Diversity and Inclusion

Oct. 2006 -- If you eat lunch at Hewlett-Packard’s UK headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire, you will meet men and women from different nations, cultures, ethnic groups, lifestyles and generations.

Bracknell is not unusual. A recent poll of nine HP European offices found employees from 84 different countries across the world. For HP, workforce diversity is about putting talented people from every group to work. Inclusion is about creating the best place for them to do their job.

Why is this so important to an IT company? Because the marketplace demands it and customers need it. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, HP especially focuses on and measures gender diversity. This makes perfect business sense: Larger numbers of women than men are now graduating from university in Europe. And a better company for women is a better company for everyone.

The link between diversity and competiveness is no where stronger than in emerging markets. “Skills development and the inclusion of women are key challenges for the ICT sector,” explains Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe, CEO of HP South Africa and recently voted Top ICT Business Woman in Africa.

HP is widely acclaimed for its advancement of women in the technology business. A third of HP’s global executives are women. HP has set a target to increase the number of women at all levels of the organisation, and is measuring the percentage of women hired.

However, HP’s policy is not about promoting women over men. It is about selecting the best person for the job and asking managers to look beyond their radar screens when doing so.

Getting talented women into management is just a first step. HP also offers coaching and support to women ― because access to networks, strong role models and mentors are important factors in career advancement.

One of the main obstacles women in business face is balancing their commitments at work with those at home. A study undertaken by a women-in-business advocacy group¹ shows that European senior executives reported even more tensions between their personal and family lives than their North American counterparts. 

HP recognises that there is more than one way to get the job done. Where business needs and local law allow it, HP offers flexible work arrangements for all of its employees, including:

Flex-time: In most countries, employees can start an eight-hour workday any time between 6:00am and 8:30pm.

Part-time:  Where feasible, employees can work on a schedule of 20 to 40 hours a week; hours can be clustered in a few days or spread over the week.

Job Sharing: Two employees can divide the tasks and responsibilities of one full-time position. HP offers this possibility for senior management positions as well.

HP is facilitating the implementation of the above work arrangements by using both a “head count” and a “cost of work force” approach to managing its workforce, rather than just the traditional “head count.” This allows managers to be more flexible in how they arrange their teams.

How, in the real, diverse world, do you go about getting the best person for the job? Start by creating a broad and diverse pool of candidates. HP casts a wide net to place diversity candidates on short-lists for interviews. They are then interviewed by teams of men and women representing many walks of life. It is all part of a Diversity and Inclusion strategy that HP is implementing across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) ― where HP employs some 42,000 people.

HP has a force of “Diversity Champions” in 34 countries in EMEA ― senior managers from HP’s businesses, rather than its HR department. They are working to break down the barriers to Diversity & Inclusion, drawing on their knowledge of national culture and ways of doing business.

HP actively recruits people with disabilities. The company benefits from their unique perspective, creativity and problem-solving abilities.

The ground-breaking success of HP's accessibility program is helping it win business in a global market of 500 million people with disabilities and age-related limitations. HP’s commitment to Accessibility was worth several hundred million euros in Swedish projects because its products are suitable for users with limited mobility and low vision – a requirement of the Swedish public administration.

"When a product, or technology or architecture is designed for a person with a disability, we as a society benefit from it," says HP Accessibility Program Director Michael Takemura. He notes that “42% of people will have some form of disability when they are over 65 and "100% of us are growing older."