian Bisexual & Transgender Diversity IBM strives to create an atmosphere where Gay Lesbian Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT) employees are valued, empowered to think freely, express themselves and innovate, and able to fully contribute to the workplace and our clients. Below are some of the recent initiatives and ongoing activities .

GLBT Employee Networking Group The EAGLE (Employee Alliance for Gay & Lesbian Empowerment) Networking Group consists of proactive employees whose objective is to work with the organization to promote a safe and open working environment for all employees, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The group offers GLBT employees opportunities to network both professionally and socially, career development and mentoring development, participation in community outreach and input into developing IBMs overall GLBT strategy. As with all of the Diversity Networking Groups, EAGLE has a representative on the IBM Diversity Council and the Global GLBT Taskforce as well as the regional Asia Pacific internal GLBT work team.

Diversity management at TCS According to Anjali Prayag, "For Indian companies, managing a diverse workforce is no longer a choice but an imperative." TCS is an equal-opportunity employer and TCSers come from many nationalities and speak many languages. TCS has the culture of celebrating everything under the sun, singing carols at Christmas and doing the dandiya dance at Navrathri with equal enthusiasm.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will recruit 4,000 foreign nationals in the forthcoming fiscal, including 800 people in the US and 1,000 in Latin America and the rest in China and Eastern Europe, according to Mr. S. Padmanabhan, Executive Vice-President of Global HR. The company intends to build a workforce with over 7.5% representation of foreign nationals. It is noteworthy that more than 25% of the employees are females.

The company has adopted the diversified workforce approach in order to create a comfortable environment for clients and employees who work along with it on specific projects. The HR practioners who make a large hue and cry about bringing out the best using a diverse workforce can really quote TCS as an example. Rich cultural diversity @ TCS TCS having 250,000 employees of 113 different nationalities in 42 countries, Dr Ritu Anand, vice president and deputy global head of HR at TCS, shares some insights. Its a veritable United Nations of workers, an organisation that gives true meaning to globalisation. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with 183 offices across 42 countries, 250,000 employees representing 113 different nationalities, is the only Indian-headquartered multinational company with this kind of diversity, says Dr Ritu Anand, vice president and deputy global head of human resources (HR), who, besides looking after global talent management also handles the diversity and inclusion portfolio at TCS. Referring to the cultural diversity of the company, Dr Anand remarks, If anything is challenging, then this is it.

Expanding internationalism Approximately 8 percent of TCSers are non-Indian nationals Americans, Britishers, Europeans, Latin Americans, Chinese citizens and others. With the company expanding its global footprint, TCS has started hiring experts locally in most of the countries it operates. While the bulk of employees continue to be Indians, TCS expects the percentage of non-Indians to increase steadily over the years. A step in that direction is hiring from campuses globally. Formidable challenges Dr Anand admits that it is challenging to embrace cultural diversity in non-English speaking countries. There are issues related to language, laws and regulations and understanding the local culture, she explains. It is tough, but achievable. In Latin America where TCS has presence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay, the company has strategies in place to ensure a good mix of nationalities at all levels. Integration at work To ensure greater integration among its culturally-diverse employee pool, TCS launched Culture Meter in 2008 on its intranet. We profile different countries in a lively way, says Dr Anand, describing the initiative. Culture Meter talks about the country, its culture, dos and donts, and TCSs business information about that country. We have home page corners on our intranet where senior leaders write about their experiences in different countries. About 10 years ago, the company also launched Maitree (friendship), a global platform for employees and their family members to join the caring and sharing culture of TCS. Maitree brings TCsers and their families together in shared interests through various activities such as dance, music, photography, books, hobby clubs, nature-walks, and trekking. There are calendar events across geographies in TCS. For example, in a particular month, Family Day is celebrated across all locations. Being a global organisation, it is also important that employees relate to international celebrations. So TCS has celebrations that are specific to the culture of the geography such as Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year, and others.

