IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Winning in the Marketplace with
Diverse Talent
Edith Jonkers@KU Leuven
May 29, 2008
© 2006 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Background info IBM
Global:
•
Corporate headquarters: Armonk, NY
•
170 countries
•
> 60% of revenue generated outside US
•
> 355,500 employees worldwide
•
Revenue 2007: $98.8 billion,
Net income: $10.4 billion

Invested $6.2 billion in Research and
Development in 2007
Benelux:
• Serving 6000 clients in the Benelux
• IBM Benelux formed in July 2005
• >7000 Employees in 3 countries
• 15 Offices
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
IBM’s Businesses
• Software - Largest supplier of infrastructure software
• Systems and Technology – Leading technology and
systems solutions
• Global Services - World’s largest business and
technology services provider
• Research – IBM breaks US patent record – Tops list for
15th consecutive year in 2007
• Financing - World’s leading provider of financing and
asset management services to companies selling or
acquiring IT.
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
IBM Clients: The World of Business
And leading in the world’s rapidly emerging markets
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Our Workforce
Diverse and global: A tradition of progressive leadership
IBM’s first black employee and first
three women employees mark 25
years with the company
Adds sexual orientation to its
nondiscrimination profile and
establishes domestic partner
benefits in 1996
1985
Pulls out of South Africa to exert
economic pressure on the
apartheid regime
Is the first company to support the
United Negro College Fund
2004
IBM President Thomas J. Watson, Jr.,
publishes the company’s first equal
opportunity policy letter — one year
before the U.S. Supreme Court
desegregates public schools
Ranks as one of the “Best
Companies for Working Mothers”
(US) for the 19th year in a row
2004
Organizes an EMEA-wide GLBT
conference in London, UK
2006
Puts diverse, talented people
forward as one of IBM’s main
differentiators
CAP 48 “Prix de l’Entreprise
Citoyenne”
Hires the first employee with a
disability, 76 years before the
Americans with Disabilities Act
1924
1944
1953
1976
5
1984
1914
Helps launch the National Hispanic
Scholarship Fund
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion
at the core
of our strategy
KU Leuven May 29, 2008
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
What is Diversity and Inclusion @ IBM ?
DIVERSITY
Within IBM, the principles of diversity extend
beyond issues related to race, gender, or physical
disabilities to differences in culture, lifestyle, age,
background, experience, religion, economic status,
sexual orientation and marital status.
“None of us is as strong as all of us”
INCLUSION
is the essence of a workplace where everyone in the
organization has the opportunity to fully participate
in creating business success and is valued for the
distinctive skills, experiences, and perspectives they
bring to the workplace.
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity: why we do it
The Challenges of a 21st-century Workforce
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Challenges of Generational Diversity

Agoria study : ICT industry in Belgium is looking for
13,000 people in the next coming year

UK: by 2010, <20% of full time UK workforce will be
comprised of able-bodied white men below 45

EU: by 2030, 24 million workers aged 55 – 64
Globalisation


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8
4
Managing by Values
Female to male employment rates:
Central and Eastern Europe
EU before enlargement
88.45 %
54.9 %
89.2 %
73.0 %
IBM BeLux : substantial % of workforce reporting out of
country
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Mirroring Society
New Way of Working

