Q. What has Verizon Partner Solutions (VPS) done to drive Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging initiatives?
First, let me start with the great work I have been leading with the Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF). The GLF is an organization with 32 members from leading providers across the globe. They have established industry level initiatives such as Blockchain, Fraud, Security and Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging. The GLF’s working group on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging acknowledges that gender diversity and inclusion are still
not equitable in the workplace and there is limited female representation within the boards and management teams of telecoms organizations, especially within technical roles. It
has therefore focused on understanding the drivers for this,
and what should be done to address the inequality, in an industry first research report on gender diversity within the telecommunications sector, published on June 15th.
Q. Why is the Global Leaders’ Forum focusing on diversity, inclusion and belonging?
The GLF is focusing diversity, inclusion and belonging for several reasons. It is clear to me the role that the GLF can play as a ‘voice’ leading the global carrier industry. Collectively shining a light on key industry issues where we can drive common advocacy or action can only be a force for good. As such, I believe the GLF has a critical role to play in improving diversity, inclusion and belonging within the telecoms industry – it is an issue that we all face and are all on a journey to improve the standing within our organizations.
Not only is it the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense:
• Academic research suggests that having a more gender diverse organization can lead to improved commercial performance; studies suggest that an increase of female representation can increase revenues up to 15%.
• Diversity creates a virtuous cycle: female talent attracts female talent; GLF members acknowledge the impact of having
a gender diverse workforce to attract talent and reflect their customer base
Some key facts from the white paper:
Analysis by the World Economic Forum demonstrates the reduced share of females holding roles as seniority increases. Taking a wider view, when looking at Fortune 500 companies, only 5% of CEO positions are held by women despite females accounting for 58% of the US workforce.
Gender diversity and inclusion are still not equitable in the workplace, with the gap becoming more pronounced in senior levels of organizations. Globally, the gender representation gap is a century away from being closed, as currently only 55% of women are engaged in the labor market.
85% of GLF companies agree that improving gender diversity has a positive commercial impact.
Q. What activities is Verizon undertaking to promote gender diversity and inclusion?
Verizon is very active in this space. Here are some examples of employee resource groups:
• Women’s Association of Verizon Employees (WAVE); WAVE includes both men and women who promote the professional development of women within Verizon, their local communities, and the technology sector, focusing on building recruitment efforts of women and encouraging gender equality;
• Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN); WIN strives to be the change by championing women’s leadership and advancement while providing an open forum for employees to address the reality of the experience for women in the workplace;
• Women of the World (WOW); is an innovative leadership development program launched in 2019 where 1,800 women started a seven- month journey of self-discovery that focused on personal brand, self-leadership, effective communication, critical thinking and owning their career. An interactive learning experience comprised of in-person workshops, career expos, online learning and tools;
• Women in extended reality; is an accelerator program founded as a VC firm that exclusively invests in early stage VR/AR and AI start-ups founded by females, providing resources and tools for them to succeed.
• MAKERS is Verizon’s media brand with the mission to accelerate the women’s movement through stories of real-life experiences. It has digital content. In 2019, it had 790,000 followers across social media platforms and 20+ million views of the 2019 MAKERS conference.
Q. Where should the industry go next?
As we launched the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Working Group with the GLF, we agreed that whilst there are many areas – such as age, race, ability that fall under this remit, a first area of focus should be how we can leverage the collective ‘voice’ of the GLF to drive improvements in gender diversity both within the organisations of members and more broadly across the industry. Ensuring gender diversity is incredibly beneficial – I have seen this first-hand in my organisation – but there is still more that needs to be done to address the gender gap as we attract and retain female talent. I am well aware of the increasing efforts made, both within my organisation and in that of my peers, to improve gender diversity and I am enthused by the commitment of the GLF to treat this as a priority.
Additionally, we will now turn our focus to racial and social equity. Recent events have highlighted what many of us have known. We must Listen, Learn and Lead with Action to make a difference.