TCS also has a Foreign Language Initiatives (FLI) group which focuses on cultural integration and language training. Some examples are cultural workshops, English-language teaching programme for its non-English-speaking employees, and programme for expatriates to learn the local languages. A new dawn TCS encourages diversity not only in terms of nationality but also on gender. It has established a platform called Diversity and Womens Network (DAWN), which sensitises employees and makes them culturally aware. Over the last five years, TCS has seen the number of women employees increase from 25 percent to 31 percent. Nearly 38 percent of the employees at the junior level are women. However, with many of them leaving, due to personal reasons, by the time they reach mid-level management positions, women only constitute 11 percent of the strength at senior management levels. It is still a benchmark for the industry in India, points out Dr Anand. The company has a successful reorientation programme for women who return to their jobs after a break. We appoint a mentor or an advisor for every woman to quickly acclimatise her to the new environment after a long break, says Dr Anand, adding that TCS also has a leadership development programme called 'TCS Forward' primarily for women associates. Leveraging the Tata culture The greater challenge, however, lies in building a common culture, something that goes beyond practical measures such as language teaching and leadership development. Many TCS employees are assigned to work outside their home countries for a while. But before an employee is sent abroad, he or she is thoroughly briefed about the new location, the local customs and practices. Cultural sensitisation is a constant at TCS, says Dr Anand, adding that the company often hires experts who specialise in this. Employees, who are to be posted abroad, undergo relocation training, which particularly focuses on training in various aspects of the culture of the country where they are going.

TCS is also one of the proponents of AIESEC (Association Internationale des tudiants en Sciences conomiques et Commerciales), a Rotterdam-based international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. Every year, the company hires 50 to 75 trainees from AIESEC, mainly from Eastern Europe and Latin America. It has evolved a programme called ACE (accelerate, connect, experience) to help induct these trainees. Induction programmes place enormous emphasis on the Tata group ethic and culture. Value systems are central to the way the Tata companies operate and, thus, the TCS induction and training programmes help forge a common culture built on the Tata Code of Conduct. Also, in keeping with the Tata norm of giving, employees across the globe are encouraged to volunteer for TCSs social development activities undertaking a walk for cancer in Detroit, USA; collecting funds for building homes in Chilean cities; helping build old-age homes in England. We leverage our Tata culture in development activities in areas such as education, health and environment, says Dr Anand. TCS also has a rewards and recognition platform called GEMs Go the Extra Mile that acknowledges collaborative and good efforts by employees towards society. The global diversity of TCS comes together on common ground in efforts such as these, efforts that are in keeping with one culture the culture that arises from the Tata ethic.

Diversity management at Wipro Wipro values diversity and we imbibe the cultures of the geography we operate in. This sense of inclusiveness nurtures a culture of greater creativity and innovation. Diversity is a mantra that Wipro practices and allows us to communicate and compete in various global markets. Our initiatives are a reflection of this. Wipro Diversity

Gender

Women of Wipro (WoW) Women of Wipro (WoW) was an initiative launched, as part of the Wipro Diversity Council, in 2008. WoW aims to bring together women executives across business units and locations in Wipro who have the passion for extraordinary personal and social transformation, working together for better causes and common goals.

Our faith in the capabilities of the women who work in our organization has created not only a local impact but has also reflected across our locations globally. Some of the major initiatives undertaken by WoW include: WoW microsite - Channel W, that includes a forum for women employees to blog, chat, and post relevant comments on discussion boards along with articles Speaker series/networking sessions with women leaders across the global industry Health and safety - self defense workshops and 'Fit for Life' sessions Flexible policies to enable work life balance including crches across locations

Nationality Wipro is a global company and this is reflected in our diverse workforce across geographies. We promote an inclusive environment and recognize the differences in backgrounds, knowledge, experiences and potential of people from various cultures. A diverse corporate culture stimulates productive creativity and innovation and this is what we believe in when we enable talent transformation at Wipro.