11.4 percent of IBM BeLux workforce work part time

60 percent of IBM BeLux jobs are a form of flexible
employment
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Organizational Structure
IBM’s Ongoing Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Women
Cultural
Diversity
Council
PwD
GLBT
Generational
Task Force
by focus area
Network Groups
by focus area
Common
Areas
Addressed
With
Management
Solutions &
Actions
Identified
Common
Issues
Identified
Work Life
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
What makes Diversity initiatives succeed?
•Top management sponsorship
•Clear diversity business case linked to business drivers and business strategy
•Creation of accountable executive and adequate funding to invest in diversity
initiatives
•Commitment and “buy-in” across all levels of the organisation
•Viewing diversity as an overall
‘culture’ change
IMPACT IN THE
program rather
ORGANISATION
than as an “event”
•Identify and address
behavioural and
systemic barriers and blocks
•Integration with culture, HR
and management practices
•Processes to measure
and sustain diversity
practices
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People live the
values
Leaders role–model
the values
Organisation actions to
shift values/behaviour
Actively
communicate
values
Align
values to
strategy
LEVEL OF LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY
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IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Communication
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion Education@ IBM
DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
Provides managers & employees
worldwide with awareness, knowledge and
skill readiness to enable individuals and
groups to contribute to their fullest
potential. The face-to-face learning lab is
based on a globally validated, practical
framework to understand and address local
challenges and opportunities associated
with Diversity & Inclusion.
GENDER : TAKING THE STAGE
Taking the Stage™ is a successful program
for IBM women around the world. It shows
women how to achieve a strong leadership
presence when they speak in all situations
— board rooms, meeting rooms,
conference halls and phone calls.
GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER MANAGER
AWARENESS SESSION
This session is all about understanding the
GLBT community in IBM and about
changing our perceptions through a
facilitated discussion for IBM managers.
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PEOPLE WITH DISSABILITIES
EMPOWERMENT TRAINING
These career development workshops are
about providing individuals with the tools for
dismantling any disabling barriers that may
exist within their organizations whilst at the
same time equipping them with the internal
skills to help promote their potential and
achieve a fuller and more enriching career
without some of the daily struggles that some
disabled people inevitably face.
CULTURAL : SHADES OF BLUE
All about how to work effectively across cultural
differences and within a multicultural
environment. Participants understand cultural
competence and its importance to IBM. They
explore and frame key cultural differences on
national, functional, and interpersonal levels
through the lens of a comprehensive
framework for understanding cultural
differences - the Worldprism™ Model.
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
What IBM does to support Diversity & Inclusion
GENDER DIVERSITY
 Focus on Women in Technology
 Gender Scorecard
INTEGRATION OF GAY, LESBIAN,
BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER
EMPLOYEES
 Offers same sex partner (IBM) benefits in
all the countries where the local legislation
permits
 Created a GLBT sales force & launched a
marketing initiative in Europe
GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY
 Global focus on the needs of the maturing
workforce that reviews all internal
processes, recruitment and development
plans to ensure that the needs of all
employees are met
• Re-think career paths, management
development and talent management, and
changing conceptions of work and leisure
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INTEGRATION OF
PEOPLE WITH DISSABILITIES
 Increase the hiring of qualified
(graduates & experienced) PwD in all
business areas
 Become more visible by providing
accessibility services & innovative offerings
and supportive technology in the
marketplace
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
 Works to increase the ethnic diversity of the
workforce by developing the pipeline and
supporting the recruitment, integration and
advancement of employees of diverse
ethnic origins.
 Develops local partnerships with external
organisations to contribute to greater social
cohesion.
WORK LIFE
 Flexible working options to all employees
 Provision of supporting technologies to allow
employees to work remotely
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
Some concrete actions in BeLux
Taking
the
Stage
Mindset
Cultural
Exhibition
Women Mean
Business
1991
Incented Sabbatical
2001
AITT
2006
Women In
Business
Speed
Mentoring
Sessions 2007
PWD Awareness
Event & CAP48 Award
“Prix de l’Entreprise Responsable”
International GLBT
Conference, London, UK
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Employee Alliance for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Empowerment
© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
EMEA Women’s Leadership Council – Key Initiatives
Trestle Group Foundation

Objective: The foundations purpose is to
link up "women entrepreneurs in
emerging markets with business
professionals with the aim to help them
build their network, business strategies
and practices that will help them create
new opportunities, fulfil their potential
and achieve long term success."

Partnerships in Russia, South Africa and
Uganda with 4th partnership in Poland
(Jan 2008)

Support from IBM women and men
across EMEA
Women help sow the seeds of change in
Uganda

When IBM’s Alison Hall attended the Women’s
International Networking (WIN) forum in Oslo, she
had no idea that it was about to change her life –
and the lives of many Ugandan farmers.

Alison was one of 750 delegates from across the
globe chosen to attend the WIN global conference in
September 2007. WIN is an initiative that supports
and develops women’s careers and diversity in the
workplace by looking at the critical role women play
in shaping the future.

IBM has been a key sponsor, actively supporting the
scheme since its inception in 1997 and sharing in its
values of innovation, integrity, diversity and interest
in creating a positive new future. In total, 232 of the
delegates at the 2007 conference came from the
IBM Northeast and Southwest IOTs.

http://w3.ibm.com/news/w3news/top_stories/2008/0
4/uknews_seedsfordevelopment.html
100 farmers came to meet Alison,
to discuss their needs and priorities
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© 2008 IBM Corporation
IBM Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
THANK YOU
KU Leuven May 29, 2008
© 2008 IBM Corporation