"Be bold enough to give the roles a try" – HPE Singapore MD Priscilla Chong

In the early 2000s, the technology sector in Singapore had considerably fewer women in it than many other sectors, and definitely far fewer than there are today.

"It stood out when you look over team photos," said Priscilla Chong, Managing Director of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Singapore (above right). And the other aspects of the working environment were not much different, she recounted: "Back then, team building activities tended to not be very inclusive. The number of female executives were also few and far between."

Things have changed since she first went into the sector, though. HPE Singapore, for one, now has a more balanced gender ratio—48 percent of staff are female—and there are considerably more female executives on the local and regional leadership teams. People Matters asked Priscilla and her colleague Rohini Sachitanand, HPE's HR Director for APAC (above left), how this shift came about.

Someone to make the first move, and leaders who support them

In 2011, Priscilla was appointed to lead a regional team in HP's financial services division, and she started hiring competent female professionals and building a more diverse and inclusive team structure. "I didn't feel as though there was much resistance back then," she noted—and this, she believes, is attributable to having senior leadership who were fully supportive of her choices. It helped that the value of having a diverse team quickly showed itself: "I did notice how gender balance within a team can drive some very positive outcomes," she recounted of that early move.

Later, as her career progressed, she was able to put greater weight behind the company's D&I initiatives. When she was appointed to the executive leadership team, she took on the role of executive sponsor for HPE's INSPIRE group, an employee-led initiative to promote gender diversity and equality within the company. And as a business leader, she lent her support to processes promoting fair and transparent hiring and ensuring a balanced candidate mix—much as the senior leaders had supported her hiring choices when she first moved her team towards greater diversity and inclusiveness.

Getting buy-in through encouragement and supporting processes

"I tend to encourage female colleagues to be bold in terms of chartering their career aspirations," Priscilla said of the effort to attract, retain, and develop female professionals.

"It is one thing to drive gender diversity from a corporate beliefs and policies standpoint, but it is more important that individuals stay open-minded, believe in their capabilities, and are bold enough to give those roles a try."

Again, this is where leadership plays a role, said APAC HR Director Rohini. The leadership is committed to improving gender equality by setting stretch goals around hiring and engagement, she explained; the company invests in training its people leaders on inclusive hiring, and gives them the opportunity to share their thoughts and best practices on how to create a more inclusive workplace.

HR policies are also curated with inclusivity at the core, she added. "We start the moment a team member starts to work for HPE – where we focus the onboarding session around HPE’s culture of inclusiveness through video sharing and interactive activities."

Tracking the results, and identifying signs of success

Rohini shared some of the methods she and her HR team use to measure the success of their policies and processes, including the goals for inclusiveness in hiring and engagement. These include an annual survey that collects both quantitative and qualitative responses, and frequent focus group discussions to obtain feedback from team members on what’s working and what’s not from a policy standpoint. And there is recognition: internal awards for female leaders and leaders who promote inclusion and diversity.

"Keeping a finger on the pulse of the organization helps us measure and course correct as required," she said. And, she added, there are less qualitative indicators: "Over the years, we’ve definitely seen a shift towards making policy implementation more inclusive. One great example is the implementation of a six-months paid parental leave policy for both male and female team members across the board. We’ve gathered a lot of positive feedback on this move from team members on social media, in our surveys, and anecdotally."

Besides the balanced gender ratio, the success of HPE's initiatives is seen in its leadership. "We see more female leaders being appointed to leadership positions over the years, which is an encouraging progress," Priscilla said. Furthermore, she added, the initiatives are not just supported by female colleagues; a "substantial number" of male colleagues participate actively in the employee-led D&I programs.