Wipro's diversity and inclusiveness initiative aims to "be a truly global employer with a local touch, gaining worldwide acceptance and penetration." The initiative's three main goals are: Attract and recruit top talent primarily from the local population

Engage employees to truly embrace the Diversity and Inclusiveness Policy as an integral

part of how they work together as global teams

Develop the capabilities of employees to partner effectively with clients from diverse nationalities People with Disabilities Wipro is continuously focused on creating a truly inclusive workplace to accommodate People with Disabilities (PwD). We help differently abled individuals to leverage their talent and build their careers at Wipro. Here's a look at our initiatives: Accessible Physical Infrastructure - We have benchmarked our campuses with global guidelines for barrier-free access and are making changes to our facilities. We have included the UN standards in determining that our infrastructure is accessible for the physically challenged. People Policies - Our people policies were audited by experts to encourage inclusivity and to communicate relevant information to people with disabilities. In all, 56 policies were audited and many were modified to provide reasonable accommodation. IS - We have adapted IS applications to connect with typical software used in the organization so that IT resources and information are made easily available to the physically challenged. We are transforming our applications, websites and career portals based on the WCAG 2.0 guidelines to provide complete accessibility to persons with special needs. Talent Transformation - We have trained our trainers and library staff to be inclusive in instructor led programs, streamlined our administrative processes to enable specific accommodation where required, and developed curriculum that would help induct and assimilate people with disabilities into our midst. Talent Acquisition Process - We have streamlined our processes to be more inclusive as we interface with prospective employees with disabilities.

REACH REACH is a Wipro program that assists the underprivileged youth in India to educate and rise above their status to make a mark in society. The main features of this program are:

It helps youngsters acquire employment in areas that match their respective talent

Wipro connects with colleges to identify and recruit capable youngsters who can make a difference to the organization

We guide and encourage them to pursue higher education that would justify their talent REACH is a program in progress and we are constantly upgrading this to create a better future for thousands of underprivileged who, with a better education, can contribute constructively to society.

Wipro

Center

for

Employment

(WCE)

The purpose of WCE is to provide training to students to make them employable in a set of industries through courses which are geared to improve their behavioral skills, functional knowledge and competencies. The course architecture includes: A foundation course in soft skills, English language and basics of IT to build life skills and strengthen confidence A second layer to build functional skills in chosen industries How does Wipro manage Diversity? The diversity managers of wipro insist that the very first interation with the acquired company makes a great deal of difference. Wipro makes it a point that the employees are addressed by members of the top management to dispel any fears in the minds of the employees of the acquired company. Retaining talent and assimilating them into the Wipro mainstream and vision is a challenging task and critical to organizations especially in IT related industries. Retention of talent is required to maintain customer continuity and to ensure business growth in the new market.

People intergration is the key to Diversity management. It requires effort from both sides. This is successfully accomplished by Wipro. Whenever there is a major acquisition, Wipro takes the leadership of the acquired unit into confidence. Wipro encourages quality interaction and exchange of information among the employees by means of exchange programmes where, the new employees of the acquired unit come to Banglore and are helped in acclimatizing themselves to the organizational culture at Wipro. The high point of these exchange programmes is the encouragement of interaction at the operational levels , involving members through the line . Wipro values become the binding factor and a common platform for the employees, says Wipros Vice President talent engagement and development ( Economic times, 2003). While the interations between the two teams increase, it requires greater sensitation to cultural issues and therefore , the bigger

challenge is in terms of intergrating cultures and value systems. Wipro came up with an interesting concept of Buddies. It simply means that every five employees of AMS would have a wipro Employee as their buddy, who would guide them on to wipros rules and regulations. Often lack of awareness about simple things like travel rules, expense reimbursement and leave application can cost an employee his job (economic time, 2203). This concept of mentoring has paved way for a continuing interaction between people across the different geographical units and thereby resulting in greater trust and open mindness among the employees. And the pointers for things going right are there for all to see. Wipro limited is the first SEI CMM LEVEL 5 cetified service company globally. Wipro provides research and development services to telecom and electronic product companies and software solutions and services for the corporate segement, offering system intergration, network intergration and It services. Wipro also has profitable presense in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. Wipros Ads are listed on the newyork stock exchange and its equity shares are listed in India on the stock exchange- Mumbai and the national stock exchange among others.