International Women’s Day: Inspire Inclusion To Make True Progress

This year’s International Women’s Day theme – inspire inclusion – resonates strongly with me. As a tech executive, board leader, partner, father and brother, I am surrounded by outstanding women in my professional and personal life. Every day I bare witness to their management of so many dynamics of life – whether it’s their careers at Lenovo, leading in workplace initiatives like employee resource groups (ERGs), community volunteerism, or supporting all of us in friendships, partnerships, or work as family members and caregivers.

Around the world and in so many cultures, the underpinnings of society seem to be held in place by women. Research continues to show that women spend a disproportionate amount of time caregiving, child rearing, and generally bringing order to the chaos of our homes. But in the U.S. alone, recent research by the Pew Center shares that while men and women’s earnings are becoming the same in a growing share of opposite sex marriages, domestic labor is still disproportionately handled by women. Women have been increasingly joining the workforce for decades, adding extraordinary value to our innovation, community, and economies. We all have an interest in sustaining the progress women have made, but we all need to join into the effort.

Whether it’s learning how to balance duties in our partnerships at home, be better allies in the workplace, or advocate on issues impacting the women in our lives, it is beyond time for men to engage as allies in the fight for women’s equality rather than watch from the sidelines. As a male executive of a global Fortune 500 Company and Chief Diversity Officer, this year’s call to action demonstrates the truth that gender equality cannot be achieved unless everyone is included. While today’s initiatives – many of them led by women – aim to inspire us and include us in the work toward gender equality, I believe we also need to inspire each other in inclusion.

At Lenovo, women have done an outstanding job of inspiring each other. Our women-focused employee resource groups have proliferated around the world and developed numerous focus groups for the key issues women face. While Women in Lenovo Leadership is our longest-standing ERG at Lenovo, within it we now have key resources for women in innovation or technical roles, as well as groups for new and expectant mothers, and women going through menopause. Women are aligning to share knowledge, resources and inspire each other and women in the community. With support from Lenovo Foundation, women at Lenovo have developed partnerships with Aj Ty V IT (Slovakia), Becomtech (France), Dress for Success (USA), Laboratoria (Latin America), Code Like a Girl (Australia) and Waffle (Japan). These partnerships are critical to our presence in communities as a global corporate citizen and ensure that progress made toward gender equity within Lenovo is also shared with our communities.

In addition to our charitable partnerships, Lenovo has committed to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles as a member of the UN Global Compact. For the past two years, Lenovo has also participated in Target Gender Equality, a specific program to engage companies in great equity for women in the workforce.

I know that men understand our role in a more inclusive future for women because of the tangible examples I see from my colleagues. At Lenovo we’re proud to honor managers who are working to make their teams more diverse and inclusive, we celebrate male allies leading community events like Girls Belong in Tech or mentorship with Laboratoria, and our leadership team stays focused on its goal to reach 27% female executive representation by 2025. I’m inspired by these examples, but in a company that’s 63% men, 71% men in technical roles, and 78% men in executive leadership, I know we have much farther to go. On International Women’s Day, my call to action for men is clear:

1. Go to an International Women’s Day event and celebrate the contributions of women in your company, community, and the world.
2. Listen to women’s perspectives and seek to understand rather than solve, manage, or advise. Your presence is supportive enough.
3. Be aware of gender roles and stereotypes in the workplace and at home, and work to deconstruct them. At the very least we need to question why they exist and whether they serve all of us, or a privileged few.

And for women, I hope they can also recognize allies and invite them on their journey toward greater equality. You never know how much someone may want to support your cause, but they may need an invitation to be included and inspired.